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Story highlights
YouTubers are some of the most influential people on the planet
The stars of the internet can sell-out stadiums and have millions of followers
Businesses are reaching out to social talent to build their brands
The biggest stars on the planet are emerging from our screens, but not the ones you first imagine, TV or cinema – they’re coming from YouTube.
YouTubers, those producing content solely on the video sharing site and Vloggers, bloggers but on video, are the talking heads of the global social phenomenon and command a fan base into the tens of millions. Their video views have now reached well into the billions – a number most business people can only dream about.
While vlogging may have once been thought of as a fad for Millennials, many business people and leaders could benefit by taking tips from successful vloggers whose reach seems unstoppable.
Here are a few pointers from managers of the most influential stars:
Be authentic and unique
The key to being successful online is doing something that you’re passionate about. Most bloggers began by sharing their own views in their own way, focusing on what they’re good at rather than taking over the world.
“When the vloggers started out, it wasn’t because they saw a gap in the market or had a business plan,” said Dominic Smales, founder of Gleam Futures, which manages some of the top social talent. “It was created purely as a creative outlet rather than any specific game plan and that gives rise to the enormous credibility to their output,” he added.
“Each talent is unique. You’ll see a rush to market with lots of people trying to emulate the success but over time, the top talent will emerge and stay on top,” he noted.
PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg): Age 25
YouTube subscribers: 36.4 million
Views: 8.7 billion
Twitter followers: 5.9 million
YouTube debut: 2010
Vlogs about: Gaming
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Smales hasn’t seen any overnight successes. He believes it’s something that’s been built up over time, several years in some cases.
“This is something these guys have been working on for years, making content tirelessly in their bedrooms,” he said.
“People are now suddenly taking notice and saying “Oh my god, look at the overnight success this girl has achieved”, but it’s not – it’s years of toil.”
Zoella (Zoe Sugg): Age 25
Subcribers: 8 million
Views: 435 million
Twitter followers: 3.2 million
YouTube debut: 2007
Vlogs about: Beauty, fashion and lifestyle
Work with the competition
Business leaders may think it’s counter-productive to work with their competitors and promote their products, but that’s exactly what vloggers have done and it’s helped their followings grow.
“The creators give rise to growth for their channels by sharing content and appearing in each other’s videos – it really is a community,” Smales said. “By the act of sharing the audience with your community, you actually increase engagement rather than trying to shut down the competition.”
Pointless Blog (Alfie Deyes): Age 21
Subscribers: 4 million
Views: 231 million
Twitter followers: 2.4 million
YouTube debut: 2009
Vlogs about: Anything and everything
Engage with your followers
YouTubers are in constant contact with their followers. Instant feedback and the close contact allows them to tailor output to what their fans want.
Liam Chivers, who heads OP Talent, managing big names like Ali-A and KSI, says a key to success is about being able to relate to their subscribers. “KSI is really good at speaking to fans – he really tries to engage with everyone on his channel and he once thanked every person who tweeted about buying one his music tracks – probably near 1,000 individual mentions. This makes his followers really feel like they’re involved.”
KSI Olajidebt (Olajide Olatunji): Age 21
Subscribers: 12.8 million (over two channels)
Views: 2 billion (over two channels)
Twitter followers: 1.8 million
YouTube debut: 2009
Makes videos about: Mostly the FIFA football video game, but also makes comedy and music videos
Content is king
It’s a cliche but the content created by the vloggers is what is behind their success and it has nothing to do with the growth of YouTube.
Speaking about KSI, Chivers said: “He’s very personable and the fans feel they can relate to him. He played the UK’s biggest game but what set him apart was his content and that’s what got people heavily into – his content is so much more than videos about FIFA.
“Building the brands of talent like Ali-A has meant we can help other real life brands expand their reach.”
Ali-A: Age 21
Subscribers: 8 million (over two channels)
Views: Over 1.5 billion (over two channels)
Twitter followers: 2.6 million
YouTube debut: 2006
Known as: The “golden boy of gaming” for his great presenting style