When three former PayPal employees came together in 2005 to create a video dating site, little did they know that it would go on to become the most sought after online video platform ever! With 30 crore and counting active users in India alone, YouTube is larger than some of the biggest TV channels you can find in India. While the two billion logged-in monthly users stand to benefit greatly from the 500 hours worth of videos being uploaded every minute, here’s how creators and influencers make money on Youtube.
How do YouTube influencers make money?
With the TikTok ban in India combined with statistics that indicate that just 10 per cent of the top-performing videos draw in 79 per cent of views, YouTube is one of the most lucrative video content platforms for an influencer. Here are some tips to become a successful YouTube influencer:
Keep it original
While creating content, do not entertain the herd mentality by aiming to create content that has mass appeal. Stand out from the crowd by striving to make videos that represent you. The rawness and authenticity of your content is directly proportional to its relatability factor, especially when it is an audio-visual format. For example, if you are a parenting-related blogger, then don't be afraid to give your audience a 'behind-the-scenes' peek every once in a while. This is the reason brands approach macro-influencers for brand awareness, but leverage micro-influencers when they are striving for increasing conversions.
Be consistent
Establishing a well-planned schedule and being consistent with your uploads will certainly take you a long way as an influencer, especially when you are starting out. This will help manage audience expectations and brand yourself as a dependable influencer. Have a monthly calendar in place, but make sure to leave room for factors such as sudden trends that might crop up and of course every creator’s nemesis — creator’s block.
Stake your claim on social media
While your main avenue for content creation might be Youtube, staking a strong online presence across all social media platforms will help you garner a more well-rounded subscriber base. Studies show that 400 tweets per minute are tweeted with a YouTube link and every day over 150 years' worth of videos are collectively watched through Facebook. A solid social media presence will be extremely helpful and linking your socials such as Instagram and Facebook handles to your YouTube channel can make a huge difference.
Be mindful of your platform
While millennials prefer consuming byte-sized content, Youtube is the one video platform that Gen Y is willing to make an exception for. Leverage the flexibility that comes with YouTube in terms of the duration of the video. Long or short, make sure your content delivers value. Keep the likes and dislikes of your audience in mind, curate promotional materials, build a compelling profile, and make yourself extra-searchable to allow people to find and subscribe to your YouTube channel.
YouTube analytics
The best way to make the most of your channel is by tracking the right metrics on YouTube analytics. You can make use of the valuable insights on YouTube analytics to understand what is working, what isn't, to help grow your channel. Though this data is ideally available only for the past 28 days, you can meddle with the settings to access historical data as well.
In 2014, the “Grumpy Cat” went on to become a star and earned more money than Gwenyth Paltrow — an Oscar winning actress, all thanks to YouTube! If we crack the second largest search engine the right way, it’ll take you to the epitome of social influence!