Experts on digital from Geek and Sundry, FishBowl Worldwide Media and ChannelMeter shared their best methods on how to build audiences at a STREAM panel session in Santa Monica.

Speaking at the ‘How to #Build Your Audience and #Conquer Social‘ session at the internet original content conference  at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel on Tuesday, Sheri Bryant, a partner at YouTube channel Geek and Sundry, said that she was lucky to have a built-in audience for her channel by having launched it with actor Felicia Day, who has a large online following.

But if you don’t have a celebrity on board, she recommended small interactions online as having the biggest impact, ranging from having Google hangouts to a method they  used, holding a ‘subscribe-athon’ on launch day, in which  Day and Bryant chatted about yoga, music videos and more.

It is the  “back and forth” with individuals that builds a community, added Eugene Lee, co-founder of ChannelMeter, a YouTube analytics tracker.

Lee maintained that Facebook is far more powerful than Twitter for engagement, with eight to 10 times the video views coming from Facebook over Twitter, as users can watch a video in their News Feed on Facebook, but not in their Twitter streams.

He also recommended that if you are looking for male audiences, Reddit is a great place to go to find like-minded souls, while niche audiences can be found on blogs and Tumblrs focused on the same subject. “They can take your content and reach their audience,” he added.

David Beebe, senior VP and GM of Fishbowl Worldwide Media and Vin Di Bona Productions, said there is a huge learning curve in launching online channels.

“You need about three months to learn what your audience wants to watch and how often you should publish. From launch to three months, it’s a completely different strategy,” he said.