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Something I need to get off my back

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PaladinCecil79:
I have something I need to bring up that's been bothering me for a time. It relates to YouTube videos.
What I'm about to say is going to surprise some of you and there probably isn't a lot of truth to it if any.
But it is an expression of what it has felt like for me over the past several years.
Before I go any farther, I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to sound selfish or come off as a prima dona, nor am I asking anyone to feel sorry for me.
This is just something that has sometimes bothered me and I need to get it off my back.

I've noticed that videos from Kumoricon on YouTube in recent years have rarely garnered a lot of views and I feel that I might be single-handedly responsible. Like I said before, there's very likely no truth to this, as these words are an expression of what it has felt like to me during the time.
I started recording and posting clips at anime conventions since 2007 and at that time, Kumoricon didn't get as many voice actor guests. The majority of the clips I posted that year and the next two were from fan panels and gatherings. I was hoping that they'd get a lot of hits, but they were never among the most popular and usually had a much smaller view count in comparison to others.
I felt that it was because most people who were looking for videos weren't involved with those panels.
I can understand people not wanting to watch every con video they find, because looking at them all would be time-consuming and I know that clips that might be to one person's interest might not be to another. And I admit that I don't watch all the ones that get posted either.
But the reason why I've felt disappointed over the lack of feedback from mine is because con aftermath is a depressing thing to all of us, but if you're someone who posts a ton of clips, it's much easier if people frequently watch and/or comment on them. Whenever I tape a lot of stuff and when the con ends, it's hard not to be excited over sharing the footage when you know you got some good material, only to find out that most of them don't even get 100 hits.
It's also because of the way the results occurred.

For the first couple years, even though most what I posted wasn't that popular, I still got a few comments early on.
After Kumoricon '09, the set I had was pretty much the same, and although I didn't expect to see a large number of hits again, I still felt that I'd initially receive a few comments like before.
But I got next-to-none and the view counts were much smaller as well. Because of that, I felt that people searching for videos were getting annoyed and fed up with me posting so many from panels they didn't attend.
Then the next year, Kumoricon started to get more voice actor guests and that year, I had gotten a lot of content from the VA panels, which had good turn-outs with some popular names.
But when I posted them, the results were still the same.
It felt like people noticed they were put up, only to see the name PaladinCecil and think something like, "Oh, they're from the guy that posts stuff from panels we never attend. Screw this."
At first, I felt the lack of hits came because I couldn't upload them until a while after the con ended, and that was also the case for most of the ones I put up for the next two years.
But in '13, I had gotten what I felt was a treasure trove of amazing content and that time, was able to post it early and often.
But despite much of it being from popular voice actors, which included most of Todd Haberkorn's VA On VA panel (which had a huge turn-out and a lively audience), practically no one watched.
I couldn't believe it, because there were so many clips like these from other people at different conventions that got tons of hits and I couldn't understand why these would be an exception.
I didn't attend Kumoricon the next two years and when I looked for footage from both of them, I noticed that the view counts overall were a lot smaller than before and when I came last year and posted the stuff I recorded, many of the results, along with mine were still the same.
Because of the smaller number of overall hits Kumoricon videos have received the past few years compared to before, I just feel responsible for it because of the large number that I had that seemingly no one wanted to watch.

For those who search YouTube each year for stuff from the convention or used to, has there been any moments where you felt annoyed over the number that I had?
If that's been the case for even a few people, I wanted to mention that I've never tried to bother anyone with the amount I post. I just do it because I like to record a lot when I'm at anime conventions and I like to find stuff that I feel would be worth sharing.
And if there really are others fed up with the amount of footage from fan panels they didn't attend to the point where they didn't even want to bother with my VA clips, just because they were from me, you shouldn't let the name of the poster bother you if it's something of your interest.
If the fan panels I've been to or held aren't ones to your liking, but you're a fan of the voice actor guests I've shared, you should be excited to watch and comment on them anyway, regardless of who uploaded them.

I hope none of this came off as selfish and I apologize if any of it sounded that way.
If anyone reading this feels there's no truth to what I've said, I understand. And I agree that there's a lot more to life than having popular videos on your YouTube channel.
But the reason why the lack of views has affected me is because of the way it's happened. When your clips don't get a lot of comments regardless of the content, I know that it's not good to think you're being intentionally neglected, but because of what I've been through, it's been hard for me not to sometimes suspect it.
And I won't deny that I've been experienced quite a bit of this at other cons. It's been common with Sakura Con, Aki Con and SacAnime, but at those conventions, I've had a number of them that were popular as well, so the overall results were more mixed.
But with Kumoricon, it's been rare and I find it odd.

Tsukinya:
Firstly, social media is a fickle beast.  The one thing I've learned: NEVER value yourself by likes/comments/views.  You can have the most amazing content on the planet, but if people don't see it, or if it just doesn't resonate with them for whatever reason, you won't see the reactions you expect.  It is also nearly impossible to gauge what people will like.


I have found, more often than not, the problem is more with the former.  For me, personally, I never search for con videos directly on YouTube.  I don't know these videos even exist.  My suggestion: post them to the Facebook group.  This is where most people are the most active, and I'd imagine you'd get far more activity by putting your content in front of people.  Each con is different.  Even these forums are nearly dead.  Go to them, and you'll have more success.


Another thing: I hate to say it, but most people are selfish (not always in a bad way).  Especially with videos from a convention, the thing people generally want to see most is themselves (I'm generalizing; don't hate me :D).  So film lots of attendees, and you'll get shares with, "@Susie!  That's us at 1:14!"  Fun moments from panels are great, but a lot of your target audience experienced it in person.


Finally, I'm nearly certain I speak for everyone when I say no one will ever complain about your posting too much on YouTube (possibly on Facebook - only because it's so visible.. so just be careful ;)).  And I can pretty much guarantee no one will look at a username and immediately discredit your videos (unless you're specifically known for posting bad content - which, given the low views you report, it doesn't sound like you're known at all, good or bad).


I completely sympathize with your frustration, as I'm also a media artist (photographer).  I frequently post images I absolutely love, and I get nothing.  Then I post something somewhat subpar that ends up getting a lot of attention.  It's so difficult reading people.  And it's a lot of work trying to be successful in that kind of field.  You can't control how others will react.  What you can control is making sure you have the best content possible (put yourself in their shoes; would you want to seek it out and watch it?) and making yourself as visible as possible.  Sometimes the latter is more important than the former.  Visibility gets viewers; quality keeps viewers.  You can't keep what you don't get.


Sorry for the long-winded response... I hope it's somewhat helpful :)  TL;DR: low views on YouTube is probably mostly an issue with visibility

Sailor-Jeimi:
That's just youtube....That's completely normal. In general, unless you are extremely well known and popular, views will fluctuate GREATLY! One reason you're views may not be going up is due to where you post them. Youtube is the obvious answer here, but you need to SHARE your video. You need to have business cards to hand out with your youtube channel on it, you need to promote your channel at any good chance you get. Otherwise, you're counting on nothing more than someone searching the con name looking for some videos. That will get you basically nowhere.


What are your titles and tags like? Are your titles using phrases people are searching for? Is a todd panel video titled "todd haberkorn panel" or is it titled "Kumoricon 2017 Tood Haberkorn Panel" (using this year as an example). Most people will be searching specifically "Kumoricon 2017" in the search bar.


What about your tags on your videos? Are you even using them at ALL? If not, USE THEM! That is what will get your video seen. use phrases in your tags. For the example above you could easily put things like:
kumoricon, Kumo, Kumoricon 2017, Kumoricon2017, todd haberkorn, panel, cosplay, cosplaying, con, anime, anime con, voice actor..
So many more..Even things like the title of the video. or "todd haberkorn panel" in the TAGS and that will help.


What about sharing? There's a share buton for a reason. It's not just for the viewers to use. Use that yourself. Share your videos on twitter and facebook. Kumoricon videos? Share them in the Kumoricon facebook page and here in the proper sections. If you know people's twitter handles or facebook handles that show up in the video, tag them in the shares. Twitter has a tagging section that doesn't take up the character limit, and facebook doesn't really HAVE a limit, so you can tag everyone in the post. That will get those peoples attention to see it, and gives them a chance to share it as well. If they have a large following, that will REALLY help.


What about the videos themselves? Are they engaging and fun to watch? I'm talking about the non panel ones. Panels are self explanatory on what you're gonna see, but things like vlogs you need to have a story there. Be on camera and actively talk to your audience. Show off things you bought in them, or better yet, show buying the item, them later show opening it if you open your merch at con. Also if you speak, or have others speak, make it exciting. Don't record a boring conversation when you guys are eating. No one cares. Record when you guys see that awesome cosplay you're fanning over, instead. Get some shots of the different areas like merch hall, atist alley, and the con space in general. Using slow-motion correctly will help look a lot more cinematic, and adding a time lapse in a video could really show a good time pass. Like, what I'm gonna do is put up a sign that says Wave To YouTube!" and time lapse it, then slow it down whenever someone waves. It's more interesting and it's like they are engaging my audience. I also film CMVs. My first ones were not well received as I was not that good. But I've gotten a LOT better, and now even my Anime PDX2 CMVs have way more views than how many people I thought even attended since it was so tiny. So think about what content you're even making and if it's something that if someone else filmed, would you watch it? If not, then you should be finding out how to improve.


So, what about the quality? Do you film in 1080p? You should be. Most phones record at that, and some even better quality. My iPhone 7 records in 4K, but my cameras top out at 1080p30FPS but also do 720p60FPS, so I use that now, since the 60FPS makes up for the 30FPS at 1080p. I don't know what camera you use, so idk what else to say here. But even a normal point and shoot camera will be fine for just vlogs.


From what I'm getting by reading your post, you don't post that often. And maybe at complete random. That's also not good. Myself, I try for at least 2 videos a week. Every Wed and Sat. If not I put out a video explaining why I'm gonna miss my schedule. But I'm pretty good at getting them out on schedule. If you ONLY post videos when you go to cons, then I would just stop worrying completely about the channel, and just post them for the memories. If you only go to a few cons a year, you'll never have enough content for people to stay long term. Eventually youtube will see they aren't watching your videos (because you aren't posting them to be watched for long time periods), and it will automatically stop showing up in their subscriptions. It makes it look like they aren't interested in your channel because since you aren't putting videos out, they have nothing to click on and watch, so youtube thinks you aren't interested and will stop your videos from appearing in their feed.


You need to stop worrying about the counts (views/subs/etc.) in general too, because that will only keep you down. I don't care what people think of my videos. I post them anyway.


I know that was also a lot, but it's all true. If you need any more advice or help, feel free to ask me.

PaladinCecil79:
Tsukinya: Thanks for the advice. I relate to a lot of what you're saying. In recent years, I've posted a lot of my videos in Facebook groups relating to certain voice actors, and while it did give them a little more exposure, the overall results weren't much different. It also didn't help that people who responded usually gave a like, but rarely commented. I'll continue to do it, because I know it's still something, and I'll start sharing them on the Kumoricon Facebook page as well.

I especially relate to what you said about something subpar getting a lot of attention. When you post stuff that people usually don't react to, that is the most frustrating thing that can happen and I've had a few of those experiences. The one that burned the most was from a music improv panel Johnny Yong Bosch did with Eyeshine, where he'd improvise different kinds of anime songs that people would request. I posted a ton of videos from it, with the second one being of him just doing a Lelouch laugh. After I posted it, people were watching it like there was no tomorrow, and although I quickly posted several other clips from the same panel that were far superior, none of them got half as much attention, even after I removed the former clip. It just shows how there are way too many people in the anime fandom who tend to over-obsess. I can understand it being appealing, but if his fans can enjoy a video of him doing a brief in-character moment, why can't they have the same excitement and appreciation over videos where he's doing something original and creative?

Sailor-Jenni: Thanks for the advice.
Some of what you suggested are things that I do, but I'll keep the other suggestions in mind.
Whenever I post videos, I always give the necessary tags. If it's of a Todd Haberkorn video, I'll tag his name, along with the name of the convention and the character or anime that's being discussed in the clip.
Regarding how often I post videos, I usually do them after conventions because those are the majority of my content. I agree that uploading stuff more frequently would definitely not hurt and I should come up with different ideas.
The content that I record at cons isn't always of voice actors. Along with fan panels, I also sometimes tape footage from cosplay gatherings and most of my content is from events that many people were at.
But I'll definitely work on looking for more places to share them, including Twitter.

Sailor-Jeimi:
Sorry, but to start, you spelled my name wrong..Just thought I'd point that out. Then again, This is such an old name..I don't even use it anymore lol I now go by the name on my YouTube channel that I sent in the reply to your PM. Jei Cos (Or just Jei, which is pronounced like he letter J).


Anyway back on topic. Since you do use the correct tags (or at least, you said so, I didn't look so....) that is certainly a good thing. But you can also make them semi related. Like cosplay, cosplaying, cosplayer or vlog, vlogging, or something like those because their still related in certain ways. Again, Idk what tags you put on what videos so you very well COULD already be doing that too..lol


The reason that channels who post only videos at conventions will get attention is because they go to TONS of them. Like one every other month, sometimes one a month for a while. Like easily hitting 6-8 cons a year. That means they have more than enough content to post semi regularly. Honestly though, I can only think of one such channel. Convention Reviews. The guy who runs it (Cody), goes to that many cons. He uses the highest quality cameras he can get (He use to do 720p60FPS, but now does 1080p60FPS), which DRASTICALLY changes how many people will want to watch his videos. But he also personally engages with his audience. He does cosplay music videos, but that's only one type of video. NO ONE on YouTube will get anywhere filming shaky, handheld, point and shoot footage that isn't at the quality that people are watching (as in older point and shoots that only say HD, but only really go to 720p30FPS, which is the quality where people stop watching because it's not the norm). I don't know if that's what your videos look like, I'm just making a generalization, but it's a true one.


Basically think about it this way: If your videos don't have anything worth watching, who can you expect to watch them? If people aren't watching your videos, then that means you need to change something. If I could see your videos (which I can't since you have yet to post a link to your channel), maybe I could see what might be causeing this issue.


But like i mentioned above, you can't JUST record a few things at a con. Look at literally every channel that's actually popular that does this stuff. They also do what I do. Tips&tricks, tutorials, reviews of the con, merch unboxings, and topic videos that are related to the con. All of these videos are usually done at home, with the camera on you. Meaning yuou'll need good equipment, but still.


Heard the phrase it takes money to make money? Or you need to spend money to make money? Same here. You need to get the equipment to be professional at it if you want those views.

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