Playlists on YouTube are a great tool for sucking in viewers and keeping them on your channel – they might be the best tool you aren’t yet using… So here’s a basic guide to setting them up, adding videos to them and why you should.

Watch the video below if you’re not in the mood for reading…

 

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What’s so great about Playlists anyway? First, let’s look at what is a playlist.

What is a YouTube Playlist?

A YouTube playlist is a list of videos that you make and display on your channel for viewers to watch. It’s a way to organise your content so viewers easily find a subject they are interested in and can watch all of the videos together. If a viewer starts a video on the playlist it will then automatically run through the other videos on the list.

Your Playlist might be a list of videos that you made, say a series you produce on a particular subject, or of other people’s or a mix of the two (which is what makes them great as a piece of curated content, even if you aren’t producing your own videos yet).  

 

 

When a viewer visits your channel they can see your playlists there but they also show up in search listings (if they are listed as Public) so it’s an opportunity to reach new audiences, if you optimise the Playlist well. 

If you create your Playlists properly, they are more likely to be indexed properly and shown to relevant audiences and you will get more views.

So you can probably see the potential for Playlists on your Channel. So how do you set up a Playlist on YouTube?

How Do You Set Up A Playlist On YouTube

1. Log into your account and go to the Video Manager page. On the left hand side of the page is a menu list and under Video Manager you will see “Playlists” – select this to see your list of Playlists.
2. Select the “+New playlist” button at the top of the page on the right.
3. Type in the title of this playlist and select from the drop down on the left to make this either Public, Private or Unlisted. Only a Public Playlist will show up in search listings. 
4. Select Create. You are then taken to the new Playlist’s page. There are no videos on the list yet.
5. Select “Edit.” You want to add some details and start building your Playlist up. You can:

• Edit the title by clicking on it. You can use up to 150 characters but keep it short – viewers want to be able to read it and it could get cut down when displayed in listings, usually to about 60 characters.
• Select “Add a description” to add copy here – you can add up to 5000 characters but again, this will be shortened in listings so start with your most attractive copy that will lure viewers in to watch and make sure it accurately reflects what the Playlist is about.
• Use your keywords in the Title and Description.
• Select the “Playlist settings” button underneath the description. Here you can change the status of the Playlist – either Public, Unlisted or Private. You can change the ordering of videos in the dropdown menu below there – because you might want to add newest to the top of the list or alternatively you might want to show the most popular videos first – the order the playlist will run in will be top to bottom. For now let’s leave the settings at that. Select what you want and press save.

6. Add videos to the list by selecting the “Add videos” button on the right and have a few options here:

• A video search using keywords, for example for a list of curated content. You can search  term and add multiple videos at a time.
• URL if you have the direct address of the video that you want to add.
• Your YouTube videos – which brings up a list of all your videos and you could select one or multiple options here.
• Remeber to click on any videos you want to add to select them.

Select the blue “Add videos” button to add the videos to your Playlist. Now you can see the content added to your Playlist.

How many characters can you use in a YouTube Playlist title?

You can use up to 150 characters in a YouTube Playlist title but keep it short – viewers want to be able to read it and it could get cut down when displayed in listings, usually to about 60 characters.

How many characters can you use in YouTube Playlist description?

You can add up to 5000 characters to a YouTube Playlist description but this will be shortened in listings so start with your most attractive copy that will lure viewers in to watch and make sure it accurately reflects what the Playlist is about.

How To Add Videos To A Playlist – QUICK Version!

Another way to add videos to the Playlist, or even create a new Playlist, is via an already published video… so if you were viewing that video.

1. Look on the right hand side under the video and you will see a button that allows you to add to playlist – it looks like three horizontal lines and a + sign. 
2. Click this button to reveal a drop down of your playlists that exist and you could tick the box to add it to the corresponding Playlist there OR at the bottom of this drop down select “Create new playlist.”
3. Type in the title of this playlist and select from the drop down on the left to make this either Public, Private or Unlisted.
4. Select Create. Your playlist has been basically created and you can see it in the list of Playlists. It will need editing to make it more accessible to search so go to your list of Playlists via the Video Manager and adjust the settings and a description, as shown before.

This is a basic overview of set up and there is more to Playlists but I’ll leave that for a future video… in the meantime, if you have any questions please leave a comment on the video and I shall endeavour to answer you.

Now you just need some content! Need a producer to help with making some video content for your channel? Let’s Talk…

 Let’s Talk…

 

Video Transcript

Welcome to Let’s Talk Video Production,
let’s look at how to create a playlist
on YouTube. Hit the subscribe button for
tips, how to’s and videos about video and
podcast marketing. In this video I’ll
talk about what is a playlist and how it
benefits your channel and how to create
a playlist on YouTube so skip to the
relevant time code on screen now if you
just want to set up playlists.
What is a playlist? A playlist is a list of videos
that visitors can see on your channel
which might be a collection of your own
videos, videos from other creators or a
mix of the two. Playlists display on your
channel and can be found in search
if listed as Public. Playlists can help
you to organise your content so viewers
can easily find a list of videos on a
subject they are interested in and they
can watch all of those videos together
so it helps you get more views across
your series of videos. Playlists can
attract and retain audiences through
relevant content and can help you get
found in search for keywords and phrases
and if you create your playlist properly
they’re more likely to be indexed
correctly and shown to audiences who
will visit your playlist and channel
helping you to get more views. So how do
you create a playlist in YouTube? There
are a few ways to do this so I’ll show
you how to get started and how to add
videos you have published in future. So
starting with the Video Manager and the
playlist section, make sure you are
logged into your account. On the left
hand side of the page is a menu list and
under Video Manager you will see
Playlists. Select this to see your list
of playlists. Select the add new playlist
button at the top of the page and type
in the title of this playlist and select
from the drop-down on the left make this
either Public, Private or Unlisted.
Then select Create.
You are then taken to the new playlist
page. Select Edit. You want to add some
details and start building your playlist up.
Edit the title by clicking on it –
you can enter up to 150 characters but
it’s best to keep it short; viewers want
to be able to read it and it could get
cut down when displayed in listings so
about sixty characters would do.
Select add a description to add copy here.
You can add up to five thousand characters
but again this will be shortened in
listings so start with your most
attractive copy that will lure viewers
in to watch and make sure it accurately
reflects what the playlist is about.
Select the playlist settings button
underneath the description here. You can
change the status of the playlist either
Public, Unlisted or Private. You can
change the ordering because you might
want to add newest to the top of the
list or alternatively you might want to
show the most popular videos first. Let’s
show them by date added newest and press Save.
So for now let’s leave the settings
at that. Add videos to the list by
selecting the Add Videos button on the
right. We have a few options here. You can
do a video search using keywords, for
example for a list of curated content.
You can search a term and add multiple
videos at time by clicking on them or
enter a URL if you have the direct
address of the video you want to add and
it will show up there. And lastly look at
the list of your YouTube videos which
brings up a list of all your videos and
you can select one or multiple options
here then select the blue Add Videos
button to add the videos to your playlist.
Now you can see the content
added to your playlist.
Another way to add video to the playlist
or even create a new playlist is via an
already published video so if you are
viewing that video, like here, look at the
right hand side at the bottom of the
page click this button to reveal a drop
down for your playlist that exist and you could tick the box to add
it to a corresponding playlist here or
at the bottom of this drop down select
Create New Playlist. There you can type
in the title of this playlist and select
to make this either Public, Private or
Unlisted. Select Create. Your playlist has
been basically created but it will need
editing to make it more accessible.
Adjust the settings and the description
as shown before. There is more to
playlists but we’ll cover that in a
future video. Hopefully that was helpful,
if it was you’re helping me out by
giving this video a like and subscribe
to learn more about video and podcast
marketing. Thanks for watching.