Here’s YouTube’s own video presenting the YouTube new design, dubbed the YouTube One Channel design.

YouTube new design features

Here’s a quick rundown of some key new features:

Trailer Video.  The YouTube new design has a space for a trailer video, which will appear on your front page only for non-subscribers. This is YouTube’s way of encouraging you to use your own video marketing to attract new subscribers. Increasing your channel subscriber numbers can have a positive impact for you–you’ll gain more views in that critical period just after you launch a new video.  Your trailer video also could be a great place to try out a “subscribe to this channel” YouTube annotation!

Responsive Design.  The YouTube new design has responsive design. With mobile device Internet use growing, responsive design that looks good everywhere is just a must for every social media platform. The YouTube new design recognizes the fact that people love to watch video on tablets and mobile phone screens when they’re on the the go. You have to provide very large images that hit in just the right places to make the YouTube One Channel design optimized on every format, but that’s well worth doing. Twitter, which also qualifies as a good short-attention-span goldmine, provided a similar chance for more stylish “universal design” artwork back in September. Also note that this YouTube new design artwork moves your social media icons to a better position within the art at the top!

Sections.  The YouTube new design gives you options for creating “sections” through video and playlist tags.  Anything that allows you to organize your videos and direct people to exactly what they want is great. This also makes curation more seamless, and we’ve always said that curation is a great way to build credibility and unity. This aspect of the YouTube new design will also help sites with just a few videos look better.

But that’s merely what’s visible.

The YouTube new design has an agenda

Overall, it’s our feeling that the YouTube new design represents an attempt to promote more subscriptions, more social activity, more viewing, and more monetization for channel hosts and YouTube alike. The YouTube new design seems to invite you to be YouTube’s partner in enlisting people in engaging and trying to solicit regular subscribers. Your page will be more than a bulletin board for your videos, but an invitation into more active engagement in YouTube. We don’t think that’s a bad thing, because some of those subscribers, social activity, and viewing can potentially stay on your YouTube One Channel or venture over to your website or other social media. At the same time, we do sometimes get frustrated that the only constant on social media is constant change. Do you think it’s a good thing that social media’s always changing? Let us know in the comments and your comment will enter you to win a free spruce-up for your YouTube channel (including adjustment to YouTube One Channel!) by MiniMatters.

 

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