Without YouTube, the world of videos would not be what it is today. The possibilities that YouTube videos have brought for content creators are virtually endless. But they are equally overwhelming. So, how do you catch the eye when there’s a sea of video content waiting to be explored?

Creating excellent content isn’t enough unless you focus on branding. And an essential part of branding is to add watermark to video — think of it as labeling your YouTube videos.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics of a watermark, why do you need it for your videos, how to create watermark for YouTube videos, and some tips to get you going.

What is a Watermark?

A watermark is an image that sits on top of your video. While its size depends on your preferences, typically, it’s aligned in the bottom-right corner of the video to give it a clean look as you brand it. It could be a logo, text, website URL, or any other custom image you may want to brand your videos professionally.

Again, based on the user’s preferences, a video watermark can be transparent or opaque. Although, many video content creators prefer it to be transparent enough that it doesn’t get in the way of their content.

Why Do You Need a Watermark for Your YouTube Videos?

The world of YouTube has become more chaotic than ever. To make your YouTube videos stand out, here are a few reasons how adding a watermark may help:

• To make your videos professional: Using watermarks, you can add a professional touch to your YouTube videos. By labeling them, you show your audience you care enough to create amazing content that you’re proud to claim. Plus, it gives your videos a consistent look that adds to the professionalism.
• To improve brand recall: A video watermark can be a visual face of your brand. Whether it contains a logo or simply your brand’s name, a watermark boosts your channel’s branding. Together with stunning YouTube channel art and custom thumbnails, a watermark delivers an incredible brand experience.
• To increase your subscriber base: Anyone owning a YouTube channel would know the struggles involved in growing it. The good news is you can increase your subscriber base with a video watermark! When viewers hover or click on the watermark, they’ll find a link to subscribe to your channel. Plus, by conveying your channel’s originality, a watermark helps build trust and credibility among the viewers – which is another terrific way to boost your subs.
• To protect your content: A common concern that comes with creating YouTube videos is ripping. If you don’t want someone else to steal your video content, use a watermark to protect it. While watermarking doesn’t entirely avoid video theft protection, it can help locate the source.

How to Create a Custom Watermark

Creating a professional-looking watermark for your YouTube videos is easy with Wave.video. Follow the steps mentioned below and learn how to create watermark for YouTube videos:

Step 1: Sign up or log in

If you haven’t already, then sign up for a Wave.video account and log in.

Step 2: Click “+ New Video”

After logging in, click the “+ New Video” tab on the top-right. Upload footage, pick a template, or choose an image from the stock library. You can also select the “Blank video” option from the drop-down.

Step 3 – Choose 1:1 format

Next, from the format choices available, pick the “Square” or 1:1 option.

Step 4 – Add video, image, or pick a color

From the options you see on the screen, add video or image. Alternatively, pick a background color.

Step 5 – Add logo and CTA

Inside the video editor, click on the “Add logo” tab to upload your brand’s logo. And edit the CTA to add a custom one into your watermark.

Step 6 – Edit the watermark

Add stunning elements to your watermark, or choose a layout to polish it.

Step 7 – Publish and download

Once your watermark is all ready, hit the “Publish” button and select “Current frame as image”.

Step 8 – Download

Lastly, select your chosen watermark format from JPG, PNG, or GIF options. For best results, we recommend using the PNG format and checking the “Transparent background” option. Once selected, hit the “Generate” tab and then “Download”.

Adding Watermark in the Editing Process

After learning how to create watermark for YouTube, it’s now time to go through the process of adding it. Here’s how to add watermark to video using Wave.video.

Step 1 – Log in and start a New Video

Log into your Wave.video account and hit “+ New Video” to get started. You can upload your video or pick a template. There’s also a massive stock library to help you out with your selection of images and video footage. And you can always start from scratch by hitting the blank video tab.

Step 2 – Edit your video

Inside the video editor, edit your video. Resize, change templates, add stickers or overlays and do a lot more to jazz up your creation.

Step 3 – Upload the watermark

Once your video is all set, click the “Watermarks” tab on the left-side toolbar.

Choose “Logo” on the right and upload your watermark.

Step 4 – Add the watermark to video

After uploading the watermark, click on it to add it to the video. You can add multiple watermarks to your video and delete a watermark by clicking the delete icon at the top of the watermark.

Step 5 – Adjust the watermark

Now, adjust the watermark by resizing it or changing its position. You can also change the start time, end time, and opacity of the watermark by using the settings on the right.

Step 6 – Publish and render your video

Preview your video and once it’s ready, hit the “Publish” tab to render and download it. You can also get a Whitelabel link to the video and share it with your clients.

Adding Watermark to Published YouTube Videos

An engaging, on-brand watermark helps your YouTube videos to stand out. But if you forget to add watermark during the editing process or if you want to keep a consistent watermark for all your YouTube videos, there’s a solution. And, it works great if you don’t want to add a watermark to every new video at all. You may have guessed it already – we’re referring to YouTube Branding.

Create your watermark in Wave.video and then head over to your YouTube Studio to add a custom watermark to every video on your YouTube channel – in just a few clicks.

Here’s how to do that:

Step 1 – Enter your YouTube Studio and click “Customisation”

Enter your YouTube Studio and click “Customisation” on the left. Then, click the “Branding” tab.

Step 2 – Upload the watermark

Under the “Video watermark” section, click “UPLOAD” and choose the image you want to add as a watermark.

Step 3 – Edit the Display time

Once uploaded, select the display time from the options available: end of video, custom start time, and entire video.

That’s it! Adding a watermark to published YouTube videos is that easy.

And, hey, whenever you want to change your watermark, you need to update the Branding settings, and all the videos on your channel will have the new watermark without added effort.

Tips on Adding Watermark to YouTube Videos

1. Follow the constraints while designing

With more freedom to keep their creative juices flowing, brands tend to experiment a bit too much while creating a watermark. As a result, technical constraints are often back-burnered.

If you want to create a winning watermark, make sure it complies with YouTube’s guidelines. Use an image that’s at least 150 x 150 pixels and under 1 MB in size. The format should be JPEG, PNG, GIF (no animations), or BMP.

2. Don’t be too playful with colors

Always remember that less is more when it comes to colors in your YouTube video watermark. Too many colors on the watermark can obstruct your messaging and may divert the focus from your video. So, keep it subtle with a maximum of three colors.

For inspiration, check how interesting the Impact Theory watermark looks on this video by Tom Bilyeu.

3. Focus on clarity

Once you’ve uploaded your YouTube watermark, play one of your videos to see the final look. Remember, the watermark must be clear to bring in subscribers. After all, nobody will hit that subscribe button on the watermark if it’s hardly noticeable.

4. Square and transparent is a magical combo

Stick to an aspect ratio of 1:1 to ensure that your YouTube video watermark is a perfect square. However, it doesn’t need to look like a square always.

From text-only watermarks to circular and artistic-style logos, you can be creative. The key is to keep the background fully transparent so that it merges well with the video.

5. Keep it rightly aligned

When you’re adding your watermark to a video during the editing process, align it right. Ensure that it doesn’t conflict with other on-screen elements like your subjects’ faces, important text, product images, overlays, etc.

Check out how Evan Edinger keeps the watermark out of the way in his videos.

6. Too many cooks spoil the broth

Don’t try to influence the quality of your video with too many watermarks. For example, using a different watermark for different scenes or using multiple watermarks on a single scene will make the final video appear too busy. Instead, cut the chaos and use a maximum of two watermarks in a video.

See how The Daily Show with Trevor Noah uses two watermarks in this video, but that doesn’t overpower the footage in any way. Both the watermarks are neatly aligned and aren’t cluttering the screen.

7. Add more than just a logo

While you can easily create a watermark using just your YouTube avatar or your brand’s logo, we recommend adding something “extra”. A CTA as simple as “Subscribe” or just your brand’s tagline can make a winning watermark.

8. Keep tabs on performance

YouTube is a place for discovery, and with its various elements, it can help your video content reach your target audience. So, while you’re tracking the performance of your key YouTube metrics, don’t forget the watermark stats to see how many clicks your hard work fetched you.

It’s Time to Add Watermark to Video!

With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is one digital platform you must not ignore.

Now that you’ve learned how to create watermark for YouTube videos, use custom watermarks to grow your subscribers and separate your brand from the competition.