Friday, May 15, 2015

Which Industries Create the Most Engaging Content on YouTube?

YouTube has grown up in recent years. While the original content creators contribute considerable value to YouTube viewers, brands are also using the video network for amplifying their messages online.

According to a report from Networked Insights, the tech, automotive and fashion industries fair best on YouTube.

The report used Networked Insights data from January through March, but also pulled data from other sources including YouTube’s own demographic data.

It notes that while most of the YouTube audience is male and global, women are 86 percent more likely to share content than men.

YouTube_Demographics_NetworkedInsights

When it comes to branded content, the tech industry seems to generate the most shares. Within the tech category, gaming and mobile brands are among the most shared brands. According to the report, Xbox has done particularly well at generating engagement.

Most_Shared_YouTube_NetworkedInsights

Networked Insights analyst David Porche says this success is a credit to Xbox understanding what its audience wants.

Xbox content on YouTube focuses on forthcoming games and content users want to share. By selectively sharing trailers, Xbox capitalizes on existing excitement about new games and systems. While there are roundtables, how-to videos and other types of videos, Xbox sticks with what works.

While YouTube isn’t necessarily the domain of fashion brands, the report indicates that fashion brands create the most resonating content, which results in powerful amplification. In other words, videos created by fashion brands are 12x more likely to get shared on Twitter than average brand content.

Fashion_amplification_NetworkedInsights

Networked Insights attributes the amplification power of fashion brands on YouTube to three things. Fashion brands:

  • Create content that’s surprising but not necessarily funny.
  • Use envy to create interest and fuel desire.
  • Create a \"cult of personality\" among their target audience.

Porche says that part of why these strategies work is because the fashion industry is skillful at projecting an image of being in-the-know and making their audiences feel the same way.

Fashion brands create video content that shows the desired lifestyle of their audience and viewers connect and try to mirror that behavior. Sharing the fashion brand’s content on Twitter solidifies a viewer’s allegiance to a brand they see as desirable. Fashion video content that is surprising makes the viewer feel like they are in on a secret once they have finished the video.

In light of this data, Porche notes that the key to engaging YouTube audiences is to create surprising content with a distinctive personality. Social media audiences love funny, but surprising content makes them feel they are in on something others aren’t. He adds that brands that create a cult of personality appeal to everyone’s desire to be part of a tribe or group.

This type of content speaks to personality traits and beliefs with which their target audience identifies. The viewers then see the brand and feel a sense of belonging to it and want to show that connection to their social circle as a result.

Top image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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