5 Predictions For YouTube in 2022
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Dear Creator Nation,
If 2020 was the year of ‘throwing our hands up in the air,’ 2021 was the year of ‘figuring our shit out.’ This past year, which felt awfully like detoxing after a rough night out, we watched the world attempt to piece itself back together. Many trends were solidified in 2021: work from home stayed a thing, crypto came knocking on our door, and the ‘digital world’ consumed us.
One trend became particularly clear: more people than ever are consuming information and entertainment on the world's 2nd largest search engine: YouTube. In 2021 YouTube had its best year ever, which is saying something after the world shut down for most of 2020. The streaming giant now generates almost as much money as Netflix does and is expected to pass them in revenue this quarter.
After crushing on all cylinders in 2021, where does the entertainment conglomerate go from here? Can it continue to innovate like a high-growth startup or will it be neglected in the shadows of its younger (and sexier) adversary TikTok?
Here are my 5 greatest predictions for YouTube in 2022 (HINT - it isn’t going anywhere):
YouTube Grows Internationally — If I asked what country has the most YouTube users, most people would guess that the U.S. tops the list. They’d be wrong. India has 225 million YouTube users, the most out of any country in the world. Oh, India also has 1.4 billion people. That’s a penetration of 16%. Expect YouTube to take advantage of ginormous and unsaturated markets in Asia and South America in 2022.
YouTubers Repurpose Content On Other Platforms — Ten years ago, YouTubers were simply YouTubers. Now, as cross-channel production has become more seamless, a greater number of large YouTubers are becoming multi-channel creators. YouTubers can now receive just as many views or more by simply uploading their videos onto other networks like Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitch. Facebook in particular is increasingly becoming the Robin to YouTube’s Batman, offering pre-existing communities, paid advertising, and over 2 billion users to tap into.
The YouTuber Stack Grows— YouTubers are not just YouTubers anymore. They are media influencers. It’s not enough for YouTubers to post great content and then to step back. Being a creator is a full time operation. It involves editing videos, writing scripts, engaging fans, monetizing communities, and paying employees. More people will start to think of YouTubers (and creators in general) as media startups that require wholescale marketing strategies, video producers, agents, and maybe even some data analysts (had to 😉).
#Shorts Become More Than Just #Shorts — I don’t believe that #Shorts is a temporary fad. Neither does YouTube: they’re planning something much, much larger than any of us realize. Why? I’d presume it involves TikTok being the most visited website in 2021. Shorts is YouTube’s attempt to duplicate TikTok and I suspect that they plan on making #Shorts into a legitimate competitor to TikTok this year.
YouTube Marketplace — I’m honestly surprised that this hasn’t been built yet. YouTube has the influencers, fan base, and infrastructure (2nd largest search engine might I remind you) to build out a shopping feature like Facebook did with Marketplace in 2015.
That’s all my friends 🤝. Disagree with any of these? Have any predictions of your own for 2022? Let us know on Twitter:
😴 TL;DR
My Predictions:
YouTube Will Grow Internationally
YouTubers Repurpose Content On Other Platforms
The YouTuber Stack Grows
Shorts Become More Than Just Shorts
YouTube Marketplace
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Have a great rest of the week creators!
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