Different Types Of YouTube Videos To Create For Your Site

Videos are arguably THE best type of content for your site as they can convey a lot more information.  Why would someone read a 2,000 word article when they can watch a video about the same subject?  Not only that but videos, when uploaded to YouTube, can potentially send you a LOT of traffic .  There are plenty of different types of YouTube videos to create for your site, which is why I thought I’d put this post together.

How To Record Your YouTube Videos

I intend on making a lot more videos for this site (am currently making some for this and a couple of other sites), which got me thinking about “what” I should actually create.  At first, I struggled with this and thought (like many of you may) that there can’t be that much that you can create for a blog.  However, after doing a bit of head scratching and a lot of research on YouTube, I was amazed at just how many different types of YouTube videos there are out there that you can create!

Before I get into the different types of YouTube videos that you can create, I just want to mention some of the different ways that you can “record” your videos (there is a difference, as you will see).  You can…

• Film yourself in front of a camera,
• Use screen capture tools like Camtasia to explain what you are showing them online,
• Set up and record a slideshow whilst talking over it.  This is a good one if you are a bit shy in front of the camera and don’t have any screen capture software.
• Use a webcam or your smartphone.
• Start a Google Hangout or Skype video call and record it (many of these types of programs have inbuilt features that allow you to record yourself.

There is no real reason why you shouldn’t be able to create videos.  We all have some sort of camera these days.  We just need something to film.

So, let’s take a look at some ideas that you can use.

Different Types Of YouTube Videos

Tutorial Videos On YouTube

Let’s start with an obvious one – tutorials.  Everyone likes tutorials as they are a great source of information.  There is always something that people need to learn, so what better way that watching a video of someone explaining how to do something.

This could be…

• Demonstrating how to use some software/online tool (like I do above),
• How to make something (cooking, crafting, building, etc.),
• How to repair or mend something (a car, DIY, clothes, etc.),
• Hobbies (Gardening, painting, learning to play an instrument, etc.)

There is so much that falls into this one category that you could just spend your time solely focused on this.

Explanation Videos On YouTube

Whilst there will always be people wanting to watch how to do something, there will be just as many wanting to learn what, where, when, how, why… something is the way it is.  This is where explanation videos come in.

There must be an unlimited amount of questions that people can ask you about your chosen niche.

• What is _____?
• How do you do ______?
• Why does ______ work in this way?
• How can I _______?
• Where do I find ______ online?
• When can I do ______?

These types of videos can be either long or short; a lot depends on the question.  Try to fully answer people’s questions and leave no stone unturned.  After all, there is nothing worse than wanting to find an answer to something, then leaving with even more questions.

Like I said at the start of the post, there are plenty of ways that you can record a video, but there is one specific type of video that I would like to highlight here and that is ‘Whiteboards’.  This type of video (like the one above) is great for explaining something, especially when it is a detailed subject.  You can make notes, write down tips, draw diagrams… whatever it is, it will all help explain something to your viewer.  SEOmoz (now just moz) are a great example of this, doing a whiteboard every Friday explaining a topic to people.

Interview Videos On YouTube

Interviews can be great for your site, whether they are written, audio/podcast or… videos. Convince someone big in your niche to come over to your site and be interviewed and it can attract a lot of interest/traffic for you.

http://youtu.be/EIePXwmr6Ds

Google Hangouts or Skype are perfect for this (like the example), especially when you can’t actually physically meet up.  There are plenty of people that I would love to interview, but at based in America or India that I just couldn’t get to meet in person.

IF, however you can meet up somewhere to do a video interview, then that can look very professional to people.  You can feed off each other much easier than through a webcam and, even better, you can make a lasting connection with someone in your industry.

Interactive Videos On YouTube

This is something relatively new on the scene for video marketing.  YouTube has allowed people to add annotations and captions that can link to your site or another website for a while now, but only recently have people become a lot more creative with it.

You can find some fantastic examples of interactive videos here that you can get inspiration from.  But just to give you some quick ideas, you could…

• Create a quiz (like the example above),
• Link between your other videos,
• Create videos with multiple endings/outcomes,

Generally, it will just make your videos more interesting to people.  The great thing is that you can go back to your existing videos (any of the ones mentioned here) and add interactive elements.  It’s a lot easier than you think.

Vlogs On YouTube

http://youtu.be/UqhEtTPo89Y

Yep, Vlogs – Video Blogs.  These types of videos are easily the most consistently popular online.  You only have to go to YouTube to see many famous Vlogers trending in the ‘Popular on YouTube’ section.

The great thing about Vlogs is that they can be on just about anything.  Just be yourself, talk about subjects that you like and you can pick up an audience.

Charlie McDonnell (AKA ‘charlieissocoollike’ – above) has (at the time of writing this) 2,179,643 subscribers to his channel and has had an incredible 293,345,734 views!!!!  Hopefully this just shows the massive potential that Vlogs and YouTube videos in general can have.

Participation/Let’s Play Videos On YouTube

This types of videos are a bit similar to Vlogs, but instead of simply talking to your camera, people usually are doing something that people can watch along with.  The best example of this that I can give are ‘Let’s Play’ videos where people record themselves playing a video game whilst giving a commentary as they play.

PewDiePie (above) is one of the most well know people that do this kind of video.  He just films himself playing games (mainly horror) whilst being very funny whilst he does it.  He now has (at the time of writing this) 12,994,390 subscribers and an amazing 2,393,162,685 views!!!!

Get Creating Your YouTube Videos!

These are simply a few examples of videos that you can create fairly easily.  If your more creative, why not have a go at adding some animation or doing some unusual editing.  There is plenty that you can do, so just get started.

What other types of videos would you add to this list?  What types of videos do you like watching?  What types of videos do you like making?  Please let us know in the comment section below!