YouTube has been one of the most engaging OTT platforms over the years due to its wide reach and free-of-cost viewing. The site has witnessed a dramatic increase in viewers and members since the lockdown of 2020, with people sharing various videos of activities that inspired them and others, who watch them to feel inspired. Since the time of its inception, YouTube has grown into an ocean of videos, streaming and recorded on every possible thing a person’s mind can conceive. Its popularity can majorly be owed to the easy methods that allow content creators to upload their videos. The viewers can also rate, comment, subscribe as well as share these videos with other people over various channels. The site was developed by 3 former PayPal employees-Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. It was later bought by Google in November 2006 for U.S.$ 1.65 billion. It is headquartered in San Bruno, California.
Apart from these facts, YouTube has also garnered a lot of attention as a platform for any social media marketing company to endorse their brands through digital marketing services offered by this platform. It has become synonymous to advertising on Google ads as visual representation and video graphics increase the retention of information and give companies a wide audience to target. It has also been home to various recorded zoom calls that went viral because of their catchy content. Comedians and performers took to this platform in the past year to connect with their fans and provide them with fresh content. It replaced the in-person activities and redefined the viewing experience with various paid membership packages. Marketing experts also point out that YouTube is home to millions of videos that attract millions of users, which makes it a good target to provide required digital marketing services.
This platform has evolved over years to be one of the most viewed sites over the internet. Started with its first video way back in 2005, here are some lesser-known facts about the statistics offering better insights and revelations of the platform.
- YouTube has more than 2 billion logged-in users –
You heard that right. It’s funny how we never come across these things in day-to-day life. However, the popularity of YouTube and its usage has increased multifold in the current years. So much so that it was recorded presently as its worldwide users being 2.3 billion (2021). It is ranked 2nd after Facebook for having as many as the mentioned number of logged-in users. The wide range of users ensures a wide reach for brands and a social media marketing company to engage these viewers by placing marketing videos before videos that might connect their target audience to the brand.
A great feature of YouTube is that it allows access without a Google Account, therefore, it reaches even in places where you wouldn’t otherwise think. Given only the number of logged-in users are calculated, there is a fair share of possibility that the actual statistics for users of this OTT platform are more than the said number.
- Second Most popular Social Media platform –
Now that it is clear that there are more than 2 billion users of this platform who watch or upload videos every day, it is the second most popular social media site to access. What started as a video sharing platform to encourage content creators to showcase their skills, the site has grown exponentially to cater to the needs of all age groups by providing such easy ways to share such content. It does not require any complex creation of profiles and can be accessed even without a logged in account. However, activities like rating, subscribing and even commenting on videos are limited to members while non-members can only share it with their friends and family. The three PayPal employees had no idea as to what they are bringing into the world, but YouTube surely revolutionized things for digital marketing services.
- YouTube viewers cross more than a billion streaming hours every day –
It might seem impossible to believe but let’s consider the following example. Even if the 2 billion users of this platform watch videos for less than an hour here, every day, it makes more than a billion watch hours over the world every day. In the era of digitalization and smartphones, the watch time has increased with the increase in diversity of content found over the platform. Thus, even though there is a wide variety of content available over other OTT platforms, the free and easy access to required videos, be those tutorials for makeup, cooking or even a cost accountancy lecture, YouTube has it all.
By 2021, most of the events that were otherwise carried offline are shifting to such platforms. Show performers are uploading their videos from different parts of the world, growing the community further. Even recorded zoom calls are being uploaded for international conferences of leaders to keep the public updated.
- YouTube has become the second most popular Search Engine –
Given that the list is topped by Google, it is still surprising to digest that people carry out their maximum searches over YouTube. Thanks to the variety of millions of videos available on the platform, it has become a go-to search engine for demonstration as well as entertainment purposes. It cuts down the reading time that a person on the internet would take to understand a concept or learn about. The visual picturization and attractive graphics make it easier to understand. The videos are uploaded in almost all languages spoken around the globe, giving users the freedom to suit their comfort while watching. Videos also contain subtitles to facilitate these accessibility issues and for these videos to reach a wider audience. This potential should be utilized by companies in order to spread their market along various communities, globally. Being such a popular site to access has serious advantages for those who earn a living out of content creation over this platform.
- 100 billion hours of Gaming on YouTube –
This seems impossible to record, but YouTubers have managed to engage the viewers for 100 billion gaming hours over the past year. These gaming videos involve gamers recording their play, commenting on games, reviewing game features as well as inviting others for a group session. There have been competitions over the platform for live streaming.
The lockdown facilitated the surge in these gaming hours as people increased their watch time to pass time. However, it led to them skimming through pages and content, not only increasing the overall views but also their streaming time over the site.
As many as 40 million active gaming channels have been identified on this platform, out of which 80,000 have a minimum of 100,000 subscribers.
Minecraft was the most watched game with 201 billion views, followed by Roblox at 75 billion views and Garena Free Fire at 72 billion views. The most viewed game of 2020 was Minecraft.
- YouTube has increased Product search –
YouTube provides such great means for sharing video footages which have become an essential aspect of marketing strategies globally today. The video captures more attention than words, thus social media marketing over this site is a powerful tool. Advertisements visible here are more effective and lead people into the informative side of the marketing. Even if it doesn’t ensure conversions for the brands, it is important that people have knowledge about your product. It is believed that most of the innovative products that people try were found by them on YouTube.
However, it cannot be ignored that with every social media marketing company wanting to secure its spot in advertising, creativity will divert most attention over the campaign. The wider the market, more is the responsibility of the marketers to ensure that the ads are relatable to all, without compromising on creativity.
By sharing concerns and asking questions, the customers feel more attached to the brand, thus it should not be ignored in video marketing as well.
- Home Workout videos increased 72% viewers –
The workout in the previous year was an aspect that required major motivation to be continued. While some sought out peace and isolation, others took to YouTube to take inspiration from the reservoir of workout videos of famous influencers who showed easy exercise training for weight loss or muscle gain. The 72% surge in the workout videos showed that despite the lack of outdoor activities, people ensured that they stay fit and use the time off as an opportunity to stay fit and follow a healthy routine.
There was a 515% increase in videos ‘home workout’ in searches in March alone. Handstand and dance videos saw a major increase in views over the period of March to May.
- Surge in Advertising Revenue for YouTube –
In the United States alone, YouTube is estimated to earn around 6 billion dollars from advertising revenue alone. This increase in social media marketing companies to use their wide potential customer base has led to serious competition in digital marketing services. Therefore, these companies are trying to spread the message of their brand across as many users as possible. But it comes with a cost. Unlike google ads, which gives the option of appearing in organic results, the advertising on YouTube is an expenditure on part of the company. The more the reach, the more is the cost of such advertising. Thus, YouTube is earning through these paid campaigns. More people are buying more adds in more formats to achieve their social media marketing goals.
Digitization and YouTube Numbers
YouTube has grown inadvertently over the years and the explosive situation of videos means there is more scope of diversification of content and its availability. Thus, YouTubers are professionals in their fields of content creation who set new records every year with their creative strategies. Businesses should keep an open eye to target these developments over the platform to maximize their marketing input. As all the events that were supposed to take place with a live audience are now being live-streamed on YouTube, there might be a digital revolution for the program waiting around the corner.
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