YouTube Wisdom Gained at #YTFF

For the second year in a row, I got a chance to attend YouTube FanFest (YTFF). For people who aren’t familiar with YouTube FanFest it is an event where YouTube stars come together to meet their fans and perform live. It happens across Asia Pacific usually between the months of February – June. These are the key takeaways from the YouTube FanFest (YTFF) India 2015.

From the 2000 people who attended last year to the 4000+ fans this year, YTFF was big not just in terms of numbers but also people performing. The line-up of stars included the who’s who of the Indian YouTube stars and also few international YouTubers too. This year’s line-up included East India Comedy (EIC) to The Viral Fever, from Shankar Tucker to Kurt & Sam, from Jasmeet Singh (JusReign) to Lilly Singh (Superwoman), and let’s not forget the hosts Kanan & Biswa. This YouTube FanFest was filled with people who have made it big on YouTube.
If you want to make it big on YouTube here’s what you got to know:

Content is the King and always will be:
You may have the resources, you may have the skills but if you don’t have the right content, then you or rather your YouTube channel is not going anywhere. There is no one better to prove that Content Is The King than Arunabh Kumar (Founder & CEO – TVF Group). You won’t get it right the first time. It will take draft after draft to get the right script for your YouTube series. But once you have got it right, there is no one stopping you from getting sponsorships from brands and celebrities.

Put it out there:
Say you have the content ready. Now what? Well you’ve got an iPhone or any smartphone with fancy megapixels and an internet connection, why don’t you let them combine forces and help you create something the world is waiting to see. You don’t have to master the crazy movie editing softwares for editing your videos. With just few basic tips on ‘how to edit a video’ (YouTube it) and a bit of knowledge of the basic video editors (softwares), your video can be upload ready.. After a bit of a struggle, your video will be up and out there for the world to see it.
Pro tip: There is no limit on how long should your video be but remember that people’s attention span has dropped considerably over the period of time.

Ask for Likes, Comments, Shares and Subscribes:
You have the video up on YouTube. There are social sharing buttons but your video is getting the views you expected it to get or you aren’t getting any feedback for your work. What’s wrong you might ask. Observe closely and did you notice that you haven’t asked people to ‘Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe?’ Those are the four golden words that are a must for every video you upload. There’s no shame in asking for Likes, Comments, Shares and Subscribes. Unless you ask for it, people are not going to give it to you. If you have to look up to someone, then look at Superwoman. There is one constant in her videos and that is her asking viewers to ‘Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe’.

Just go out there and make:
The internet is full of ideas, pick one and start off. There are thousands of videos on YouTube that can help you start your own YouTube channel. If you have to look for inspirations, look at All India Bakchod (AIB) who recently hit 1 million subscribers on their channel and were awarded YouTube’s golden ‘Play’ button at YTFF.
I know I’m not as funny as Abish Mathew but you get what I’m trying to explain. In the end all it takes is a camera, a Google account, good content, some inspiration, few basic skills and you are all set to be the next YouTube star. You never know, you might be the next Bethany Mota or Sam Tsui.
I hope these guidelines were useful in your quest for YouTube stardom. If there is any other information you want to share or any questions you may want to ask, do so in the comments below.