Anytime you’re making and posting videos online, you need to follow a few simple etiquette rules. These will help keep stay safe on the internet while also helping to endear you to your young viewers and their parents. Reference these four tips before posting your video clips online.

Avoid sharing too many details

Even though you’ll be putting your face all over the internet, it’s still important that you maintain some anonymity for safety reasons. Avoid providing personal details like your last name, address, school name or details about your friends or family. Once your short films are uploaded to the internet, anyone can see them and not everyone who accesses the internet does so for good reasons. The more anonymous you can remain, the better off you’ll be.

Watch your language

It may seem “adult” to use profanity or vulgar language, but inappropriate language could actually hurt your viewership. Lots of parents monitor their children’s internet usage and won’t allow their children to watch shows that feature inappropriate content. Besides, think of the most popular Disney shows – they’re appropriate for viewers of all ages, and their stars often shoot to fame. It’s actually best for young actors to start with a squeaky clean image, so start out your web career the same way.

Carefully select content

Not all video clips need to feature “safe” content on subjects like education, sports or performing, but you do need to make sure that you’re approaching more controversial subjects with care. For instance, if you’re a pre-teen or teen who wants to address bullying at school, do it in a way that is kind and respectful. The internet can feel anonymous because you don’t know who is watching your shows, so it’s easy to say hurtful things without immediately experiencing consequences. Just remember – whoever or whatever you’re talking about will be seen online – even if your viewers don’t agree with you, are you stating your opinions in a manner that’s kind?

Make it quality

The higher quality content you put out into the world, the more likely you will be to gain committed viewers. Avoid posting content with repeated mistakes, flubbed sentences or constant giggling from the actors. You may think that these things make funny videos, but they’re probably only funny to you. To really showcase your talent, you need to offer videos that are mostly error-free. You can always add an “outtakes” section at the end of the web series or show by setting the mistakes to goofy background music.

Article by Laura Williams