YouTube is introducing new features for podcast creators, including the ability to create a new podcast directly in YouTube Studio and designate an existing playlist as a podcast.
This will streamline the podcast upload and management process and separate podcast uploads from video clips. Podcast Analytics will also be a new feature added:
“Podcast-specific analytics will be available for podcasts. This is distinct from current analytics offered. Metrics include aggregated metrics across videos in a podcast playlist, insights on how viewers find your podcast, demographics and revenue analytics.”
YouTube has been gradually developing more podcast tools to align with the growing interest in audio-only content. YouTube Music now has more than 77 million paying subscribers. And with many popular YouTube users also running their own podcasts, it makes sense for YouTube to expand in this direction and provide a more comprehensive media offering for its users. These new podcast features will be rolled out to all creators this week.
Creators will also be able to download their videos from the mobile version of YouTube Studio, making it easier to manage content on the go or cross-post to other platforms via native apps.
“Up until now, Creators have been able to download their own videos in Studio on desktop, but have not been able to do so on mobile. We’re happy to announce that we are launching the ability for Creators to download their own videos in MP4 format from the video list, to their device, in Studio Mobile and YouTube Mobile.”
However, it’s important to note that YouTube Shorts downloaded this way will come with a watermark to limit cross-posting to TikTok and Reels.
YouTube has also added a shortcut link within Studio to its Creator Music library, making it easier to find licensed tracks to use in videos. Filters will help find relevant tracks, and fees paid for the licensed music will be shared with musicians.
In addition, YouTube is experimenting with suggesting hashtags to include when publishing long-form video clips, which can improve discovery and categorization. This will initially be available to a small number of creators in the US.
“Shorts creators have been testing this feature with video titles for over a year now and we’ve heard positive feedback from the experiment group, so we are bringing the experience to long-form videos as well. Creators in the experiment will see suggested hashtags appear in the upload flow on mobile. The suggestions will be custom to the channels in the experiment as they are based on content they have previously uploaded to YouTube.”
Finally, YouTube is retiring its overlay ads format, which will no longer appear as of April 6th.
This format has been disruptive for viewers, and the removal is intended to push advertisers towards more valuable and better-performing ad types.
Enjoy these updates from YouTube, across various elements, which could be helpful for your small business marketing strategy.
