YouTube is the go-to destination for millions of young people every day, whether they're looking to stream music, do research or be entertained. In a world where traditional ads are becoming less effective, original content creation is thriving and brands have an opportunity to be a part of this. Talented content creators have uploaded their own work and built huge youth fanbases. Meanwhile, the growth of mobile internet, smartphones and tablets has worked well for YouTube's easily digestible social content.
Based on my time running dozens of YouTube creator partnerships with brands and working with many of the site's rising stars, here are my thoughts on why you should work with YouTube creators. I'll explain what they can do for your brand, how to find the right partnership, how to negotiate terms, deliverables and expectations, and how to manage the creative process.
1) Know the benefits
YouTube is much loved among youth audiences. It's been the UK's top brand among 18-24s for two years running, becoming their go-to destination for everything from "how to" videos to music discovery. But traditional push advertising doesn't work on YouTube. Young people want experiences that add value to their lives, not interrupt or annoy them. The opportunity to work with YouTube creators means accessing a passionate and loyal audience in a non-disruptive, creative way that brings deeper engagement and better results.
2) Take time to find your perfect match
It's going to take some research to discover YouTubers that match your needs, unless you work with an agent or MCN (multi-channel network). It's more important to think about how well the creator's own brand and audience characteristics align with your brand than it is to look at their subscriber numbers and video views – although those things are useful when evaluating the YouTuber's value and considering your budget. From gaming and sports to vlogging, there are dozens of highly active YouTube niches each with their own stars. Spend time exploring.
3) Think creatively
When thinking about the possible video execution, don't restrict your ideas to what's been done before. Your partnership with the YouTuber comes with no limitations – from a simple on-screen product review or product placement to a full-scale scripted production. While the YouTuber will need to work with you to arrive at an idea that fits their style, be prepared to open your mind.
4) Respect the 80/20 rule
With a topline idea decided and some obvious dos and don'ts agreed, give the YouTuber freedom to deliver on the brief and avoid trying to micro-manage their work. These are video artists who have built audiences by reliably serving original, compelling content. They know their audience and they have developed an instinct for what will work.
5) Don't be cheap
A YouTuber will expect to earn additional income from ads. A lot of them are at school, college or university, and are creating videos as part of a creative journey or hobby. The ad income is just pocket money, which is why the idea of working with brands is often appealing. The amount this work costs can vary hugely, from zero to six figures, as it's dependent on a lot of factors. But usually YouTube creators deliver much better value than a traditional big brand ad campaign can. Cartoonist and YouTuber Harry Partridge delivered a campaign over the course of two years that involved a huge amount of unique content creation and generated over 35m views, yet cost less than £100,000. Compare that to a high-end TV ad that the youth audience isn't watching.
6) Bake in social promotion
Popular YouTubers are likely to have a range of other valuable social media assets. Look to get promoted across their other channels and agree this up front. Vine could be interesting to play around with working with a YouTube creator. Provide any keywords for SEO tagging, have a URL link incorporated into the description below the video and a very effective way of getting extra engagement value is an "inspired by" video endcard, linking through to an official brand video.
7) See who's doing it well
Since 2010 the British Red Cross have been running a behaviour change campaign aimed at teaching young people first aid skills. In 2012, the charity began putting social media – and in particular YouTube – at the centre of its strategy. Campaigns manager Paul Donnelly says: "This involved working with ChannelFlip to find influential vloggers to talk about first aid to their audience. The vloggers are the messengers who carry the first aid learning to their audience and deliver it in their individual style, often quirky with a bit of a twist." Collectively the films have been viewed over 7.5m times, achieving strong levels of engagement and led to the campaign winning the 2012 CIM third-sector campaign of the year award.
James Marks is a video entertainment specialist and contributor for Voxburner – follow them on Twitter @voxburner.
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