360i Report on YouTube's Social Redesign

Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

January 2012

360i Point of View on
YouTube’s Social Redesign
Executive Summary
In December 2011, YouTube underwent its biggest redesign to date. The makeover represents a
complete overhaul of the user interface in an effort to help people find more personally-relevant videos
and to provide content creators with greater opportunities for customization and community
development. This redesign represents YouTube’s evolution from a broadcasting platform to a
community-based network fueled by social interactions – and not just ―views.‖

Key Takeaways

1. The newest iteration of channels will encourage content creators to create more compelling
long-form content and curate dynamic playlists that grab the attention of viewers for longer
durations. The new channel designs will roll out on March 1, 2012, which gives content creators
three months to prepare updated creative and customized templates for their channels. Brands
should act on these updates by developing new types of content, such as channels, playlists, and
textual status updates that generate conversation.

2. YouTube is now a place to curate content and interact with target audiences, more closely
resembling other online communities. A new left-hand sidebar features trending and popular
content, as well as content from suggested channels. This sidebar, along with the inclusion of
Facebook and Google+, posts within the feeds of fellow friends and subscribers, providing a rich
feed of personally relevant content that makes YouTube a destination that feels both personal and
social.

3. All changes to media appear to be positive. Enhanced Insights will provide data on which ad
creative performs better, thus allowing for the optimization of campaigns over time. Paid media
will also allow advertisers to increase their ―subscribability score,‖ which will allow effective
spending to boost engagement.

This report outlines the specific ramifications that the redesign changes will have to a brand’s efforts
within YouTube – from community management and content strategy to paid media performance. There
is an Appendix at the end of this document that summarizes all of the updates.

NEW YORK | ATLANTA | CHICAGO | DETROIT | SAN FRANCISCO | LONDON | info@360i.com | 888.360.9630

©2012 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved


January 2012

Implications for Community Management

As platforms like YouTube continue trending toward more socialized experiences, it is becoming more
important for marketers to carefully consider their overarching strategy for all communities to ensure
that people are not delivered the same content across disparate platforms. Creating diversified
content across all branded communities will allow brands to cultivate various tones and audiences
across each platform, and inspire people to engage with that content in different ways.

YouTube’s redesign will shift marketers’ focus from what people are saying about content to what they
are doing with it. Here’s how community managers can make the most of this trend:
 Executions within YouTube now go beyond simply uploading videos, as text-based status
updates become a critical component to YouTube’s more social and community-based features.
We recommend that brands test these types of updates to explore how receptive audiences are
to having conversations on YouTube.
 Playlists are now more visible than before, providing an opportunity to draw users into long
views of the content.
 Subscription placement is more important than ever. Achieving top billing in a user’s feed will
help attract more organic subscribers.
 Optimized +1 buttons are essential to a larger YouTube presence, as commenting is now taking
a backseat to actions such as liking and sharing. This allows the focus of the platform to be full
brand interactions instead of pieces of content.

Implications for Content Strategy

With this redesign, YouTube becomes much more than a secondary social platform. YouTube will
provide content creators with new ways to reach and engage people on a more personalized level. The
intent becomes less about attaining video views and more about producing new, creative content that
will drive interaction, subscription rate, shares and brand affinity among a community. Brands will be
most successful if they create and curate specific content for the YouTube audience, rather than
repurposing general content used in other communities. This will reduce the likelihood of publishing
redundant content across multiple locations and thus devaluing the brand’s presence in the eyes of
fans and subscribers.

While content curation remains a top priority within the walls of YouTube, content aggregation has
never been more important. The redesign includes an improved search function within a user’s
personal network as well as new opportunities for channel owners to attract new fans, so creating
playlists and proper tagging can optimize content to maximize reach. YouTube will deliver relevant
recommendations by curating information from friends’ profiles. This will drive fan generation within
each platform and allow new fans to associate with the brand in different ways.




January 2012

Implications for Media
Media Performance
YouTube has tested the new layout to ensure that its impact on media performance will be ―neutral to
positive.‖ While it is unclear to what extent ads will perform better with the redesign, Google believes
that they will perform no worse than before. Below is a summary of the most notable opportunities for
advertisers:

 YouTube Insights provides data on top-performing creative, allowing for optimization of
campaigns over time (more on YouTube Insights in the Appendix).

 Paid media should help advertisers increase their subscribability scores, which measures how
many viewers are converted to subscribers.

 Effective spending will increase subscribers and boost engagement.

 Media can target a specific tab on a YouTube Channel for greater content.

 Advertisers can choose whether to run media on ―popular‖ or ―safe‖ channels.

Next Steps
This biggest YouTube redesign to date represents a significant shift towards social for the video
platform. Below are several action items marketers can employ to make the most of these new
opportunities:

1. Rethink creative. Take advantage of emphasis on longer viewing times and audience
retention by orienting creative toward channel and subscription engagement.
2. Optimize content for YouTube. Consider the unique tone of the YouTube audience vs.
Facebook or Google+ and avoid overlap when developing cross-platform messaging
strategy/content calendars.
3. Stay cognizant of the broader architecture. Craft a content strategy for YouTube with a
full multi-platform social strategy in mind. Post YouTube content on other social channels to
draw people to the YouTube community.
4. Enrich experiences through curation. Marketers can expand the reach of their channels
by curating content that aligns with the audience’s interests beyond a specific brand.
5. Make the most of new channel options. Choose the channel type that best fits the
brand’s needs and help content become more accessible by designing for the new layout.
6. Capitalize on new analytics. Marketers can now derive powerful insights and use new
reporting features to discover what truly resonates with their community.

In light of Google’s investment in these extensive changes, we believe that this round of
developments represents a significant shift towards social for YouTube. By applying these insights
early, we can quickly adapt and provide the type of engaging content that can stimulate the new
community that YouTube is becoming. Contact your 360i strategic advisor to discuss what the new
YouTube updates mean for your brand.




January 2012

Appendix: Under the Hood of YouTube’s Latest Redesign
The homepage redesign features a number of prominent new elements:

1. Central Feed: Central column aggregating all updates from the people and brands to which
one subscribes, including video uploads and any other publicly shared actions on the site

2. Sidebar: Left-hand sidebar which links to ―trending‖ videos and content from suggested
channels and includes access to videos shared through Google+ and Facebook
3. Right-hand Rail: List on the right side of the page highlighting recommended videos (based
on user ratings and social account content)
4. New Channels Design: As of March 1, 2012, all channels will be switched to a new design,
giving owners a three-month window to prepare for the following changes:
a. More flexible channel templates customizable to the needs of different types of content
creators
b. Ability to post status updates through channels (updates can be text only or another
channel’s videos/playlists); opportunity for channel operators to act as curators even if
they have little or no video of their own
c. Tabbed interface for content with the ability to buy media driving to a tab

Other changes include:

New Channel Options: Prior to the redesign, there were only two types of channels available – basic
user channel and brand channel. Brand channels were customizable with the option to purchase
special features and paid media. The latest redesign presents several more channel options for
owners:

o User Channel (free) — Includes all the functions available to any YouTube user,
including engagement with subscribers, basic customization and measurable results via




January 2012

YouTube Insights
o Brand Channel (free for managed customers) — All elements of a user channel, plus
opportunities to brand the page and the ability to add impression tags for remarketing
o Custom Brand Channel (additional cost) — All elements of a brand channel with
additional opportunities for customization with gadgets and interactive applications
o Mobile Brand Channel (free for managed customers) — Hosted on m.youtube.com,
offering the same level of customization and engagement, including the use of gadgets
o Free channels — Templates include Creator, Blogger, Network or Everything (see
graphic below)

More robust analytics: YouTube Insights was also overhauled to mirror the interface and general
functionality of Google Analytics, making it easier for channel owners to extract YouTube data. The
updated Overview section now provides top-level metrics on Views (Demographics, Playback
Locations, Traffic Sources, Audience Retention) and Engagement (Subscribers, Likes/Dislikes,
Favorites, Comments and Sharing).

The new interface also lists the channel’s Top 10 videos, including data on likes and comments for a
given time period. This new feature enables users to save time, where as in the past various resources
like YouTube Insights and third party metrics software had to be consulted in order to determine
overall engagement with different videos over time. Now, top videos are ranked by views, likes and
comments. Location data and demographics are similarly improved and now allow for segmentation of
engagement activity by continent and country.

About 360i
360i is an award-winning digital marketing agency that drives results for Fortune 500 marketers through insights, ideas
and technologies. 360i helps its clients think differently about their online presence and evolve their strategies to take
advantage of the new world of marketing communications – one where brands and consumers engage in interactive
and multi-directional conversations. In 2010, Ad Age named 360i to its prestigious Agency A-List. Current clients
include Kraft Foods, JCPenney, Coca-Cola, NBC Universal and Diageo, among others. For more information, please visit
www.360i.com or follow us on Twitter @360i.



360i Report on YouTube's Social Redesign

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