I Studied YouTube's Audience for Three Years. Here's What I Learned.

Besides wrapping my brain around the challenge of putting a human face to that huge number I was also well aware that my knowledge of YouTube was really just a set of assumptions based on my personal experiences amp160As a Millennialamp160it was obvious to me that my generation and younger generations grew up with YouTube amp160Everyone I know uses it in a million different ways to learn how to do something catch up on videos everyone39s talking about get ideas for onlyonYouTube kinds of recipes etcButamp160I wasn39t convinced that was true for other generationsI also didn39t want to repeat known facts amp160I was aiming at revealing new insights untold stories about the engagement of consumers on YouTube What can marketers learn about their target audience from what they watch on YouTubeChallenge accepted amp160Instead of trying to tackle all one billion users at once we went about it one group at a time embracing the spirit of quotlaunch and iteratequot amp160Every few months we chose one group and did a deep dive to understand what they care about their attitudes towards brands and industriesamp160and what role technology and of course YouTube plays in their livesInstead of just poring over numbers and research studies we stepped outside the office and into people39s shoes spending time with them in their homes and workplaces amp160We hosted viewing parties where we39d lock ourselves in a room and watch hours of YouTube videos amp160Those parties taught us what these groups binged on what they laughed at and what moved them amp160When surprising or interesting themes emerged we pressuretested the behaviors with additional quantitative research amp160And here is my personal account of what I learnedMillennialsOne of the first segments we studied was that highly soughtafter group Millennials Going in I knew two things Millennials love YouTube and Millennials love their smartphones amp160What I didn39t know was to what lengths they39d go to make the video viewing experience on mobile as comfortable as it can get amp160Visiting Millennials across the country I was so impressed by their creative inventions amp160Take a look at this collection of their hacks in this videoamp160Young parentsThe other thing that surprised me is how much Millennials are growing up amp160In my mind Millennials are forever 1834 years old amp160But they39re growing up and more of them are becoming parents and redefining parenting for their generation amp160Millennials are tackling parenting differently than the generations before them amp160Tanika a 30yearold mom from Atlanta told us quotWe39re not adhering to gender roles amp160My daughter jokes that she39s never seen me wash a dish amp160We want our daughter to see herself as an equal person in the world who is worthy of her work her thoughts being respectedquotMillennial parents break down the stereotypical gender roles and dads are involved more than ever amp160We sawamp160that play out in how dads engage on YouTube amp160Dads are more likely than moms to look for parenting guidance on YouTube and to use YouTube to connect with their children amp160You can explore that research and more insights hereGen XersOf all these stories a Gen X story was the one that touched me the most amp160In one of our research expeditions we met Mattie a 47yearold Gen Xer from Longview Texas who had just lost his job when the company he worked for went out of business amp160As he was trying to decide what to do with his career he thought about what he loved as a child and his dream to open his own golf business was born Having no prior professional experience and no access to golf professionals where he lived Mattie learned proper putting gripamp160and stance on YouTube amp160He used YouTube tutorials and videos from past live events to build a putter business with his dad from the ground up amp160See his story hereI love getting to know YouTube users up close and personal amp160One billion is a lot of people and everyone watches YouTube for a different reason and in a different way But one thing I39ve learned is that there is so much we can learn about a generation from looking at their YouTube behavior People39s engagement with YouTube is deep and meaningful and is really a reflection of what matters to them in lifeRead more at thinkwithgooglecomyoutubeaudiences or snack on these short videos to get insights on some of the audiences we studiedClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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I Studied YouTube's Audience for Three Years. Here's What I Learned.

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Netta Gross

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I Studied YouTube's Audience for Three Years. Here's What I Learned.

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