You’re stuck at home. You can’t reach any of your customers in-person. You’ve been wracking your brain for ways to virtually connect.
Then it hits you. And it seems so obvious. You’ve got a computer and a webcam. You can start posting YouTube videos and sending them to people.
Clients will appreciate the fact that it’s not just another email. And maybe you can think of clever ways to monetize them.
But wait!
Before you start creating and uploading videos willy-nilly, there’s a big potential issue you should be aware of: posting content that violates YouTube rules.
Why are potential YouTube violations a particularly big deal right now?
Because normally YouTube uses a combination of safeguards to prevent “violative” content. Machine learning to detect possible violations. And human reviewers to decide whether or not something that was flagged is really a violation.
Except that while coronavirus is raging, YouTube (correctly) wants to keep those reviewers safe and isolated. So they are giving their machine learning algorithms much more power.
In short, if you post something that their machine learning system flags as violating policy, it won’t be posted. Even worse, it could earn you “strikes” in the YouTube system.
These strikes can prevent you from posting new content at all. And may even result in your entire channel getting taken down.
Ouch!
Now, naturally, there are ways to appeal these things. However, with a far smaller human workforce right now, there’s no telling how long that might take.
None of this means you shouldn’t post to YouTube right now. Just… be extra careful.
- Read about YouTube’s community guidelines.
- Watch a video about YouTube’s policies and guidelines.
- Learn about Community Guideline strike basics.
Wish there was a place to learn about all of these changes? Good news — you’re reading it! Things are moving fast, but here at the WR Digital Marketing Blog, we’re doing our best to keep you informed on all coronavirus-related small business news. Check back frequently, and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop.
