Those of us using social media have to deal with companies ‘improving’ things. Which means we have to redo… well, update work already done on THEIR schedule, not ours. Some of us just get to it when we get to it, shift it back to our schedule.
I procrastinate on some of this stuff because I don’t have what I consider important social media advertising. But, every so often I have to update a client. A recent update for YouTube had me digging out the latest on YouTube Channel Art.
The PITA is all the devices that will try to use the same art, desktop, tablets, phones… and then the TV’s. YouTube is competing in the cord-cutting marketplace. So, all sorts of screen sizes are the bane of those of us making channel art.
The Specs
A couple of years ago I wrote about streaming to YouTube’s Gaming Channel. See: How To Stream Second Life to YouTube Gaming. At the time I wrote the article I was interested streaming to YouTube Gaming. It wasn’t a guide for making channel art. Somehow I didn’t even get the template I made into that article. So…
There are two YouTube Channel Art formats currently in use. The old style and the current/new style. You know which you are using by whether you have an icon (new) that lets you edit the channel art or hover your cursor over the art (old) to get an edit option. But, the point of Channel Art is to promote your channel to OTHERS. What format are members of your audience using? We can’t know. So, make a choice. I recommend ‘new’ and that is what I’m writing about.
YouTube recommends using a 2560 x 1440 px image. The minimum size is 2048 x 1152 px. Within the image, the minimum safe text area is 1546 x 423 px. The maximum files size is 4MB.
This image is a template I use to make YouTube channel art. It shows the safe area, the area that will display on all devices, as 423px high. My testing shows it is currently about 320px high, in some cases. I haven’t figured out what makes it smaller or larger. I have art in a couple of places that displays as 320 and 423 high. Both are images that are 2560×1440.
YouTube: No Channel Content
This is a problem that some people have. I’ve run into it. They have uploaded videos to YouTube but their channel is showing no content. WTH!?!
Open your channel and see if you get the message, ‘This channel as no content.’ If so, go to your channel and look for the Customize Channel button. Click it. Now look for a gear icon near the bottom right of your channel art. Click it. Now look for a button labeled Add a section. Click it and add your content. Most of your content will be Video – Uploads.
You have lots of options here. So, you can experiment to get the look you want for your channel.
