YouTube’s announcement last month that it was defaulting all creators to Studio Beta was met with an overall mixed response. In the announcement video from Creator Insider (below), Tom Leung (YouTube’s Director of Product Management) confirmed that YouTube would be continuing to update Studio Beta, but creators have not been shy to share their opinions in the meantime.
To view the announcement jump to (1:01) in the video below, and to see the comments click through to the Watch Page on YouTube.
Touchstorm, our in-house YouTube specialty agency, manages channels for some of the largest brands in the world, and therefore uses Studio Beta on a daily basis. So we asked our specialists to weigh in on exactly what they like, and what they would like to see improved in Studio Beta.
What We Like
Data is Available Sooner in Studio Beta.
While Creator Studio Classic typically takes two-to-three days to report data, Studio Beta has a one-day lag (at most) and is often up-to-the-minute.
Finally! Studio Beta Provides Impression Data.
With impressions data, creators can better understand their potential reach on YouTube. Studio Beta now reveals the number of times a channel’s video thumbnails were shown (thumbnail impressions), and how often these thumbnail impressions turn into views and watch time (impressions click-through rate). With this information, channel managers can make smarter decisions and adapt thumbnail strategies as needed.
Studio Beta’s Custom Filters.
The Custom Filters available in Studio Beta are ideal for channel owners with a long library of videos. Channel managers can now filter through their library by searching for specific keywords or by setting specific view count criteria. We’re all about efficiency, so any feature that increases productivity is a win in our book!
What We Would Improve
YouTube is continually adding new features to Studio Beta, like the recent (and much needed) addition of Comment metrics to Studio Beta Analytics. That said, here are some key features that we are missing and are hoping to see soon.
Creating Analytics Groups Using Video IDs.
The Groups feature allows channel managers to arrange similar pieces of content together in order to perform analyses across multiple videos at once. In Creator Studio Classic, video groups could be created by entering a list of Video IDs. Currently, Studio Beta Analytics does not allow channel managers to create groups using multiple Video IDs, meaning videos must be hand-selected.
Why We Care: It all comes down to efficiency. It’s easier to enter a list of video IDs than it is to scroll through the library and manually select videos.
Playlist and Contained Video Analytics.
In Creator Studio Classic, channel managers have the ability to understand which traffic sources drive views to playlists. It also reveals how videos inside of a playlist contribute to the playlist’s overall success. Channel managers know how many views, starts, exits and the watch time each video generates.
Why We Care: This data allows for optimization of not only playlist discoverability but the playlist’s performance for generating longer session watch times once a user is in a playlist.
Do you agree or disagree? Comment and let us know your thoughts about the current Studio Beta features and what you miss from Creator Studio Classic!