by Tim Staples
This is what successful social celebrities like Jay Shetty (Facebook), Furious Pete (YouTube), and Amanda Cerny (Snapchat) have done. Only after you have mastered one platform should you move to the next one. That’s how you gradually become a standout. For inspiration, look at what Red Bull has done on YouTube, what Airbnb has created on Instagram,* or how Wendy’s has stirred things up on Twitter. These are brands that spent the time and resources to master a platform, and they are enjoying the benefits of that success.
Now that we’ve talked about these platforms in general terms, let’s move into the specifics. I’ve always struggled to come up with an analogy to describe the various social platforms in a clear, easy-to-understand way. Randomly, I was sitting in a meeting the other day when one of our strategists, Patrick Mazuca, started describing the different platforms as different pieces of a city. I thought that was brilliant. Like most analogies, it’s not perfect, but I think it goes a long way toward explaining the role that each platform plays in people’s online life, in much the same way that each of the buildings or institutions works for a city. So without further ado, here is Patrick’s overview of the “city of the internet.”
YouTube: The Public Library
If the internet is a city, then YouTube functions as the internet’s library. In 2019, when someone goes to YouTube, more often than not, they do so with a very specific intention. This is similar to the mindset of the old days, when people would walk into a library looking to find a book or article on a specific topic. Users today search YouTube for the content they desire, whether that be the latest music video, an explanation on how to change your spark plugs, or some inspiration on what to cook for dinner tonight.
The search element may be a core functionality of YouTube today—they are owned by Google after all—but it’s something the platform has grown into over time. Created in 2005 and bought by Google in 2006, YouTube was originally a viral video platform. It was the first major site that allowed people to show themselves off to the world on the internet and to build their personal brands. In a sense, YouTube was created to be television for the internet, with every citizen serving as both broadcaster and audience.
YouTube channels in the early days were—and to a large extent still are—heavily focused on their owners or programmers. There was an expectation that the person who ran the channel would be featured in the content, that they would be the star of their show. With few exceptions, influential YouTubers wouldn’t post another person’s or company’s video on their channel.
Early YouTubers were a trigger point in altering the branding landscape. As millennials turned away from television to more original and outrageous content on the internet, a new generation of media stars was born. This period was fueled by a sense of discovery—young people felt like they were uncovering new talent, rather than having it forced on them by out-of-touch media companies, and this created an audience that was far more vested in the talent’s success. They felt a sense of ownership.
This was a new awakening for the next generation of filmmakers and led to an explosion of video sharing. As the market expanded, the quality of the content increased dramatically. Some videos were shot in super-high 4K resolution and contained cinematic storytelling worthy of feature films, but they all brought a vibe and perspective that was specific to the creator and uniquely millennial.
It wasn’t just the quality that was getting better. Over the past ten years the quantity of content went from a modest drip to a full-blown global flood. In 2019, more than 500,000 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every single day. Think about that: 500,000 hours. In just one day. That is an astounding statistic and has meant two things for the platform.
First, the overwhelming volume of content has made it nearly impossible for regular people and brands to “go viral” on the platform. Obviously it can still happen, but the odds are so stacked against you that it really should not be a core part of your strategy.
Second, this insane volume of uploaded content has made YouTube the ultimate clearing-house for online videos on basically any topic that you could ever imagine.
This evolution has allowed YouTube to grow into something far more interesting than originally intended. All the content launched on YouTube is stored on YouTube, meaning it can be retrieved by interested users. Once YouTube started sorting these billions of hours of content by category, aided by users identifying keywords and phrases in the video, the platform very much became the public library of online video.
Over the past five years, the platform has shed the image of viral immediacy and become known for its long search tail. Because YouTube is owned by Google, the internet’s most popular and effective search engine, the search mission is now ingrained in its DNA, and they have pulled this function off with stunning success. In 2018, over 5 billion videos were watched on YouTube every single day. To put that in perspective, the average cable television station has around 500,000 viewers in a day. That’s not apples to apples, but it gives you an idea of where this world is heading. Because of search, YouTube has become the behemoth in terms of how we consume video content online.
And to ensure it continues to grow, YouTube now pays far more attention to individualizing the experience on the site than to blitzing users with viral content. The site is focused on helping you find specific content using search and on giving you what you want, using their artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to tap into your preferences or your previous searches.
The AI algorithm is a contentious issue. Proponents claim that AI will know what you want better than you do. But, of course, because we are still in the early days of sophistication, there are also plenty of examples where this goes horribly wrong.
On the positive side, the YouTube library now is smart enough to show most users only what they are truly interested in. If Lisbeth in Pennsylvania loves cooking and has spent hours searching and watching food-related content, the algorithm will happily put new cooking videos in front of her every time she logs on. If she starts searching for a vacation in the Catskills, the algorithm will switch, adding some vacation rentals and travel tips into the mix. This is very similar to going to the library and browsing cookbooks, then moving over to the travel section. You will find what you are looking for because the content is grouped together in a logical way.
The negative spin comes into play when users search for more polarizing, controversial, or weighted topics. If Andy in Montana goes looking for videos about the Holocaust and happens to click on something that spins some tale of denial, the algorithm might happily send him deep into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theory and propaganda that, if taken at face value, will teach him the Holocaust never happened. It will be up to Andy to recognize and realize the fact that these videos are deceptive and to seek out better and more accurate information, as the still immature algorithm can’t help him with that.
If Lisbeth uses the wrong kind of pepper, she might have a disappointing meal. If impressionable Andy accepts what he’s being presented with as fact, the consequences might be dire.
These are extreme examples, but they are unfortunately all too real. Using YouTube as a search engine for video has become so ingrained in our society that no one goes onto the site to flip through channels at random. People know what they are looking for, and rather than scrolling through hundreds of videos on topics that don’t interest them, they watch what they want to watch, regardless of how many views the content may have racked up.
This can have amazingly positive results. My father-in-law, John Frink, is a perfect example of the benefits of YouTube having evolved into the internet’s library. Last summer, he wanted to create a garden gnome for our back patio, as a gift. He went on YouTube, something he never would have done five years ago, and typed in “How to make a garden gnome.”
Presto, a seemingly endless list of results popped up. He scrolled through and watched the four videos that looked the most interesting. Which ones were those? You guessed it—they wer
e the ones that had the best headlines and thumbnail images that connected to his DIY-related search. One of the videos provided the most value, an easy and straightforward way to build a garden gnome from scratch, complete with step-by-step instructions, from a channel called MontMarteArt. The thumbnail was a freeze frame of someone applying paint to an almost-finished gnome. The title was equally captivating: “Art Lesson: How to Make Your Own Garden Gnome Using Air-Hardening Clay.”*
Here, an energetic and engaging host walks you through how to create a garden gnome, step by step, from simple materials that you can buy at your local hardware or home improvement store. The video is 10 minutes long and is the perfect guide for the amateur who is doing this for the first time, wants professional-looking results, and would be completely lost without it. John followed the instructions, rewatched the video dozens of times, and ultimately built an outstanding garden gnome that has since garnered him lots of comments and praise.*
John’s project is a good example of YouTube at its finest. He “went to the library,” did his research, and found a video that gave him the information and guidance he needed. Now that the gnome project is complete, the next time John goes to YouTube, his need will be completely different. This is a pretty good way to think about YouTube and how most people use it.
So what does this mean for you?
When you’re creating content for YouTube, you need to think about this search functionality from both a philosophical perspective as well as a technical one.
1. The YouTube Philosophy
In Chapter 3 I wrote at length about focusing on value to create successful content. This is an important concept on any social platform and especially relevant to YouTube. Think about the case of my father-in-law. He wasn’t roaming the web, surfing for some cool content or flipping through the channels of YouTube, trying to fill an hour on a lunch break. He was there to find value on a very specific subject matter—how to build a garden gnome.
Tens of millions of people do that very same thing every single day, looking to solve a specific problem. If you’re a brand or a personality, think about the type of content that would be valuable to the consumers or audience that you want to reach, then put yourself in their shoes and ask, What type of content would they search for? Then think about what your expertise is and how that crosses over with what they want. What are you uniquely qualified to offer that this audience would find valuable? Figure out what that means for you, and make that.
Let’s say you are a home improvement store, such as Home Depot. With a traditional advertising mindset, you would run paid ads across YouTube that attempted to tell the audience how you are the place to go for home improvement. Of course, you would use the sophisticated algorithms to target people who are searching for home improvement videos already, so you are sure to have a captive audience, right?
Wrong. The ads would run in front of and interrupt the content that your audience actually wants to watch, so they will most likely skip and tune out your ads whenever they can. What do they care about your glossy, slick commercial if they are here to learn how to repaint their bedroom!
That may sound harsh, but that’s just the way things work in the internet age.
Instead, let’s say you focus on value instead—what type of content would you create? If you’re Home Depot, start by taking a look at your strengths. Not only are you an expert on all things home improvement, but you also have incredibly detailed data on the types of home improvement products that people buy, both online and in your stores. Using that data, you could identify a series of the most popular or necessary home improvement projects and create content specifically designed to create value in those areas. For example, if one of the most common home improvement projects is painting a bedroom, you would create a series of videos that show the viewer the easy-to-follow steps to paint their bedroom with the least amount of time and effort. Or better yet, what if the video showcased how you could paint your room like a professional, but for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay a professional painter? Hey, that might be interesting to the people searching YouTube for “how to paint my bedroom.”
Now you’re thinking about what the audience actually wants. You can start to produce videos like “How to build the kitchen of your dreams,” “How to save money on your water bill,” and “How to create a garden that will make your neighbors jealous.” The topics are endless.
There are two important dynamics at play here.
Number one, major brands like Home Depot have huge marketing budgets, meaning that they have the resources to make the best content in these types of categories. Sure, there are a lot of experts who could do it, but there are very few who could do it at the same level of quality as the major brands.
Number two, by providing this value, the brands are taking the first step toward building a relationship with these potential customers. And not just any potential customers, but highly targeted ones. Who do you think is searching for content about painting a bedroom? That’s right—someone who is about to paint their bedroom. By providing this content, Home Depot is positioning itself as the expert to a potential buyer in need. If that buyer watches a video from Home Depot that they find valuable about painting their room, who do you think they are going to give first crack at selling them the supplies to go do that job? That’s right, Home Depot. It’s just human nature to repay people when they provide you with value first. This is the ultimate case of win-win for both sides.
Or what if you’re a tax software company, such as TurboTax or TaxAct? You could run expensive commercials on how you’re the best tax solution or how you can deliver the lowest price. If you’ve ever been online as tax day approaches in April, you know that this is exactly the strategy that most of these companies take, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
But what if they focused on value instead? What if they created content that helped people out of a jam? Most people hate doing their taxes, mainly because they don’t understand all of the pieces and it feels like a big headache. What if you created quality content that helped them navigate this process? Not an ad or infomercial, but valuable information that explained and simplified complex elements or gave them “life hacks” to save time or money in the process. Then you could use your substantial media dollars to promote these valuable videos and help push them to the top of the algorithms. Wouldn’t this be a better use of your money than traditional ads?
This is how to think about content on YouTube. Just remember that your content on YouTube should always serve a purpose, one that is valuable to your audience. And most important, one that can be searched.
2. YouTube Technicalities
Now that you understand the philosophy of what works on YouTube, let’s talk about the technical side. If you want your content to be found, you need to do the heavy lifting on the front end to make sure it can be searched. I could write an entire book about the technical side of social media, and this may be valuable for companies spending millions of dollars and creating thousands of content variants, but for most of those people reading this book, this would be incredibly tedious and boring, and 90 percent of that information would not be relevant. So I’m going to focus on the key technical details that you can utilize to make your own content more successful on YouTube. Specifically, I’m going to talk about the metadata that is crucial in maximizing your search results. If you’re not familiar with it, metadata is a set of digital data that characterizes keywords, titles, authors, and other information for the purpose of identifying and indexing content. Think of the categorization on YouTube like the Dewey Decimal System that libraries use. Before the Dewey Decimal System was created in 1876, books were shelved based on their arrival date, which made finding books on any particular subject impossibly time-consuming. The new Dewey Decimal System, which organizes books based on subject matter, was a big improvement.
YouTube basically works the same way. Rather than organizing videos by the date they were
posted, from newest to oldest, it slots them into categories based on the metadata provided by the poster and the content of the video.
When you upload a video to YouTube, two main assets go into the creation of that video as a piece of content. The first is the actual video itself. The second part is the metadata that YouTube uses to index videos. The metadata includes title, description, tags (which are keywords that describe the contents of the video for search), and the thumbnail (the primary still image that viewers see when your video pops up in their search).
All of these factors are taken into account and weighed by the YouTube algorithm to determine where in its vast library your video will be placed. Understanding how this is processed and catalogued is extremely important. The metadata on each video not only dictates search results, but it also helps determine what pops up in the recommended feed. This is the box on the right side of your YouTube desktop page, and it’s critical to your success because it’s literally the viewer’s portal to the rabbit hole. The algorithm will recommend videos that it believes users may be interested in, based on what they have typed into the search box or what they have watched in the past.
Let’s say you are a cooking influencer and you want to share your grandmother’s amazing risotto recipe with the world. What are the key metadata components? Here are some simple dos and don’ts: