Content Partner - Reference Handbook

Welcome to Truli, the Internet's premiere site for Christian content and family programming.

Getting Your Channel Started On Truli
You have signed the content provider agreement and should have been contacted by a Truli support person, who gave you a "User Name" and a unique "Password" to access and manage your online ministry and all of your media. Go to Truli.com and enter the User Name and Password given as if you were registering as a User. The information and description you are about to provide about your organization will appear on your Truli profile page. Your profile is key to connecting Truli users to your content and mission. Here you can share all of your inspirational content.

 
 
Channel Set-Up
First things first... let’s handle the administrative aspect of your Truli Channel Click on "My Account" -> "Edit Channel" located in the upper navigation bar, to establish all your pertinent information.  Enter the appropriate information in the fields provided.
 
  1. Channel Name - Please use your official organization name. No shortened names or abbreviations please.
  2. Channel Description (using either plain text editor or rich text editor ) - Allows you to provide those unfamiliar with your ministry to know something about you. Your profile is key to connecting Truli users to your content and mission, so it's important to be clear and personal. For example, describe your mission, what makes you unique or outstanding. Use statistics and accomplishments of which you are proud to help people get to know your organization and interested in experiencing your ministry.
  3. Logo or Image - Please upload your organizations Logo or Image. Images should be in jpg format and at least 400x400 px.
  4. Language - The Language your content is in. We currently support English, Spanish, and Korean.
  5. Social Links - Please provide the full url to the social networks you are associated with.
  6. Other Links - Please provide up to 3 other links such as your website or blog.
  7. Content Category - Please select that category that is most representative of the type of content you will be uploading.
  8. Donations - If you are interested in receiving donations through Paypal, you must enable the donations button. You will also need to include your Paypal email address in the provided field. Once enabled, a button will appear on your profile page that allows visitors to make donations directly to your Paypal account.
 
NOTE: Be sure to hit the save button at the bottom of the page to review your work.  
 
Visit Channel (My Account -> Visit Channel)
Use this option to see what others will see on your Profile page.  This is a valuable tool to refine the look and feel of your work. Check your page regularly to ensure information is up-to-date and all links are working properly.  You can change this messaging as often as you like, seasonally or to highlight an upcoming series or event(s) at the organization.
 

 

Adding Video and Blog Entries
In this section, of your content management dashboard, you are encouraged to add videos/blog entries for the benefit of your congregation or others across to exhibit worldwide on Truli.  In this section, you upload, define and categorize. Diligence and accuracy are critical to connect people to your content.  Truli’s search algorithm will index what you enter here to provide relevance to users looking for your messages. Please use simple and useful information in your titles and descriptions.  Static organizational titles like “Pastor Bob 12/23/2012” will likely not get any views.  Also, clever titles like “Leash Laws for Unicorns” are funny but don’t provide enough information and context to help viewers discover your content.
The description field is perhaps the most important information you will provide for your media. Be detailed and expressive to attract viewers to your content.  Do not put general ministry information here as the Truli indexing algorithm will misidentify your media, positioning it at the bottom of relevant search results.
 
Add Video (My Account -> Add Video)
  1. Upload File - Upload a video file preferably in mp4 format.
  2. Title - Please be as descriptive as possible.
  3. Description - Please be as descriptive as possible. Remember this helps people discover your content in search.
  4. Custom Thumbnail - Please upload a custom image for your video. Images should be in jpg format and at least 400x400 px. The higher the resolution the better.
  5. Language - The Language your content is in. We currently support English, Spanish, and Korean.
  6. Categories and Tags - Please select that category that is most representative of your video. You can add custom descriptive tags as well.
Manage Videos (My Account -> Manage Videos)
Here you can edit, delete, publish or un-publish your content (video or audio).  Once your media file has been uploaded and saved,  your media file will need to be processed. The status column will reflect "published" when a media file has finished processing.
 
 

 

Add Blog Entry (My Account -> Add Blog Entry)
  1. Title - Please be as descriptive as possible.
  2. Body - Use the rich text editing tools to create and edit your entry or article.
  3. Image - Please upload a custom image that will display at the top of your blog entry. Images should be in jpg format and at least 500x400 px. The higher the resolution the better.
  4. Categories and Tags - Please select that category that is most representative of your entry. You can add custom descriptive tags as well.
 
 
Manage Blog Entries (My Account -> Manage Blog Entries)
Here you can edit, delete, publish or un-publish your content (video or audio).  Once your media file has been uploaded and saved,  your media file will need to be processed. The status column will reflect "published" when a media file has finished processing.
 
 
Please see the section entitled - Tips on Getting More Views to help you with deciding what metadata tags are best for you.
 
Video Source File Specifications
 
Truli recommends the following specifications for all video source files. Adherence to these specifications will result in optimal playback quality and efficient uploading to your Truli VPS account. Please get help from your I.T. department if you are unsure of any of the following technical settings.  Once initially set they will likely never need to be reset.
 
Codecs – Truli encodes all uploaded video through the H.264 codec and therefore recommends that all source video also be encoded to H.264 for best image quality and performance. The following table outlines recommended settings as well as other acceptable codecs.
Interlace - All media should be de-interlaced (also known as “progressive”) before uploading. Interlaced video is primarily used for television and does not display well on computer screens.
Frame Rate - Recommended frame rates are 24 (23.98], 25, or 30 (29.97] frames per second (fps]. Settings that are larger than these recommendations are acceptable but may result in poor user viewing experiences due to high CPU usage.  Avoid frame rates that are below one (1] as this will result in excessive buffering. 
Bitrate - A bitrate of at least 1500 kilobits per second (kbps] is recommended for HD quality.
Aspect Ratio - Virtually any aspect ratio (including 16:9 widescreen and 4:3 standard] is supported. However, Truli will maintain the aspect ratio of the original file and therefore recommends that the desired display ratio be used when preparing files for upload.
Frame Size – Truli recommends that the original file be formatted to a frame size that matches the desired aspect ratio (e.g. 1024 x 576 for 16:9 widescreen or 1024 x 768 for 4:3 standard] and the desired display size when the video is embedded. For videos that are intended to be displayed in full screen a minimum width of 1024 is recommended. 
Pixels - Original media files should be formatted using isomorphic (square] pixels. Media that is encoded using anamorphic (rectangular] pixels will display distorted. 
Keyframes – Truli recommends that keyframes be set at least every six seconds. More frequent keyframes optimize the use of the Search Inside technology. However, in most cases you can set this to ‘Automatic’ in your encoding software.
 
 
Tips on Getting More Views
 
There are some simple ways to get your media files to the top position in search results, views, favorites and stars.  Earning high marks in these areas leads to more discussions, Tweets and the sharing of your message.
 
It’s all about RELEVANCY!  The more relevant the subject of your message actually is to the title, description and topics & tags, the more likely the viewer will find and give the clips a high-star rating, share with friends and make comments.
 
Each clip is limited to four (4) pre-defined topic tags, so please be as specific as possible in defining the topic.  Please suggest to us other topics to add, if necessary.
 
Although you may add almost an unlimited amount of keywords and phrases, it is best to keep these search terms as concise and relevant as possible.  The more tangent and off-topic your keywords are, the more likely your clip could receive a negative comment by an unfulfilled seeker that found your clip off-topic.
 
The Truli search algorithm searches for keywords and phrases in a weighted query giving higher list returns for the term appearing in (priority order):
  • Bible Passage Reference
  • Title
  • User Comments
  • Description
  • Predefined Topic
  • Keywords & Phrases
 

SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Part 1: Engaging SEO-friendly video titles
Views of your video content truly depends on its title. You can create the most engaging video in the world on any given topic, but if your title isn’t SEO optimized hardly anyone will ever discover it.

1. Use your target keyword in the title (but only one) and include other descriptive information that a viewer may search for.

The thing is, many keywords just don’t sound like anything an actual human being would write or say. So it can be a little difficult to work them into a video title naturally! 

Research shorter keywords. Long-tail keywords (4+ words) don’t work all that well with video titles. So instead, try to find a shorter, more general keywords that viewers are searching for. E.g. “Jesus Inspirational Movies and Sermons 2015” won’t be very appealing in a video title — but “inspirational Christian movie” will work in just about any headline.
Explore related keywords (to find something better). Both Google and YouTube will give you keyword suggestions as you’re typing your search query — and you can steal a ton of good keywords from there!  


2. Hint at the value your viewers will get
SEO shouldn’t be your primary goal when writing a video title. That’s what descriptions and metadata are for. Your title has another, much more critical job…

Getting viewers to click through and watch your video.

Click-through rate is a super-important ranking signal for both Google and YouTube — so indirectly it will help you with video SEO anyway! 

The best way to maximize your click-through rate is to spark curiosity and promise value.

Part 2: helping your videos rank higher with great descriptions
A well-crafted video description will help it rank higher and attract the right viewers. Below are the 3 most important rules you should follow…

1. Maximize your click-through rate with the first 125/164 characters
When Google shows results for web pages with hosted videos, it displays the meta description — up to 164 characters.

2. Write longer video descriptions that are actually useful in understanding your video's content
Video descriptions are critical for SEO, but most content producers ignore them. Here’s how to make the most out of every video description you write, so that your content always ranks highly:

Ideally, keep it around a maximum of about 200+ words. The longer your video description is, the more useful search data Search Engines can pull from it. Treat it like a mini-article or blog post. Use your video descriptions to give some helpful info on the topic of the video. 

Mention your target keyword (once is enough). This gives Search Engines another signal that your video is relevant to the topic of the keyword, which helps the content rank higher.

The Truli user also has several ways to filter these returns to get very specific recommendations.
 
Avoid technical or generic titles and descriptions.  “Sunday 11/25/2010 9a.m.” is a great title for your media librarian but it won’t be compelling for anyone else. In a similar guideline, avoid overly-witty or pun-filled titles that need to be explained.  “Leash Laws for Unicorns” may be a catchy, funny title but it doesn’t really help a seeker understand the subject of the content.  Re-titling with something more emphatic and pertinent may be a better idea.  Relegate the witty title to the description where you can give the concept more context.
 
Thumbnails can make a difference.  Don’t let the thumbnail image representing your content appear as a blank screen, color bars or a title card that can’t be read.  Even a wide shot of an audience or congregation can lose any meaning. A close-up shot of the speaker is a pretty good approach but finding a thought-provoking stock photo or custom graphic to represent the tone and subject will garner more views.
 
Get to the point.  Some sermons and programs have a lead-in montage, animation or short film.  In some cases, for instance in a series or family of videos, lead-in introductions may work well for the whole package of content.  But in most cases it is best to get the beginning of the presentation to the viewer immediately.
 
Refine your clip information. Truli Analytics (an additional reporting service that Truli can provide) can reveal keywords or topics included in your clip information are not being sought by Truli users and therefore, are not helping get your message found. Refine those keyword terms and phrases.  Check your keywords to ensure that they are of common vernacular.  If your message is for both mature Christians and also for seekers, please make sure you are using words that make sense to both groups of people.  The same is true for children. Make sure the spelling is correct.  Perhaps a rewrite of the description will encourage more views or can make the clip more meaningful on a personal level.
 
Always be warm, concise, and encouraging to get people excited about receiving your message!  If you are unsure about any of this type of optimization please contact Truli BEFORE you upload your entire library of media.