Why Do You Need A YouTube Channel?
YouTube has been an entertaining platform for many years. Content creators who have popular channels can reach millions of people.
Most musicians view YouTube as less of a social media site than Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. When you learn the reality of YouTube being the most-visited site on the web and the fact that we spend up to six hours per day consuming video, YouTube can be an untapped opportunity for personal promotion.
Youtube can be one of the many avenues to deliver whatever you offer directly to those interested. Will having your own channel get you gigs? Maybe.
How can that happen?
If you are looking to get on a Broadway show, a music director, contractor, or another musician may often recommend a drummer for a reading, workshop, or another pre-production setting. If the person doing the hiring (most likely the music director) wants to do a quick search online to find out more about you, your Youtube page may be one of the first things that appear in the search results. You may also have a website, and if you have YouTube links, it's easy for anyone interested in hiring you to see what you can do and what you've already accomplished.
People who have been in the music business for a while can tell if you can play within the first minute. Having seen thousands of musicians play over the years will give you a sense of the level of musician you are dealing with by observing a few minutes of someone's talent in a video.
If you have a presence on YouTube, the person hiring a drummer for a workshop, or reading, may be the same one who brings you along to the out-of-town-tryout. Who knows, you also may be the person who is playing in the pit of the opening night show on Broadway!
If you have an exciting Youtube page and social media presence, you may be noticed ahead of the next person on the list of people to call, and you will have an advantage due to your talents being showcased online.
Youtube has one advantage over many other social media platforms. Many musicians use Instagram to show clips of their playing, but youtube can serve the same purpose and get you paid as well.
To properly promote yourself on YouTube takes a lot of work. It's almost like a part-time job. If you expect to post a few videos with a couple of hashtags and see millions of followers show up, you are fooling yourself. This is going to be an ongoing process. Constantly keeping things fresh with new content is critical.
To post videos on YouTube, you need to create your channel. This is easy to do, and you can find the instructions here. Youtube has recently introduced handles. Every channel will have a unique handle, making it easier for fans to discover content and interact with creators they love. It's a new way for people to easily find and engage with creators and each other on YouTube. Unlike channel names, handles are unique to each channel, so creators can further establish their distinct presence and brand on YouTube.
To stand out on YouTube, you must take advantage of as many promotional tactics as possible.
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