Here are five pointers when creating a description for your video
1. Concise Descriptions Always Work
Even though YouTube has a 5,000 character limit for descriptions, you don’t need to write a whole essay in order to explain your video. In fact, the video should explain itself. What you can do is give a brief summary about your video no more than a couple of paragraphs long. The more concise and compelling you make your description, the more people will want to watch your video
2. It Has To Be Searchable
Besides keeping your video’s description short and compelling, the description must be searchable. For example, if your video is a rant about Facebook’s new hashtag feature, the keywords “Facebook” and “hashtag” should be prominent in your video’s description. If you need help with finding the right keywords for your description, use Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool. These keywords will help search engines index your video properly.
3. Use Links Extensively
Links are especially important for your description as it should be a way to promote your other videos and drive traffic to your other social media networks. If your video is part of a series, make sure you direct viewers to the other videos by providing links to them.
4. Timestamps Can Be Your Trusty Friend
This feature is especially useful for longer step-by-step videos or if you have a special announcement at a certain part of the video. For example, if you’re trying to redirect your viewers to step 5 on the 12:00 mark, just type the timestamp 12:00 into the description. It will automatically link to that place in the video.
5. Give Credit Where Credit’s Due
If it’s not already in your video because of time constraints or other reasons, you should definitely give a shout out to the people you’ve collaborated with or helped with your video (e.g. director, cinematographer, makeup, etc.). If they have a YouTube channel or a website, definitely share your collaborators’ links.
Ok, God Bless You
