Enabling and adding a featured video or playlist to your YouTube channel is 1 way to bolster your online brand by prominently displaying your best, most relevant content to channel visitors. Implementing this built-in function can be easily done in a few clicks. Note: This is different than selecting a video for new and returning YouTube visitors.

Enabling the Featured Video or Playlist for your YouTube Channel

1. When signed in and viewing your YouTube Channel, visit your YouTube Creator Studio, click on Channel in the left sidebar, and then on the Featured Content tab. 

Alternately, you can click on https://www.youtube.com/featured_content

Click on the blue Feature Content button to select one of your videos or playlists to be featured on your YouTube channel.

2. Next, decide if you’d like to feature your most recent video upload or choose a specific video or playlist instead. If you choose “most recent video”, your featured content will always be changing and updating with each new YouTube video upload made to your channel.

If you opt to select a specific video or playlist, you’ll click on the one you want to feature. 

Click Save to continue.

3. Next you’ll be able to add some customization to your Featured Video or Playlist. YouTube mocks up how your featured content will display. You have 2 options for when your Featured Content first displays; you can choose between End of Video and Custom Start Time. If you choose “Custom Start Time”, you need to enter the minute and second you want it to appear. 

Optimized timing means you can decide if you want to let YouTube to determine when your Featured Content appears based on past viewer behavior. You also have the option of adding a custom message.

If at any time, you want to remove the Featured Content, visit this same area and click on the Remove button.

Here’s how the Featured Content looks in action.

Note: You can use this Featured Content functionality at the same time as End Screens. You may not want to, however, if you are using the End Screen Element that allows you to select a playlist or video to recommend to the viewer (as this would be redundant).

*Post updated 10.31.17