YouTube Hacks: Features & Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About
The correct YouTube trick might mean the difference between doing work in 15 minutes or all afternoon.
1. Make connections that launch at predetermined times
There are times when it’s vital to cut the introduction or prelude get straight to the point. Use this YouTube hack to share a link to a video that starts at a preset time.
How to execute:
- Tap Share.
- Select the Start checkbox.
- Change the time.
- Copies the link.
Tip: Ideally, set the time a few seconds before the scheduled start time. In this manner, nobody would miss anything.
2. Save the video’s thumbnail image to your computer.
Want to use a YouTube video’s thumbnail in a newsletter or social media post? Avoid taking a low-quality screen capture. You can save the high-resolution thumbnail using this workaround.
How to execute:
- Write down the Video ID. You can find it in the next 11 characters: youtube.com/watch?v=.
- Copy the VideoID and paste it into this location:
img.youtube.com/vi/[VideoID]/default.jpg
- Enter the complete link in your browser. Delete the picture.
- Adding a unique video thumbnail to your videos is as simple as this:
3. Convert a YouTube video into a GIF
Use a GIF instead of an image to improve on it. Social media is quite active with GIFs. They might be utilized to give brand-consistent responses or to advertise your YouTube channel.
How to convert a YouTube video into a GIF
- Launch the movie.
- Before YouTube in the link, insert “gif.” The correct address is: www.gifyoutube.com/[VideoID].
- Make your GIF unique.
4. View the video’s transcript.
Transcripts are automatically generated for each video uploaded to YouTube. This feature not only makes movies easier to access, but it also makes grabbing quotations and copy much simpler.
How to view a YouTube video’s transcript:
- Click the three-dot ellipsis next to Save in the video.
- Choose Open transcript.
If you can’t see it, the transcript was probably hidden by the author. The transcripts may not be perfect because many video creators don’t edit them.
5. Make a customized YouTube URL.
Give your YouTube channel some polish by replacing the forgettable series of letters and numbers with a customized URL.
There are some requirements. Your channel must have at least 100 subscribers, a channel icon, and channel art in order to be able to build a custom slug. Additionally, it must be older than 30 days.
Following your checking off those boxes, follow these steps:
- In the top right corner, click the picture of yourself. Choose Settings.
- Click View advanced settings next to Your YouTube Channel.
- Select the link next to “Channel settings” under there. You are qualified for a unique URL.
- The custom URLs for which you have been authorized are listed in the Get a custom URL box. What appears in the grey box cannot be altered, and you might need to add extra characters to make it distinctive.
- Change the URL after accepting the Custom URL Terms of Use.
6. Pass along a link to auto-subscribe
Are there YouTube buttons or call-to-actions for subscribing on your channels? Most likely, they will connect to your YouTube channel if you do. Although that’s excellent, you can improve on it.
To make a link that displays a subscribe prompt automatically, adhere to these steps:
- Find your own URL or channel ID. You can access it via your channel page at https://www.youtube.com/user/[ChannelID].
- To enter your ID, go to this website: www.youtube.com/user/[ChannelID]?sub confirmation=1.
- For your CTAs to subscribe, use this link.
7. To increase accessibility and SEO, add closed captions to videos.
A bigger audience can access your material thanks to closed captions or subtitles. That includes viewers who are hard of hearing, deaf, or who choose to watch the video without sound. Additionally, this raises your video’s search engine optimization position.
There are two approaches to this. On YouTube, you may either upload a transcript file or generate closed captions or subtitles. We advise the latter option because you may save the file as you go and keep it on hand as a backup in case the movie is unintentionally erased.
Here’s how to make closed captions or subtitles:
- Open YouTube Studio and log in.
- From the left menu, select Subtitles.
- Click the desired file to edit a video.
- Select your language by clicking Add Language.
- Select Add from the subtitles menu.
- As the video is playing, type in your captions.