Accessing YouTube through Google+ has caused a good deal of confusion for businesses and individuals recently, particularly when it comes to transferring existing content and connecting it all together.
Since last September you can only access full web site privileges on YouTube if you sign in with your Google+ account. The changes to this popular platform do at least come with some new benefits – links can now be posted into the comments section and YouTube have finally allowed the use of hashtags which other social networks have been incorporating for a while.
Accessing YouTube through Google+
Allows you to create multiple channels on the video site (up to 50) and link them back to your Google+ account. While Google’s recent policy changes and their drive to push people to use their accounts exclusively has got many hot under the collar, there’s no doubt that the platform provides a wide range of possibilities for businesses trying to spread their brand and engage with fans.
You simply have to put in the time and energy to set it up properly.
Opening a new account
If you are just starting on YouTube, you don’t have much to worry about. When you sign in with your Google+ account then you will find your channel there waiting for you, all you need to need to do is rename it for your business.
If your YouTube account is not connected to Google+ check out this video to find out how to do it.
You have an old YouTube account or different log-ins
This is where it starts to get tricky. There is currently no way to link your Google+ account to an old style YouTube channel with say a yahoo log-in address. Neither can you connect to a YouTube account that has a different log in. This means you may have to consider starting over or take the chance of Google back tracking on its current policy.
They are looking to phase out old, non-Google accounts over time although users are currently petitioning the company not to do so.
Linking to your Google+ page
If you want to link to your Google+ business page rather than the personal profile, you need to unlink YouTube from one and then add it to the other. This is a complicated process especially for those who don’t have great pc skills and this video from Vertical Rail explains it better than most.
Changing your YouTube URL
Your new YouTube channel also comes with a rather unmemorable URL consisting of numbers and digits. You will need to change this to a name, either of your business or something more personal. This is a simple enough process and is explained in the Google support pages.
Accessing YouTube through Google+ is still a work in progress and they certainly haven’t made it easy for users, particularly businesses who depend on it to get their message across and build a meaningful fan base. It may well yet become the powerful marketing tool that businesses, both large and small, hope for but, in the meantime, users will have to work with the current system, however confusing it may be.
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