When YouTube cracked open a fresh website layout, it was only a matter of time before the popular video site invited advertisers to join in. Now, YouTube has made those ad spaces official by offering up interactive maps, e-commerce storefronts, and a whole bunch of other customization options that can be added to a brand’s YouTube homepage.

This move makes so much sense for YouTube, it’s a wonder the site didn’t offer brand customization options before – the site does have around 100,000 members, so it’s perfect for branding, right? I suppose, however, that late is better than never in YouTube’s case. If you are a big brand marketer (only open to big brands right now, sorry!) or a consumer who enjoys a few big brands, here are some of the changes to expect.

It’s All About The Apps

A customized homepage and the addition of an interactive map is one thing, but the allowance of apps on a homepage is something else entirely. Apps are what make the world go around these days, and adding an app or two to a brand homepage will certainly entice consumers. In addition to apps, all kinds of apps, brands can change the way that video skins look. So, for example, if Pepsi wanted to create a YouTube homepage and post videos with swirling Pepsi bottles dancing around the edges, they can. It will be brand mayhem over at YouTube, and the site has rolled out the new features to more than a dozen different brands.

If you want to see what’s happening over at YouTube, keep your eye on the site over the next few weeks. Brands are just starting to play around with the Buddy Media platforms, but it’s already looking like a promising way to spruce up the tired YouTube. Sure, YouTube’s recent site revamp did a lot for the average person posting a video or two, but brands didn’t get a lot out of the makeover, until now.

Gaining in Popularity

YouTube has been around for some time now, though the site has just started gaining a ton of followers. TechCrunch reports that the site was used to upload 4 billion videos this past January (up drastically from the previous May), and there doesn’t appear to be any end to YouTube in sight. In fact, YouTube is pretty much the only site of its kind on the Internet and it doesn’t have a lot of competition. Of course, this means that YouTube is an excellent place for companies to drop dollars, since it’s a rather secure bet and creating an amazing YouTube homepage will be the next biggest thing since the Facebook timeline update.

Whether or not social media marketers will have any room to play with the YouTube site remains to be seen, but I’m betting these gurus will find a way to make company YouTube pages sing and standout through consumer interaction. There’s no word yet as to when YouTube will make these brand changes available to smaller companies and startups, but I’m betting the brains behind YouTube are waiting to see how consumers will react to big brand changes.