Which channel are you ignoring at your peril?

YouTube has a much bigger and engaged audience than any other channel, yet few brands have a YouTube-first content strategy.

Written by David Austin & Simon Kearney | Graphics by Yusak Prahadi

In the beginning, there was Radio. And Radio was good. And yea verily, pictures were joined in holy union with Radio and thus begat TV. And TV was good.

So goes the gospel of mass communications.

Back then it was easy to get your message before a critical mass of viewers, just pay for it. It wasn’t cheap, but it could be done.

Since then, the world has seen cable, satellite, the Internet and social media disrupt the old order, leaving advertisers and marketers wandering the desert seeking salvation.

While we’ve been tempted by the likes of Insta and TikTok, staid and stolid YouTube has quietly been gathering its flock. So much so, it is probably the holy grail of content distribution. And it feels like no one realises. Except maybe property investment ‘gurus’ who are bombarding the platform with ads. 

In Singapore as of early 2023, YouTube’s ad penetration stood at 84.7%, whereas Instagram placed a distant second with 45%, and TikTok not far behind at 41%.

Google is reporting that YouTube had 5.08 million users in Singapore out of a total population of 5.92 million. And it’s not just Singapore that is racking up the views. India has 467 million and the US has 246 million active YouTube users with an ad reach of 36.3% and 78.4% respectively.

Worldwide, YouTube’s advertising reach is estimated at 2.491 billion.

And the way people view YouTube is changing as well. In the United States, nearly half (45%) of those watching YouTube are doing so on a connected TV screen. In fact, the amount of time Americans spend watching YouTube on their smart TVs is actually greater than any other individual network or streaming service.

Worldwide, the percentage of connected TVs is growing. Up 4.9% to 31.9% in 2023. And have I mentioned that YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. Google.com (its parent company) is first.

So what does this all mean?

If you are a creator of any kind of video content — short form, long form, educational, promotional, whatever — you need a YouTube-first strategy.

Think of it as your foundation built on rock. A stable, lasting platform with the reach to spread your message. Yes, you can still venture out on TikTok, Insta, and the next big thing, but those are secondary.

As a platform, YouTube offers a plethora of functional advantages that make it a digital marketing powerhouse. 

One significant advantage lies in its integration with Google’s search engine, enabling YouTube content to rank prominently in the first page of search results, increasing the chances of attracting organic traffic. Additionally, YouTube’s own search algorithm can recommend relevant content to users, further expanding a brands reach.

YouTube’s diverse content formats like YouTube shorts offer the flexibility to tailor content to suit various preferences and consumption habits. 

Aside from creating brand awareness through engaging video content, YouTube videos can drive traffic to websites via a call to action which can translate into conversions. 

In comparison with other social media platforms, YouTube is much more cost effective through the pay-per-click or pay-per-view models. And its sophisticated targeting feature allows advertisers to target audiences with precision, enhancing the effectiveness of their campaigns. 

Not only that, YouTube offers a robust analytics tool where marketers can gain valuable insights into audience behaviour, engagement metrics and demographic information, facilitating data driven decision making and optimisation strategies. 

But most of all, if you haven’t realised it yet and remarkably have read this far. It is where the biggest audience is. By far. Have you seen the light? Reach out to [email protected] to find out more.

Read more from Click2View:

1. Don’t be a noob. Here’s how to avoid visual cliches and make your content stand out.
2. Riding content waves in a post-viral world
3. What makes a case study truly compelling
4. Writing with Generative AI: Remixing words like beats

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Click2View is Southeast Asia’s premiere full-service independent B2B content marketing agency servicing clients like Microsoft, Google, Visa, Prudential, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.