YouTube links are long and impossible to type from a poster or a slide. A QR code fixes that, letting anyone open your video or channel with a scan. It's a simple way to turn offline attention, on flyers, packaging, slides, or signage, into views and subscribers.
Linking to a Video vs a Channel
Decide what you want the scan to achieve. To promote a specific piece of content, link the individual video. To grow your audience overall, link your channel so scanners can browse and subscribe. You can encode either with a YouTube QR code built from the link.
Creating the Code
Copy the video or channel URL from YouTube, then generate the code. For anything printed or reused, make it a dynamic code so you can repoint it later, for example sending an old flyer's code to your newest video instead of a stale one.
Where to Use YouTube Codes
These codes shine on presentation slides, where typing a link is impossible, as well as on product packaging linking to tutorials, event signage, business cards, and print ads. Anywhere your audience encounters you offline is a chance to pull them into your video content.
App vs Browser Behavior
If the YouTube app is installed, scanning typically opens the video there for the best experience, otherwise it opens in the browser. Either way the viewer reaches your content, and you can encourage subscribing with a clear call to action beside the code.
FAQ
Common questions are answered in the FAQ section below.