From Airsoft to Parkour: Building Some of the Largest YouTube Audiences in the World – Sean Womack, Touchstorm

Last month Touchstorm introduced the first extensive YouTube report on Outdoor Activities ampamp Adventure Sports and the report is mindblowing for a number of reasons If your brand plays in this category you need to see this First itamp8217s a treasure trove of data and insights on every major YouTube channel in the category from BMX Riding to Camping and Hiking Skateboarding to Windsurfing But it also shows enormous fanatical audiences for content on outdoor and adventure activities that some many of us have never heard ofTouchstorm pulled out key category trends from the report and found some real shockers1 There are more than 17 billion YouTube views on Airsoft Bushcraft Geocaching Parkour Slacklining and Tricking alone Wow What Why2 YouTube viewers are also flocking to channels on Frisbee Freerunning and Horseback Riding Who knew3 There are some impressive YouTube stars with tens of millions of video views and hundreds of thousands of subscribers each including Brodie Smith Frisbee Andy Schrock Skateboarding and Scout the Doggie Airsoft4 Eight of the top ten channels are on Skateboarding or Parkour Yep we had to look up Parkour too5 Seven of the top ten channels based on TVi Score Touchstormamp8217s proprietary algorithm of metrics that matter for building successful YouTube channels are from YouTube stars not brandsAirsoft Bushcraft Geocaching Parkour pictured above Slacklining and Tricking are some of the most popular outdoor activities on YouTube as explained in this videoThe sheer volume of niche conversations taking place every day on YouTube is enough for marketers to stop and dig deeper Itamp8217s the reason Red Bull doesnamp8217t push beverage videos DC Shoes has a top Skateboarding channel Andy Schrock has a nearly perfect TVi Score and why more than 29 million people subscribe to content in this categoryWe took to the streets to see where this audience is coming from and learned that the NYC passerby is a little perplexed as well What this tells all of us particularly brand marketers is that thereamp8217s a tremendously active audience on YouTube viewing and sharing content that might tie in really well with your brand and you donamp8217t even know itHereamp8217s what we do know about the category and what brands can do not only to participate but also to ensure their channel is in top shape to compete there This applies to every brand channel inside and out of the Adventure conversation The point is Your competition is likely not who you think it is and tracking but rather a guy with a skateboard and a great sense of humor1 Outdoor and adventure channels gain TVlevel audience with exciting content and structured audience building Red Bull and GoPro are known for their killer YouTube channels approaching a billion video views but theyamp8217re also masterful at converting views to subscribers When brands reach this level of engagement on YouTube they combine scale on par with TVlike viewership but with higher loyalty Their formula works because they work the full YouTube formula and donamp8217t rest on numbers like videos views and subscribers alone Market your channel to reach and stay on top2 Learn from top brands and YouTube stars Not only can brands learn from DC Shoes and Original Skateboards but they should also be looking at Scout the Doggie and Brodie Smith the top two YouTube stars in the category These guys know how to build organic audiences and connect authentically with fans amp8212 and they also make strong partner targets much as Michelle Phan and Bethany Mota changed the face of beauty and cosmetics marketing Our full report shows which YouTube personalities are best at connecting and building the outdoor enthusiast audience you crave3 Tricks and motion rule with fans The most successful channels in this conversation category entertain and inspire sharing with astounding tricks and artistic camera angles In fact Tricking is an active topic on its own with more than 52 dedicated channels Skateboarding and Longboarding combine to own the content of six of the top 20 channels in the overall category Brands take note Viewers have a thirst for thrills Donamp8217t be so literal by wrapping every video with brand messaging or heaven forbid just repurposing other marketing videos for YouTube When it comes to developing your own content think interest and action show as you tell4 YouTube competition is wider than retail competition The Outdoor report reveals true channel competition in the category from competing brands to the many YouTube personalities who are mastering the art of audience The report gives brands the data to learn from successful YouTubers and see where they stand vs traditional competitors in every measure of audience Your competition on YouTube is likely not who you think Know the conversation and youamp8217ll see whoamp8217s taking your share5 Brands that know audience know how to get it right Unlike the beauty category where YouTube stars snuck up and took the conversation away from many brands those in the Outdoor Adventure conversation know how to thrill their audiences More than 800 brands and retailers are involved in the conversation and are providing the kind of content consumers want Theyamp8217re succeeding because they talk less about themselves and more about the tricks and thrills their audience craves For other brand categories pay close attention to what the audience wants to see Donamp8217t pat yourself on the back for views and viral breakouts Success goes much deeper with organic views subscriber conversions consumer passion and the other metrics that matter like TVi ScoreYou can download our free report here and see even more findings on our blogSean Womack is Vice President of Marketing and Production for Touchstorm Sean leads the Marketing and Production teams where he is charged with all brand communications He is also the executive producer of all videos at Touchstorm Before Touchstorm Sean was advising for a wide array of companies on their brand marketing and content strategies Previously he was Vice President of Communication Architecture at WalMart Stores and Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi ampamp Saatchi XCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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From Airsoft to Parkour: Building Some of the Largest YouTube Audiences in the World – Sean Womack, Touchstorm

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