YouTube has 2.0 billion monthly users, and as video is becoming increasingly popular, this number is only going to go up. YouTube serves as a great platform to promote your advisory business, boost and market your brand and provide financial advice and information to your clients and prospects. If you don’t already have a YouTube account, it’s really easy to make one, AND it’s completely free! Below we will walk you through how you can create a free YouTube account in just six simple steps.
6 Steps to Starting a YouTube Account
1. Create A Google Account
First things first, in order to create a YouTube account, you need to have a Google Account. Click here to make a Google account. Remember that you don’t need multiple Google accounts to have a YouTube channel. You can house your YouTube channel under your existing Google account or if you don’t want to use a personal account you can just create a separate Google account for the business and house your YouTube channel under that account so it’s a bit more branded to the business vs. your personal page.
2. Go To YouTube.com and Click Sign In
Once you click sign in, chances are that you will already be logged into your newly created Google Account. Therefore, you will automatically be logged in to YouTube. If you’re not, you can simply type your google email and password to sign in. And there you have it, you just created your free YouTube account! Additionally, make sure your YouTube account is verified so that you have access to features that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t verify your account. Once your account is created, you will receive a code to your phone where you can easily verify it.
Once your account is set up, follow the additional steps below to make a complete account that can boost your marketing strategy, showcase your brand and show prospects what your firm is all about.
3. Complete Your About Section
In the “About” section of your YouTube channel, you can tell your viewers what they can expect from this channel. You can use up to 1,000 characters to describe this part and also include:
- Location
- Contact Information
- Website
- Social Media Links
How Do You Add/Edit This Section?
- Adding and editing the About section of your YouTube channel is simple, just follow the steps below:
Click on top right edit option in your channel art - Click on EDIT LINKS
- Click on “Channel Description” in order to add description about your channel
- Click on DETAILS to add email address to “business inquiries”
- Choose the number of links you want to showcase on your right side of your channel art
- Click ADD
- Enter your “Link Title” and URL
- Click on DONE
Twenty Over Ten client Chancellor Wealth Management has a successful YouTube account and you can tell that they specialize in “providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals.” Additionally, the principals of the firm are listed and their website link that you can easily follow to learn more.
4. Upload Your Cover Photo
Adding a cover photo represents your firm and helps to boost your overall brand, so make sure you are including one on your channel. In order to upload a banner or to edit, go to the right-hand corner and click on the icon on the banner. From there you can easily upload an image from your computer or choose one from another source.
Recommended Dimensions for a Cover Photo
2,560 x 1,440 pixels are the recommended dimensions but 2,560 x 423 pixels is the maximum safe dimensions for text and logos to make sure it doesn’t get cut off on a mobile device or something other than a desktop.
You can even add social media links to your banner, which will appear as icons on the banner easily directing your viewers to your other social channels.
- Navigate to the About section and click the blue “Customize Channel” button.
- You can choose how many of these links actually show in your YouTube channel banner.
Canva is a great tool that you can use in order to create banner photos for your YouTube channel. What’s great about it, aside from the elements, font and easy upload options, you can easily create the correct sizing and dimensions with the free templates in Canva.
5. Upload Your Profile Photo/Logo
Like your cover photo, a profile photo or logo represents your brand and firm, so make sure you are including one.
How Do You Add/Edit Your Profile Photo?
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Under your profile at the top right, select Your Channel.
- Select Customize Channel.
- Hover over your existing channel icon in the top left of your channel art banner.
- Click the edit icon.
- Click Edit and follow the on-screen instructions.
Recommended Image Sizes:
- JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG file (no animated GIFs)
- 800 X 800 px image (recommended)
- Square or round image that renders at 98 X 98 px
Twenty Over Ten client WealthKeel, LLC uses a clear image of its logo on its YouTube channel that clearly is in line with their brand.
6. Uploading Your First YouTube Video
You’re all set up! So, now it’s time to upload your first video. This can be done in the simple steps below.
After logging into your account, select the UPLOAD button
Drag and drop or select the file to upload
YouTube accepts almost all major video file types, which includes: .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .wmv. and avi.
Enter a description, tags, and privacy information
From there, the video upload page should appear. Under “Select files to upload,” click “Public” and choose what level of visibility you want for the video.
Options that you can choose are:
Public-Everyone can see your video
Unlisted-It’s publicly available, but only people with a direct link can see it.
Private-Only you can see see the video
Scheduled-It won’t go live until the date that you set.
While the video uploads, you can enter information about the video like the name and description. Lastly, you can click “Publish” to complete the process. The video won’t appear online unless you click “Publish.”
Are You Ready to Soar on YouTube?
We hope this has helped to show you how easy it is to set up YouTube and start creating a presence for your firm on this platform. Remember that YouTube users outnumber those of any other social media platform in the U.S. with 73% of US adults using the platform, so if you aren’t on this platform, your firm is really missing out on a great opportunity to drive traffic.
Subscribe to the Twenty Over Ten YouTube Channel
We share a video every week with a top marketing tip you can use at your advisory business!
About the author
Blair Kelly
Blair is a digital marketing assistant at Twenty Over Ten and has a passion for uncovering what drives online traffic and the highest engagement. She follows more animals on Instagram than humans and her greatest achievement is her daughter, Grey.
