New from YouTube: QR Codes for Creators & Premium Jump Ahead Rollout

Transcript

Sharing channels is about to get easier. That’s why there’s currently an experiment running for Creators and users alike: when sharing a YouTube channel on your smartphone, you now have the option to display or download a QR code. This makes sense, of course, when you’re meeting people you can hold your phone up to, or if you print the code on physical media like business cards, for example. Like this: this is my old business card from 2014, and it already has a QR code on it. So, this isn’t new technology; we’ve just dug it up again because we wanted to try something new.

Just a quick aside in case you want to create your own QR code: if you don’t have access to the experiment, simply go to QR Monkey or another free online provider. Add your logo and URL – maybe even a “Subscribe now” call-to-action – and voila, you’ve got a great QR code.

One more thing: the “Subscribe now” CTA currently only works on the YouTube desktop version; it’s ignored on mobile devices but still links to the channel. So, it doesn’t hurt to include it. Leave your thoughts in the comments! I can’t be the only one who sees untapped potential here, especially for a feature you might use once and never again. Especially when sharing your channel digitally and just sending a link – then there’s also this QR code. Not necessary, in my opinion.

By the way, the experiment with Premium Jump Read that we discussed in April has been successfully completed and is currently being rolled out in the US. 92% positive feedback from users in an optional survey – they seem very satisfied. There are no statistically significant changes in the playback time of skipped content. That all sounds good at first glance. Unfortunately, there’s a lack of transparency: YouTube hasn’t made the dataset publicly available. Source: Trust me, bro. Check for yourself to see if you notice any anomalies or if more people are skipping your content.

A good thing for Creators without a Premium account: when you go into your own videos, you can still see this feature. This means you can use the “Jump ahead” function to see where viewers might not be as interested and where they’re skipping to. You can then improve those sections in your next video. I think that’s a nice idea, but you can also just look at the audience retention graph and see the same thing – just as a graph, not with the ability to skip. Again, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!

Next week, I’ll be at the YouTube Summit, where some very interesting things will be happening. I’ll be meeting with the YouTube Studio and Analytics teams. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments, and I’ll take them along. That also means there won’t be an episode on Saturday, but we’ll have our usual Q&A stream the following week. I’ll bring some more questions and answers then.

Last Tuesday, we also discussed test and compare rollouts. There were a few who didn’t quite adhere to the NDA, but that’s not a big deal. You all know the current status now. If you haven’t seen it yet, feel free to check out the corresponding video.

Additionally, our intern is currently working on her first storyboards and has developed a little Shorts series: the YouTube ABC. Check it out and leave constructive feedback; that would be fantastic. She’d love to see how her work resonates with viewers, and I’m sure she’d appreciate it greatly.

Many thanks for tuning in! See you at the latest in our Q&A stream next week, in about 10 days. Until then, take care and keep pushing forward!