Your teenager's guide to starting a YouTube channel
There has been a rise of video blogging or vlogging over the last decade, thanks to online channels like YouTube, Instagram Reel and Facebook among others. Vlogging is a fun, interactive and creative hobby that has the potential to make your teenager a star or at least a popular online personality. Additionally, a popular YouTuber can also earn pretty well after his channel gains a certain viewership.
Kids need to be at least 13 years of age to use YouTube. This is because its parent company Google collects and markets user data. However, children below 13 are also legally allowed to create profiles on similar with parent’s approval of the child’s account. Alternatively, you can let your teenager upload his content through your account. Starting from age to emotional maturity, many factors need to be considered before deciding whether or not you will allow your child to join this social media platform. If you decide to let your youngster set up a YouTube channel, here are some useful tips to make the process smooth.
Help your child plan the content
Deciding on and planning the content of a video is the first step towards creating a YouTube channel. The choice should be based on your child’s area of expertise. Help her figure out her niche. For example, if your child loves to paint, she can start with an art channel. Some kids love to do mimicry while others take interest in comedy or storytelling. There is a wide range of subjects that may be relevant to your child and her skill sets. Sit with her, discuss and finalize the content plan. The nest step would be to find innovative ways for making the video engaging. Help your youngster find YouTube videos in the similar genre for reference.
Choose the right equipment
The quality of a video depends not only on the expertise of the person shooting it but also on the equipment used. After selecting the subject, your youngster needs to decide on the instruments to be used for the shoot. A smartphone with good camera quality is enough to start with. However, a mono pod, tripod or handheld gimbal stabilizer will be necessary to prevent jerking. The audio quality of a video is of extreme importance. So, help your youngster find a good quality microphone for his shoot.
Pay attention to shooting technique
There are some golden rules that need to be followed while shooting a video. Do an online research about the appropriate shooting techniques with your budding YouTuber before getting started. A clutter-free background with sufficient light and good audio quality are the basic requirements of a good video. Shooting in natural light is always recommended. However, in case of a video shot indoors with artificial light, one has to be careful about limiting the light sources, or else. Also, make sure that your youngster learns to keep the focus right while shooting the video.
Encourage him to learn using an editing software
Once the recording is done, help your teenager transfer the file to the laptop or computer. Watch the video together and figure out where editing is needed. There is a plethora of easy-to-use video editing software available online now. Help your child learn to use them. Windows Movie Maker can be a good option.
Steps for setting up a YouTube Channel
Setting up a new YouTube Channel is not rocket science. Create a Gmail account for your child so that the email address is connected to the email address. Here are the steps that he should follow:
- Sign in to YouTube using the desktop version.
- Click your picture in the top right corner (desktop version)
- Use the desktop version to access it because it will help you view all the options properly.
- Click on your photo, located at the top right corner of your screen.
- Look for the ‘Create a Channel’ option and select it.
- Start setting up your channel by filling in the required information.
- Customize the ‘About section’ to help people know more about the channel.
- Select a cover photo and profile picture as per the topic and theme.
- Link the profile to social media accounts.
- Once all these steps are compete, select the ‘Upload’ option and update the channel with the first video.
- Make a creative and catchy description for the video.