LESSENING YOUR DIGITAL ADDICTION

Lessening your digital addiction: In this age of technology and the emergence of the smartphone, many of us have become addicted to our technologies. They have become so innovative that we overuse them to simplify our lives, but I am suggesting that we follow some simple guidelines to lessen the addictive hold that digital can have on us:

Keep yourself logged out. If you aren’t logged into the social network all the time then it becomes harder to check. It creates a natural barrier to staying connected all the time. Don’t even let your browser save your username and password. Force yourself to type it every time.
Set boundaries. I was checking Facebook at all times of the day—morning, noon, and night. Set yourself sometimes when you’ll check and interact with Facebook and then don’t check it otherwise. Boundaries are much easier to set when you aren’t always logged in.
Reduce network size. Part of the problem with “digital addiction” is the volume of updates. When your network gets particularly large, it’s easier to feed the addictive need of having to check all the time. Reduce the number of people and reduce the number of updates that you’re receiving.
Will I ever return to Facebook? Maybe. Once the dust settles and I’m finished with a “digital detox.” But for now? The little blue thumb is off limits.

Do you feel that you are addicted to digital? How do you manage the time you spend checking into social networks and interacting with people through digital channels?

What training would you like to do next?

• • Designate certain times of day to be device-free.

• • Turn unimportant notifications off on your mobile devices or make them silent.

• If you want to track the amount of sleep you get, there are apps and wearables that can do this.

Meditation is a way to chill out and give your brain a break from the endless to-do list.

1. 1. Gratitude can help shift your point of view. Make a list of things that you’re grateful for today. Think about where you were a year ago and how far you’ve come–even if your channel isn’t exponentially bigger, you’ve probably grown as a person and had some cool experiences. Remember to enjoy the journey!

1. 1. Be comfortable saying “no”. Find ways to say no to things, initially, that you know you don’t have time for. This can help you prioritize and balance your schedule.

1. 1. Embrace the good and eliminate the bad. Examine what makes you happy and try to spend more time on this.

1. Acknowledge your emotions–whether good, bad, or neutral. Emotions are just passing feelings that your brain and body react to. If you’re having a bad day, find out why. First, notice what emotions you feel–maybe write them down. Then think about what made you feel this way. Last, try to separate the story (the ‘why’) from the emotion. Understanding why you feel the way you do can help you release the emotion or change it.

• • Keep a collection of positive posts/screenshots from your YouTube community.

• • Vitamin D from sunshine can sometimes help people feel happier. If possible, try going outside and feeling the sun.

• • Music can help lift spirits too! If you’re feeling down, find your favorite song and give it a listen.

• Make sure you have things in your life that are separate from YouTube.

Plan videos on a Monday, shoot on a Tuesday and edit on Wednesday, post on a Friday. Time away from computer and phone. Take time each day away from your channel and social media. This can help clear your mind and reduce stress. Extremely tired and upset.

Rewards or recognition don’t add up to work efforts. The pressure to create regardless of how we feel. Focusing on numbers. The internet never sleeps. Instant criticism after working on content after a while. Evolving digital landscape new platform, hard to feel rewarded while things are always shifting. Notice how it is affecting us today. If you’re feeling unbalanced, uninspired, constantly stressed or exhausted, resentful of your audience or channel, or that you’re putting in more effort than you’re getting out, this could mean you’re experiencing burnout. But don’t worry, there are simple things you can do to recover.

Inhale friends and family. Feel fulfilled to go out and create again. Diet and Exercise. Boundaries or limit. Boundaries of space, office or couch in the living room. not in bed! Go to places where you relax. Set time limits when you are available.

Criticism from online digital posting. Negative comments you have to let it go. Know what to share and not o share. Everyone has done.

• • People might feel ultra-connected to you because they are used to seeing your face on their computer or mobile in their home. Some superfans might know a lot more about you than you think they would.

• • Practice with your friends or family ways you can politely end a conversation with fans.

• Establish rules with your community to help avoid awkward interactions.

like offering an internship to film school students or trading a home-cooked meal for editing help. Get creative and use your network to source help. Sites like Fiverr, work, and freelancer could also be good for leads.

• • Try creating templates for things like scripts, thumbnails, and even your set.

• • Set a small area in your house aside for filming so that you have a set ready whenever the mood for filming strikes.

• Do repetitive tasks all on one day–like filming on one day and thumbnail creation the next. This can help keep you focused on one task at a time.

• • Write down what shots you need and all of the other assets (for promotion, social media, etc. before you start filming.

• Consider video titles, metadata, and thumbnails before the shoot.

Beyond ads, common ways to earn money include brand deals (Fame bit is a good place to start), sponsorships or crowdfunding, Super Chat, and merchandise. You don’t need to adopt them all-you-can decide which suit your channel best. Try using a template for some of your thumbnails and see how much time that saves.

Electronic dance music is one of the largest and fastest-growing music genres on YouTube. Whether you are a label, a DJ or an event producer, YouTube a great place for you to release original content and engage with your fans.

Design an identity for music

Getting started on YouTube with a channel that’s consistent with your brand can help promote your music. You can upload new original track, new release announcements, event videos and more. Try out some of these customizations on your channel:

• • Channel icon: Choose a bright, high-contrast image that reflects your brand and can be recognized in smaller formats like mobile phones.

• • Channel banner: Consider creating banner art that’s formatted for all devices and includes the name of the label, DJ or artist, and promotes upcoming events. Here’s how.

• • Welcome video: You can add a trailer video to feature your most recent track, or create an original promotional video.

• • Thumbnails: Try creating high definition custom thumbnails that work with each video’s title and content. It’s a good idea to keep the fonts and colors in your thumbnails consistent with your channel branding.

• • Channel sections: These allow you to organize music videos into themed sections for easy navigation and listening.

• Featured channels: This section can be used to promote other channels from your label or related artists.

Electronic music fans tend to be dedicated listeners that want to come back to their favorite channels often. Some EDM channels have found success by releasing new content and original track mixes often so fans have a reason to come back for more.

• • Publish regularly: Try uploading fresh content to your channel on a regular basis and remember to communicate this schedule to the audience.

• Upload multiple tracks: If listeners come back to the same tracks again and again, consider making multiple versions of your most popular tracks to extend viewers’ watch sessions.

Consider producing original content that showcases the talent and the music in a unique way:

• • One-of-a-kind tracks: Give your fans something to discover by releasing tracks and cuts to the channel that they can’t find anywhere else.

• • Tour footage: Bring your fans on the road by publishing original tour footage.

• • Artist content: Let your audience get to know the artist and hear directly from them by producing vlog-style content.

• • Studio sessions: Showcase the creative process to give fans a view of the raw experience.

• Track creation: Show your audience how their favorite tracks are created. By watching your exclusive content they’ll learn tips directly from the talent.

Try using your top tracks to generate interest in upcoming releases and events. Consider creating a teaser, allowing certain viewers to have a first listen, or making sampler videos to build anticipation.

• • Leverage top tracks: On average, electronic music tracks have a very high view durations over long periods of time. Try using your most in-demand tracks to promote upcoming events and new releases with cards.

• Produce promotional videos: Generate interest in upcoming events and releases by creating original marketing content like:
  • • Teasers published immediately after the album or track is announced to capitalize on organic search traffic.
  • • Lining up releases around upcoming events and festivals.
  • • Samplers give fans a taste of new albums.
  • First listens let diehard fans hear your music first on your channel for a limited time.

• • Get prepared: Live broadcasts may take more preparation than your typical video. Make sure you test all the technical components well in advance of your live event. For more information about setting up live events, click here.

• • Let your fans know what’s coming: Live events may require a lot more promotion than a music video because you’ll want fans to tune in at a certain time. Creators have found success in asking their viewers to tune in with calls to action or social media posts on the days leading up to the event. Also, on the day off, consider reminding fans when the live event will begin. A dedicated channel trailer about the live event could also be a useful promotional tool.

• • Pay attention to live comments: Interacting with fans in real-time can be an excellent way to engage with your audience. It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on the comment stream during your live event and consider slotting in time to answer their questions or address fans.

• Use timestamps: Help viewers navigate long-running content by including timestamp links in the description field. Simply add ‘#t=1m50s’ to the end of a video URL.

• • Plan it out: Look at the next three months in your calendar to determine how much time you can commit to producing videos and uploading them to your channel. Remember to account for shooting, editing, and promotion.

• Check your calendar for upcoming releases, festivals, and other events you can use to plan content around the way in advance.

Your video metadata:

• • Titles: A majority of traffic comes from searches on artists and song titles, so you might ensure these key terms are at the beginning of each videos’ title. Try to use specific, descriptive terms such as remix, acapella and live closer to the end of the title to set listener’s expectations. And be sure your titles accurately represent your video content.

• • Descriptions: Some creators have found success by including artists’ names and song titles in the first few lines of their descriptions. Consider putting in links below the fold to drive subscriptions and music purchases. If you are promoting around an event, consider including that information too. Also, your fans might appreciate album details and song lyrics.

• Uploads: Select music as a video category on upload, and fill out the metadata fields when enabling ContentID.

Playlists drive huge amounts of views and watch time in electronic music. Consider curating your fans’ sessions by organizing your videos into playlists that encourage them to keep watching.

• • Create themed playlists: Playlists drive huge amounts of views and watch time in EDM. Try making specific playlists around DJs, artist picks, albums or events to extend viewers’ watch sessions. Think editorially by keeping these up to date and designing new playlists around specific events.

• • Include other channels in your mix: Build playlists that include videos from other channels.

• Push engagement: Link to your playlists in cards, calls to action and descriptions in order to drive viewers into playlist viewing mode.

They curate genre-specific playlists featuring content from other channels and update them regularly. Their playlists frequently generate up to 15% of channel traffic.

• • Clip videos: Repackage live event and uncut footage into an artist, DJ and track videos. Consider creating videos around special moments that your fans can share.

• • Revisit metadata regularly: It can be useful to re-title and update the video description with specific searchable terms to increase channel discovery.

• Include navigational cards: Adding cards can help viewers navigate to related content (such as other tracks by the same DJ) and then easily return to the original long-form event.

• • Listen to your fans: Include shoutouts in your videos, and respond to their comments.

• • Include content they contribute to: Create videos based on fan requests or featuring them.

• • Switch up your programming: Produce videos in various formats, or offer interactive opportunities, to help set audience expectations. Your fans expect more than music; exclusive content like artist Q&As and Google+ Hangouts can be an effective way to bring audiences back for more.

• Pre-release on YouTube: Consider giving your channel’s audience the chance to listen to your latest release first.

Partnerships can contribute to music discovery on YouTube. Try cross-promoting your videos by reaching out to other artists and collaborating on tracks or YouTube-specific events to raise your channel’s profile and attract new audiences.

• • Collaboration: Original collaborations with other artists on your YouTube channel can draw in new listeners. Ensure that the other artists push traffic to the collaboration video through things like cards and social engagement.

• • Guest playlists: Inviting DJs and other artists to curate playlists for your channel is another strategy for collaboration. If you manage multiple channels, consider creating playlists that cross-promote them.

• Featured channels: Consider using the “Featured Channels” section to highlight favorite channels and promote artists who work with you.

• • Social media as a marketing tool: Identify where your fans are engaged elsewhere online, and try tapping into these platforms to guide viewers to your channel.

• • External sites: Work with music websites, blogs, and tastemakers to showcase your channel. You could also cross-promote these sites on your channel.

• Leverage talent: DJs and artists typically have large online followings. Consider cross-promoting with others to help bring your music to a new audience.

Tiësto promotes his YouTube series, “In The Booth,” on his official blog, and across Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. He uses tracking links to monitor fans’ engagement with his channel across the web.

Your channel is a direct line to people that you know are fans. It’s okay to ask them to buy from you. Make use of strong calls to action to promote merch and music sales.

• • Cards: Cards can support your merchandise, download, and ticket sales. Here’s how.

• • Promotional videos: Try recording a video to tease out new tracks and albums. Remember to include when and where fans can find the full version in your video description.

• Descriptions: Include links in your the video descriptions that let fans know where to buy your songs, tickets, and swag.

Be mindful of driving viewers off-site and decreasing the channel watch-time.

Start a music channel by asking your viewers what their favorite bands are and create playlists based oof their answers, challenge your audience to create their own music videos and share them with you, and record live performances and interview fans in attendance. Repetitively placing a new element, like a song, at the end of each video is a great way to keep viewers interested all the way to the end.

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