After reading @x3mboy’s document on the Fedora Twitter account, and observing carefully Fedora Youtube’s channel, I think most of the same strategic lines from one apply to the other. Let me explain:
For the moment, Fedora Youtube channel has been mainly a repository for community events like the past Mentor Summit and Council meetings. Besides that, there are many keynotes that (I think) were once live presentations, like the one about what’s neo on Fedora Workstation 35. From my point of view, Youtube has been an afterthought, not an integral part of Fedora’s marketing mix.
That being said, I think the aforementioned functions of the Youtube channel are quite valid, since some people in the community don’t have the time or availability to attend most live events, and the content isn’t lost for those who want to watch it. This is vital for the community… sadly enough, it doesn’t work quite well on Youtube’s dynamic.
If someone wants to know about Fedora on Youtube, most information is on diverse Linux-related channels like The Linux Experiment, Linux for Everyone, Learn Linux TV and so on. These are great channels indeed, I learned a lot from them on my own Linux journey. But, as usual, the information there is filtered by the host’s own point of view, preferences and personal workflow… and there are things that are better told from a first-party perspective.
I’m very new to Linux and even newer to the Fedora Project and I somehow feel like I entered the theater in the middle of the movie and I don’t know where to start now that I want to catch-up and bring something to the table (though I’m figuring things out bit by bit). The Youtube channel should also be a doorway for those newcomers who want to catch up on what Fedora is beyond the distro (I’m just scratching the frost of the tip of the iceberg).
So, as a youtuber myself, here are my (sort of) two cents:
1.- Thumbnails:
This is vital for Youtube engagement (click-through rate, or CTR for short), is what people see before even reading the title and a key ingredient on the decision whether to watch the video or not. Most videos on the channel have no thumbnail but a frame of the video… mostly a screenshot of an online meeting - nothing engaging.
GIMP templates (using layers) so people can identify the nature of the video: Events, council sessions, presentations, testimonials and stories (more on that later), tutorials and so on. A frame, the Fedora logo, a space for text and a space for a related photo. I’m not a designer, but I’m sure there may be one here.
Besides identification, sorting, and making videos more “clickable”, thumbnails also work on bringing a sensation of order and care to the eye of the viewer… and you know how humans love to see order in things.
2.- Playlists
If there’s one thing well done in the Youtube Channel are the playlists. Quite well sorted and maintained, event-centric (I love the one on Diversity with some of your stories), tidy and neat… a great way to catch-up if you ask me.
3.- Original content and collaborations.
Besides the content that’s already there, the channel needs more “Youtube-like” content: Short, entertaining and informative. And as a one-man-army youtuber, I’m quite aware that it is a lot of work (research, writing, pre-production, filming, editing, thumbnail, caption, title, and so on) hence, I won’t even talk about consistency and uploading frequency (I don’t even have the moral authority to do it) or even suggest a permanent course of action on this regard.
However, I think Fedora could lean a bit on the Youtube Linux community that’s already there: Asking these youtubers to contribute with one video about their experience with Fedora in general and how they are seeing the progress or the distro, the community and FLOSS in general. They bring content to the channel and the channel brings traffic to their channels…
4.- Graphic elements
Besides the aforementioned thumbnail templates, the Youtube package should include a standard introduction (a 5 second animation: Logo, name and tagline… something simple) and an end screen (10-15 seconds with space for Youtube end-screen elements, credits for the video, logo and name).
It would be great for these elements (as well as the official fonts) to be available for anyone who wants to make a video for the channel. As well as some editorial guidelines so these videos are in line with the community values, message and strategic marketing goals.
5.- Channel trailer
This element has been on my to-do list for almost a year, so I’m not the authority on the topic. But a short video for the newcomer telling what’s the channel all about usually helps a lot on turning potential viewers into viewers and those into subscribers.
I hope this helps…
(I don’t know if this was worth a new thread, so I posted it here)