Tag Archives: YouTube

The Power of YouTube Shorts

The Power of YouTube Shorts

YouTube started on Valentine’s Day of 2005. According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, during that time, the founders of YouTube have difficulty searching for videos online. Jawed Karim cannot find video clips of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Super XXXVIII controversy. Steve Chen and Chad Hurley had difficulties finding dating videos. So, the former PayPal trio decided to create YouTube.

A social media agency Hong Kong recalls that the first YouTube video lasted for only 18 seconds. It was entitled “Me at the Zoo” by Jawed Karim. In the said 23 April 2005 clip, Jawed was standing in front of the elephant cage at the San Francisco Zoo, describing the elephants as cool because they have really long trunks.

As TikTok clips captured the limelight and short-form videos are getting more popular, YouTube launched Shorts. They are 60-second videos that can be recorded on the YouTube multi-segment camera for desktop and mobile. A video marketing agency Hong Kong highlights that YouTube Shorts displayed a solid performance during its launch. So, here’s showing you the power of YouTube Shorts!

ALL ABOUT YOUTUBE SHORTS

In September 2020, right after TikTok has been banned in India, YouTube beta-launched Shorts. Originally, the clip only lasted for 15 seconds. After six months, YouTube enabled Shorts to users in the United States. This time, the platform allowed text addition in any place within the clip. It also housed a large library of songs from over 250 labels and music publishers.

YouTube also allotted a $100 million Shorts fund starting May 2021. Its aim is to incentivize Shorts creators for making engaging Shorts clips. In August 2020, YouTube globally launched Shorts to more than 100 regions. This time, the clip can last up to 60 seconds.

How to Create YouTube Shorts

Creating Shorts is one tap away if you have a YouTube app. On a YouTube home screen, tap the “+” icon in the center of the lower navigation section. Choose “Create a Short” from the menu. The interface on how to create YouTube Shorts is similar to that of Instagram Stories. It will open a camera screen where you can record or upload a video clip of up to 60-second. You can follow the same steps using the YouTube Studio on your desktop.

When recording or uploading YouTube Shorts, there are several ways you can do to make them more engaging. First, you can choose a music overlay on YouTube’s sounds library. Second, you can add filters by clicking the three dots on the upper right-hand corner of the Shorts screen. There you can search for your desired filter using keywords. Third, you can add text on Shorts at a maximum of 100 characters. Third, you can also adjust the video speed of YouTube Shorts.

THE POWER OF YOUTUBE SHORTS

Marketers are overwhelmed by a lot of short-form video formats on social media. But the power of YouTube Shorts will always stand out. YouTube is the second largest global website. With 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube Shorts have a larger reach. Second, unlike Instagram Stories, which expire after 24 hours, YouTube Shorts remain on the shelf forever. Lastly, the daily views of YouTube Shorts are now up to 30 billion. That is why in the latest earning report of the platform, they are looking forward to launching Short Ads anytime soon!

Reference: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/youtube-shorts#:~:text=YouTube%20Shorts%20enables%20users%20to,Instagram%20Reels%20or%20Stories%20content.

Essential Social Media Statistics Every Marketer Should Know in 2022

Social Media Statistics

Investopedia defines social media marketing (SMM) as using social media and social networks to promote brands, businesses, products, and services. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong highlights that social media allows brands and businesses to connect with their target audiences. They create data analytics for better ad targeting. A social media agency Hong Kong notes that social media marketing is very effective because it appeals to the users’ culture, mission, or tone. While a video marketing agency Hong Kong mentions that these sites have significantly changed consumer behaviors.

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter are the top 6 most popular social media networks based on their number of monthly active users (MAU). Below, we have compiled essential social media statistics every marketer should know in 2022. The following stats can spark some new ideas to help brands and businesses create a strong social media presence and strategy this year.

Facebook

Facebook is popularly termed the king of social media. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. Today, a rebranded Facebook, Meta dominates the online world with 2.88 billion MAUs.

  • Facebook is the world’s 3rd most visited website, next to Google and YouTube. It is visited by an average of 1.79 billion users daily. That’s a total of 11.2 billion visits every year.
  • Facebook is also the 2nd most searched keyword in Google. That makes it the most popular social media network in the world.
  • Around 98.3% of Facebook users access their accounts using a mobile device.
  • Facebook Stories have 500 million daily viewers. While video ads are the best performing Facebook ad format.

YouTube

Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen created YouTube in 2005. After a year, it was acquired by Google. Today, YouTube has brown has grown into 2.3 billion MAU, making it the largest global video-sharing platform.

  • YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world, next to its parent company, Google.
  • People watched more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos every day. These made YouTube account for 25% of the total mobile traffic worldwide.
  • According to HubSpot, 44% of marketers plan to leverage YouTube in their 2022 digital marketing strategies.

Instagram

Now a photo-and-video-sharing app, Instagram was originally founded by Kevin Systrom in 2010. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012. To date, Instagram now houses 2 billion monthly active users.

  • Instagram ranks as the 4th most active social media platform in the whole world.
  • More than 90% of Instagrammers followed a business profile. 83% discover new products and services on the platform.
  • Instagram Stories with a call to action is the best performing ads. While 73% of Instagram marketers favored influencer marketing.
  • Instagram Live has become increasingly popular nowadays, with 100 million Instagrammers launching a live broadcast daily.

TikTok

Launched in 2016 by the Chinese startup, ByteDance, TikTok has stormed the world surpassing a 1 billion active user mark in September 2021. It made the platform the 7th social media network with an exclusive billion-user club.

  • TikTok ranks as the 7th most active social media platform in the whole world.
  • The United States houses the largest number of TikTok users at around 120.8 million.
  • Tiktok only publishes ads to users who are 18 years old and above. But they relatively had a high potential reach at 11%.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a unique social media platform as a visual discovery search engine. It was founded by Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp, and Paul Sciarra in 2010. With a 10 million MAU, it can help brands and businesses reach target audiences through visual media.

  • Pinterest stands as 14th of the world’s most active social media platforms.
  • More than 70% of pinners are women.
  • The United States houses the largest number of active pinners at around 90.5 million.

Twitter

Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass founded Twitter in 2014. It is a microblogging social media platform. As a mainstream social media platform, it now has around 396.5 million MAU.

  • Twitter ranks as the 4th most active social media platform in the whole world.
  • It houses 83% of world leaders and 42% of users who have graduated college.
  • According to HubSpot, 79% of marketers will continue to invest in Twitter Spaces in 2022.

Social Media Usage Statistics

The first recognized social media site in the world is Six Degrees. It was created in 1997, allowing a user to upload a profile and make friends with other online users. Over the years, social media has grown into a valuable medium for connecting people around the world. Below are recent social media usage statistics:

  • There are 4.88 billion social media users globally today. It accounts for more than half or around 62% of the world’s population. That also means that there are around 6 out 10 people on the planet who have at least 1 social media account.
  • Two-thirds of the world’s population access social media via mobile devices. They contribute to 5.29 billion unique mobile users.
  • Social media users access social media at an average daily usage of 2 hours and 27 minutes. Almost 45% of social media users research brands, products, and services.
  • More than 85% of social media marketers rated short-form videos as the most effective social media marketing content.

Reference: https://statusbrew.com/insights/social-media-statistics/

A Half-Year Review of the Top Social Media Platforms

Social Media

There are 4.48 billion social media users around the world today. It means that 2/3 of the global population have at least one social media account. As such, brands and businesses focus on social media marketing. It is an essential key to success in promoting their products and services online. For many, social media is a way to connect to the world. According to a social media agency Hong Kong, it is also a place to find ideas and inspiration. That is why the marketing strategies in these online platforms are very different. First, you need to educate your target audience to give them ideas. Second, you also need to be creative in engaging and inspiring them.

There are so many social media platforms available online. The challenge for brands and businesses is choosing the right one. To help them make better decisions, here’s a half-year review of the top social media platforms.

CLUBHOUSE

The Clubhouse app is a social audio app launched last March 2020. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong highlighted that it revolutionized the audio marketing industry. Other social media platforms tried to clone the app. The Clubhouse app was initially invite-only in iOS but has recorded 13 million downloads in less than a year. Today, it has enabled Android download and has opened its membership to the public. The audio chat app now has 20 million downloads. With 10 million monthly active users, Clubhouse is now worth $4 billion in a Series C round. 

FACEBOOK

The king of social media has now grown to 2.895 billion monthly active users. Almost fifty percent of its members come from the Asia-Pacific region. Its quarterly revenue stands at $29,077 billion. A large part of the earnings came from Canada, Europe, and the United States. Facebook now focuses on AR and VR innovations. It is also adding features and tools for live broadcast and paid online events. By 09 August 2021, it will hold the first-ever movie premiere. With Facebook Pay being made available among 3rd party platforms, this year may be a huge leap for Facebook paid services.

INSTAGRAM

Since Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, it has become one of the most influential social media platforms globally. With a large number of millennials using the app, the platform switched from photo-sharing into photo-and-video-sharing. As of Q2 of 2021, Instagram has 1.386 billion monthly active users. Its revenue stands at $18.16 billion. At the beginning of 2021, Instagram introduced a “Professional Dashboard.” It houses all the features and tools a brand or business needs to manage an Instagram account. The platform has also integrated its Messaging API, allowing access to multiple Instagram pages.

LINKEDIN

The largest online network of professionals now has 774 million monthly active users. LinkedIn was also currently on track to generate $3.7 billion for this full year. A video marketing agency Hong Kong notes that LinkedIn posts with videos are 20x more likely to be shared than any other forms of posts. It may be the reason why the platform focuses mainly on enhancing LinkedIn Stories as of these days. It was introduced in late September 2020. Last January, LinkedIn enabled the automatic “follow” action and swipe up button to enhance its Stories features. 

PINTEREST

After reporting a series of consecutive growth for 11 quarters, Pinterest showed a slight decline in Q2 of 2021. It now has 454 million monthly active users. But its revenue grew to $613 million, on track with a growth of 125% year over year. Pinterest has noted that the decline is due to the easing restrictions on physical stores. Brick-and-mortar shops are slowly coming back. It makes shoppers shift back to store visits instead of online searches. As such, Pinterest now focuses on expanding its virtual try-ons. Initially, the visual search engine enabled it among makeup products from big global brands. Recently, it enabled a virtual test drive for Volkswagen. Pinterest has also added more ways for creators to earn money. These include product tags and paid partnerships.

SNAPCHAT

Snapchat now has 293 million monthly active users. Its revenue now stands at $982 million. It is a solid increase in both account and profit growth. After a shaky period resulting from the launch of Instagram Stories, the messaging app is now recovering. It has seen significant growth in India after the TikTok ban. Recently, the platform launched the “Open Your Snapchat” video campaign in key cities of the world. It also introduced the “Campaign Lab,” a hub for creating Snap Ads. 

TIKTOK

TikTok is a Chinese short video clip app that recently made waves around the world. Because of the rapid growth among its users, many social media platforms cloned the app. There are Reels from Facebook, Shorts from YouTube, and Spotlight from Snapchat. TikTok became the first non-Facebook app to hit 3 billion downloads. It is estimated to have 689 million monthly active users today. Its current revenue now passed $2.5 billion. Thus, it became one of the non-gaming apps with a revenue greater than $1 billion since 2014. TikTok has greeted the world with a whirlwind of short amateur videos. Because of the fun and interactive elements, people started using them as a daily routine. They cater to a variety of genres – brands, celebrities, millennials, and kids. 

TWITTER

Twitter’s revenue was up to $1.19 billion in Q2 of 2021. It also has 206 million daily active users. It was a strong quarter for the microblogging site. The platform has added several paid subscription services to boost its revenue. These include Twitter Blue, newsletter sign-up, Super Follow, ticketed Spaces, and Tomorrow weather subscription. Today, many brands and businesses feel more positive about Twitter marketing. As the platform houses current global events conversations and ramps up in enhancing its marketing tools, Twitter is becoming the biggest threat to Facebook.

YOUTUBE

The video-sharing platform accelerated back to high growth as it reached $7 billion in revenue in Q2 of 2021. YouTube now stands at 2 billion monthly active users. Alphabet, Google’s parent company who owned YouTube reported that there was a spike in advertising revenue resulting from the lockdowns and social distancing measures from the COVID pandemic. Shopping behaviors were forced to shift from physical stores to eCommerce websites. Plus, videos have greatly influenced shoppers to learn more about a brand, product, or service.