YouTube has become a content phenomenon. Back in 2005 when the first YouTube video Me At The Zoo was uploaded, nobody would have imagined just how important this video sharing medium was going to be.

Google clearly saw the potential of YouTube, however, and only 18 months after YouTube’s co-founder shared his zoo visit with the world, Google announced it was paying $1.65 billion for the service.

Since then the power and influence of YouTube have grown at breath-taking speed. It can even claim to be the world’s second largest search engine – after Google itself.  Some of its statistics are are really interesting, find them below:

1. Total number of people who use YouTube – 1,325,000,000
2. Hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute – 300 hours
3. Number of videos viewed on YouTube every day – 4,950,000,000
4. Average number of mobile YouTube videos per day – 1,000,000,000

Google commissioned a survey in 2016 to understand what the latest viewing trends on YouTube were. Some highlights of the survey were:

1. 6 out of 10 people prefer online video platforms to live TV
2. In an average month, 8 out of 10 18-49-yer-olds watch YouTube
3. On mobile alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any broadcast or cable tv network

In 2017 Google turned their attention to people watching YouTube on their televisions sets. Highlights from this study include:

1. The time people spend watching YouTube on a tv has doubled in a year
2. 2 out of 3 YouTube viewers say they watch YouTube on a tv screen
3. Just like tv content, watching YouTube on tv screens peaks around prime time
4. Watch time of YouTube on TVs peaks at the weekend

So, with so much time spent watching YouTube, on a wide variety of devices, what types of content are people watching?  It turns out that people watch a wide variety of things actually, which is probably reflective of the fact that YouTube viewers now span the whole spectrum of ages and types of people.

Of course, to many people, YouTube has one purpose only – it’s an easy way to watch music videos. And music videos can’t be ignored – there are so many of them.

According to the Wikipedia List of Most Viewed YouTube Videos, “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth has had an incredible 2.916 billion views, and has recently overtaken the long-time King of YouTube, “Gangnam Style” to be the leader. In fact, music videos take up 77 out of the 80 videos in this top list.

But there is much more to YouTube than simply music videos. From an influencer marketing point of view, official music videos offer little opportunity for influencer promotion.

There are different types of Youtube videos and some video types perform better than others, regardless of who is shooting the video. According to Mediakix, a top influencer marketing agency, the top 3 video types are as follows:

• Product Review Videos: Product review videos are videos where Youtubers test out a product and then give their audience a run-down of its specs and their experience with it. Product review videos are the videos that get viewed the most. Think With Google estimates that 50,000 years of Youtube product review videos have been watched on mobile alone in the past two years.
• How-to Videos: How-to videos are made by Youtubers who are experts in a certain field, in topics ranging from photography to chemistry, who then teach their audiences how to do certain things. Another popular video type, Think With Google estimates that users are 3x more likely to watch a Youtube how-to video than read a product’s actual instructions.
• Vlogs: Vlogs are a popular and broad video type that can be found on just about any Youtube channel. Vlogs typically involve the Youtuber talking on camera about a certain topic and can range from a simple video focusing on the YouTuber to a video mixed and edited with animation, pictures, and more.

By creating these types of videos on Youtube, you can increase your chances at growing both your Youtube subscribers and your income.

However, it’s not just about the type of video you use. Certain topics are more popular than others, so consider the genre of your channel when planning your Youtube growth strategy. According to the Youtube Creators Academy, a few of the most popular youtube video topics include:

• Entertainment
• Food
• Gaming
• Beauty and Fashion
• Music
• Sports
• Science and Technology
• Travel

These are some of the most searched topics on Youtube, so tailoring your Youtube channel around these genres will help garner your Youtube channel some organic views it might not have gotten otherwise.

• 13 Types of YouTube Contents to Make Money
• How Can You Promote Your YouTube Channel
• The Top 10 Richest YouTubers Of 2020

10 Types of YouTube Contents to Make Money

1. Product Reviews

Unsurprisingly, product reviews are at the top of our list. The #1 most watched video type on Youtube, product reviews can attract a lot of new subscribers who otherwise might not have found your channel. This Youtuber garnered over 4 million views for his review of knockoff Wish products.

Read Also: What Kind of Videos Make The Most Money on YouTube

When filming a product review, make sure to research your product thoroughly. Reviewing a product that is popular among your target audience will gain you more views and subscribers – reviewing a product nobody has heard of will not.

Product reviews will get drive new subscribers who might not have found your channel otherwise to your account and will also draw in your current subscribers, so you can make more money off of ads. But that’s not all! By placing links in your video description, you can drive traffic from your channel to an affiliate landing page where you’ll often receive a percentage of whatever your subscribers buy.

2. How To Guides and Tutorials

There are three types of learning style: visual (by seeing), auditory (by hearing) and kinesthetic (by doing). Everybody learns using a combination of these styles, but most people find one of the methods easier than the others. Good teachers try to use a mixture of all three methods in their classrooms.

While it will always be hard to teach kinesthetically in a video, it is the perfect medium for those who love both visual and auditory learning experiences. A well-structured video, that encourages you to work alongside the presentation, can even be useful to the more kinesthetically-inclined.

There are so many How To videos on YouTube, that you are likely to find something to help you do virtually anything you can think of.

These videos have an advantage in that they are almost timeless – the only reason that a video would date is that the activity itself changes or goes out of date.

3. Product Reviews

There is a clear trend, nowadays, for people to turn to the internet when they are considering making a purchase. They want to discover what other people think about products that interest them.

YouTube is no different from other social media channel in this sense. People flock to the channels of those they trust to see what they think about various products they have reviewed.

Polls have regularly shown that consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they see a positive review online.

It obviously depends on the product, but YouTube is the perfect medium for many products. People find it so much easier to relate to a review if they can physically see the product being used, whether it is makeup being applied, a car being test driven, or the latest kitchen gadget being put to use.

4. Vlogs

A blog, actually short for weblog but most people have forgotten that nowadays, started off as a web-based log of what a person did each day – a form of Internet-based diary. Of course, blogs have diversified since then, but you will still find bright and breezy people happily writing about their daily breakfast and what they managed to achieve the day before.

Vlogs are video blogs, and the idea is, to some extent, the same as what the original blog was. They are effectively a video equivalent of your old diary.

Of course, being on YouTube they are somewhat more public than a diary hidden under the bed, so the content is usually more engaging. Like a diary, vlogs use unscripted dialog and generally come across as an authentic look into the video maker’s mind. They often focus on a specific topic.

Vlogs are often the YouTube equivalent of reality television. You get a chance to see into the life (or at least as much as they are prepared to share) of the vlogger. Just as reality television can generate some scarily high viewing numbers, quite a few vlogs channels have a considerable number of followers.

5. Videos Based on YouTube SEO

These types of videos are among one of the most effective Youtube video types in gaining new views and subscribers. However, these kinds of videos require some research because they are videos based on things people search for on Youtube. Using tools such as KeyWord Tool, you can type in keywords related to your channel and see similar phrases people are searching for on Youtube.

This type of video is extremely useful because it allows you to create content that your audience is already looking for. For example, if your fans are searching for ways to shoot with Nikon DSLR’s, then creating a video with a topic such as “The 7 Best Nikon Tricks Ever” is sure to gain you some new subscribers and organic traffic.

This can lead to an increased profit from your ad placements due to the traffic boost. Steve Perry gained 1.4 million views from this video alone, a major feat considering he only has 133,331 subscribers!

6. Unboxing Videos

Unboxing videos are very much a 21st Century phenomenon. A surprisingly large number of people like to watch somebody else take a new product out of a box!

These are extensions of both shopping spree/haul videos and product review videos – in reality, they fit somewhere in between the process of purchasing a product and the act of using and reviewing the product.

In some ways the love for these videos can be paralleled by a child’s love of Christmas morning – half the fun is unwrapping the presents and seeing what is inside. It is the same for unboxing videos, as the viewer is given the opportunity to join in with the anticipation of seeing for the first time the contents of the package.

As with both haul videos and reviews, unboxing videos can have a huge impact on consumer buying decisions and can be very lucrative for brands. This is another area with huge potential for influencer marketing.

7. Educational Videos

We’ve separated out educational videos from How To’s here, although How To guides obviously educate as well. The two categories are big enough to stand apart.

There are a few large channels, like the TED and National Geographic ones, that belong to large official organizations and share these organizations’ material. Indeed, there are many other businesses, large and small, that share educational videos on their sites.

A second type of educational video channel focuses on providing educational videos for young children and school students. They try to provide thought-provoking and interesting videos for their young target audiences.

This is another category which can be considered evergreen, in that many of these videos get new audiences year after year, and often receive repeat visits. They only “die” if their educational value goes out-of-date.

8. Pranks

A decade ago Johnny Knoxville made his name with Jackass – which in many ways was the forerunner to all of the YouTube prank videos. They are certainly amongst the most shared videos, not just on YouTube but on Facebook and other social media platforms too.

These videos feature practical jokes on friends, family and unwitting members of the public. While it may not always be the most comfortable type of video for the participants to make, these videos are definitely a way to make social media stars of people.

There are quite a few series of videos where people play pranks on each other, only for that person to gain their revenge in the next video. There are even series of prank videos featuring husbands and wives.

Some of these pranks can be quite controversial, so any brand wanting to be connected to a prank channel, had better ensure that their company values, and those of the pranksters, make a good match.

9. Favorite/Best Videos

Favorite/Best of videos feature YouTubers showing off their favorite products and comparing and reviewing them with each other. Favorite/best of videos can focus on a Youtubers favorite products of the month, of the week, or of all time.

These types of videos are great because they can be used on just about any kind of Youtube channel! Check out this video reviewing Ryan Hall’s favorite vape juices–it’s garnered over 233,000 views in just four months!

These types of videos tend to attract new subscribers if you focus on products that are already popular with your target audience. However, these videos are also useful because you can sprinkle other less popular products in there as well, such as your own!

Not to mention that if you strike a deal with the producers of your favorite products, you can enter into an affiliate partnership with them.

10. Music Videos And Rap Songs

While obviously a great video type for musicians, this format also provides great content for Youtubers in other genres. Take a look at Grow Food, a music video created by Appetite for Change, a nonprofit that uses food to help bring about change in urban communities. By creating a music video that showcased who they were and what they did, Appetite for Change was able to rack up over half a million views.

Recently, creating music videos have become a trend in virtually every community on Youtube. Pewdiepie, a gamer, came out with a wildly popular rap video last year and KSI, a popular vlogger, released a diss track with over 7 million views.

If you haven’t already, consider utilizing music videos and rap songs on your channel! Not only are they great content, but they are also a very viral video form which can lead to new subscribers and more exposure for your channel.

How Can You Promote Your YouTube Channel

If video plays a crucial role in your marketing strategy or if you’re a YouTube content creator, promoting your YouTube channel is a necessity rather than an option. You need to get your channel out there if you want to gain more subscribers and video views.

Promoting your YouTube channel can even amplify your other marketing efforts because YouTube is currently the second most visited website according to Alexa. And your visibility on the site could influence your visibility on other platforms and channels as well. It could help you drive traffic to your site, help you reach a bigger social media audience through shares, and more.

1. Start with Proper YouTube SEO

Proper YouTube SEO is essential to promote your channel because it helps you increase your video and channel visibility in YouTube search results. It also improves your chances of showing up in Google search results. This can make a huge difference because video results are prominently displayed at the top of the page.  

So once you nail your YouTube SEO, you should have significant leverage in promoting your channel. YouTube SEO mainly involves proper keyword optimisation and video tagging. 

Optimise your video titles and descriptions with the right keywords without stuffing them. You should also sort your videos into the correct category and add tags to help YouTube understand the context of your video.

2. Make Your Titles Engaging

Your video title is one of the first things that people will notice. It helps them understand the content so they can decide whether or not they should watch it. So give them a reason to click on your video and watch it by writing titles that immediately captivate and intrigue them.

This will increase your video views and engagement rates, as well as give more exposure to your channel. With more views come more shares, which is essential for promoting your channel. 

Here are a few tips to help you write catchy and intriguing titles for your videos:

1. Use numbers or lists. Examples: Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Work with Influencers, 15 Travel Tips to Save Money, etc.
2. Keep it clear and concise, as shorter titles are easier to read and process.
3. Appeal to your audience’s emotions by using high-emotion words. This will depend on the kind of emotion you want to invoke. For example, words like confession, controversial, and secret could invoke curiosity.
4. Run your title through the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to test how compelling it is.

You could also learn from other channels that have a high rate of video views. Great Big Story, for instance, writes intriguing titles that make people want to watch their videos.

3. Find Out What Your Audience Like

If you want to promote your YouTube channel, you need to create content that engages your audience. This means creating content that intrigues them and appeals to them. Check the performance of different videos using YouTube Analytics to see how well your viewers engage with the content and where they seem to drop off.

You can also ask them directly in your video conclusions and get them to leave comments about what they’d like to see from you. You can even add poll cards to your videos like in the following SoulPancake video. This will help you collect your viewers’ responses in a more organised fashion.

4. Run a Contest

Running a contest in which people have a chance to win something is a great way to drive more engagement and promote your channel. The opportunity to win a free prize will motivate a lot of viewers to engage with your videos. You can keep the rules simple by getting people to like your video, subscribe to your channel, and leave a comment.

If you’re an influencer, you could even partner with related brands and include their products as giveaway prizes. Or you could run contests to celebrate your channel milestone – gaining 5000 subscribers, second birthday, etc. 

Content creator, Lewis Hilsenteger, ran a giveaway contest to celebrate his channel, Unbox Therapy, getting 10 million subscribers.

If you have a brand, you could have an influencer promote your giveaway contest through their channel so your contest generates a bigger impact. However, make sure that you adhere to the YouTube guidelines on running contests.

In addition, you should avoid running contests just for the sake of it without understanding how they impact your channel performance. Observe your channel and video performance in terms of views and engagement rates to see whether there’s any improvement after your contest. Otherwise, you’ll just be throwing away money on free prizes without actually promoting your channel.

5. Collaborate with Other Influential Creators

If you’re a YouTube content creator, collaborating with other influential creators is a great way to promote your channel. Build relationships with other influencers by mentioning them in your videos, following them on social media, commenting on their videos, etc.

After you’ve established a strong bond, you could suggest a partnership. Maybe you can interview them in one of your videos, maybe you can live stream together, or maybe you can co-create content that they promote to drive viewers to your channel.

There are tons of options for you, but it’s crucial that you build an authentic relationship first. YouTuber Roomie, for instance, regularly partners with Boy in a Band, another influential YouTuber in his videos.

If you have a brand, you could partner with influencers as well. It’s a bit easier for brands to execute this because it doesn’t necessarily have to be organic. You can pay influencers to review your products and services, you can interview them, you can feature them in your live stream, and more.

6. Promote Your Videos on Social Media

Promoting your videos on social media is a very basic step to promote your YouTube channel. It is also extremely effective for reaching a bigger audience. Social media users find videos extremely engaging, so promoting your videos can be a great way to attract them and drive them to your channel.

In fact, 74% of consumers share brand videos on social media, according to the Sprout Social 2018 Index. And they watch almost as much videos on Facebook (40%) as they do on YouTube (49%). In addition, 58% of consumers prefer visual-first content on social media with produced videos, graphics, and images leading the way.

So if you want to effectively promote your YouTube channel, you should regularly share your videos on social media. While you can share the video link on some social media sites, you should consider creating a short preview video that plays directly on social media platforms. This will entice the audience and assure them that if they click on the full video link, it’s going to be worth it.

Rockstar Games created a short 15-second video preview to promote their first official Read Dead Online community stream that was taking place on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook.

7. Run a Paid Ad Campaign

There’s only so much you can achieve organically. Algorithm changes and user behaviour can affect how well your videos reach viewers through organic means. 

So you can’t rely solely on this and expect exponential growth for your channel. Sometimes, you need to invest in paid ad campaigns so your channel reaches the right audience more effectively.

There are tons of paid advertising options – whether you want to advertise right on the platform, on Google, or even on social media. Make sure you get highly specific with your audience targeting so you reach the right people and ensure that every dollar is spent well.

You could try targeting people who share the same characteristics, behavioural traits, and demographics as your existing viewers.

The Top 10 Richest YouTubers Of 2020

1. Ryan’s World

Earnings: $26 million
Subscribers: 23.3 million

It’s almost unbelievable that an 8-year-old is the highest-paid YouTuber in the world. He started by making videos purely of himself opening toys and playing with them. While this sounds rather hard to watch, he managed to gain millions of views on each of his videos. Ryan’s video “Huge Eggs Suprise” got 1.9 billion views.

His videos have a huge impact on the toy industry and advertisers for toy companies are willing to splurge on this young YouTuber. Ryan now creates animation videos for kids that should keep his subscribers and income rolling in for a few more years.

2. Dude Perfect

Earnings: $20 million
Subscribers: 51 million

Dude Perfect is not only one perfect dude. They’re actually a group of 5 high school friends with the Cotton twins, Cory and Coby as the core of the team. Unlike the channel above, Dude Perfect focuses mainly on sports. They got their fan base from their great sense of humor.

They have other sources of income such as their mobile app called Dude Perfect and pretty much all their YouTube videos are sponsored. However, they still make most of their money off YouTube ads.

3. Nastya

Earnings: $18 million
Subscribers: 44.3 million

Nastya is the second-highest-paid child YouTuber in the world. But unlike Ryan’s World, Nastya’s YouTube is about her own life instead of toy reviews. Videos include day trips to the beach, birthday parties, Halloween costumes, and all sorts of things along those lines.

Nastya wouldn’t be so well-known if it wasn’t for her father, a well humored Russian American father. The two make the perfect YouTube vlog duo.

4. Jeffree Star

Earnings: $17 million
Subscribers: 17.1 million

While Jeffree makes bank from YouTube, he also has many different sources where he earns income. For example, he’s a singer-songwriter, model, and DJ. There’s not much he isn’t good at, and that goes for makeup as well. Jeffree’s YouTube channel is all things makeup.

There are tutorials, brand reviews, and funny challenge videos. He’s basically a beauty guru. With that being true, he has even started his own makeup line, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, which has really lifted off.

5. DanTDM (Daniel Middleton)

Earnings: $16.5 million
Subscribers: 21 million

Who said gaming was a waste of time? After all, the (previous) richest man on YouTube has made a fortune off Minecraft videos. And we can see why. Since Dan already has an establishment, advertisers are willing to pay (a lot) more to have their ads on his videos.

And with his average view per video sitting at 4.84 million, YouTube isn’t just a side job. DanTDM does, however, have other sources of income like YouTube sponsorships, and merchandise.

6. PewDiePie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg)

Earnings: $15.5 million
Subscribers: 102 million

PewDiePie is by far the most subscribed to YouTube channel on this list and has been the most subscribed to YouTube channel in the entire world for the past 5 years. However, in the last couple of years, his income has declined quite a bit considering his net worth was between $30 and $50 million in previous years.

Read Also: How to Make Money from Youtube in 10 easy steps

He’s known for his game commentary vlogs. Although YouTube is his main source of income, he also made money from publishing a book called “This Book Loves You,” which sold 112,000 copies.

7. VanossGaming (Evan Fong)

Earnings: $15.5 million
Subscribers: 24 million

Here’s another example that gaming isn’t a waste of time. Although Evan doesn’t focus on one specific game like Daniel, his fans appreciate the diversity. But where Evan really wins the crowd over is by his distinctive video editing style. Remember, if you want to stand out in the sea of YouTubers, you’ve got to be different.

8. Logan Paul

Earnings: $14.5 million
Subscribers: 20.1 million

Logan Paul is a YouTuber who quite honestly makes very mediocre videos. His spike in popularity happened back in 2017 when he visited a Japanese forest known for suicides and happened to come across a hanging body. Logan filmed the body and made jokes about it, showing the world his immaturity.

He was heavily criticized after that but somehow gained even more followers. He confessed he made a mistake and the world moved on. Today Logan is still making YouTube videos and other badly humored vlogs.

9. Markiplier (Mark Edward Fischbach)

Earnings: $13 million
Subscribers: 25.7 million

Yet another video game YouTube to rise to success, Mark YouTubes mostly about horror and indie video games. Do you have kids? Maybe they should skip this channel as it’s known for vulgar language and lots of swear words. In addition to being one of the top YouTubers in 2019, Mark has also voice acted in many tv shows.

10. Jake Paul

Earnings: $11.5 million
Subscribers: 19.7 million

Logan Paul’s younger brother, Jake became famous on YouTube for actually producing decent content. He is an actor and musician who first gained traction back in the day when Vine was a thing. He’s only been on YouTube for 4 years, but has already gained 4 billion views.

Jake released a music video called “It’s Everyday Bro” which got 70 million views in just 1 month.

Sadly, it’s now the third most disliked video on YouTube. If Jake can manage to avoid scandals, his content might actually be good enough to keep him on board as one of the richest YouTubers in the world.

Conclusion

Getting noticed on YouTube is not something that will happen overnight. You have to really work hard at creating original, interesting content and promoting your channel to the right audience.

Even if you do everything right, there’s still no guarantee that your channel will be a huge success, but you’ll have the groundwork in place to make it a possibility.