When brands think about where to invest their marketing dollars on social media, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are often the first that come to mind. But YouTube is now the second most visited website in the world and companies are increasingly using it to market and sell to consumers. Its longer-format videos offer a level of engagement not found on other platforms, companies say, giving potential customers a more fulfilling connection.
And the introduction several years ago of Shorts, a YouTube format that allows users to repurpose shorter-length content from other social media sites like Instagram, is giving marketers another way to use the platform.
In a recent interview, media agency and consultant January Digital, which has worked with brands like Kendra Scott, said the number of clients it works with who are actively spending on YouTube has doubled over the past 24 months.
In the same report, fashion accessories company Ridge called YouTube its “top priority” now and that it had increased its spending on the platform 200 percent this year. “We had weeks in September where our YouTube spend was greater than our Meta spend, which is basically the first time we’ve ever done that,” the company reported.
The challenge for many companies is to be able to edit its existing shorter-format videos used on other sites to fit YouTube’s longer programming. Shorts is helping to address that situation while others are looking at YouTube as a television commercial alternative rather than a social media choice.
Said Chris Berg, vice president at January Digital in an interview, “There are nuances for each [platform]. YouTube is a place where a lot of people spend time, and you have to be there. Even if it’s creative that you’re repurposing from other platforms because of cost limitations and things of that nature, it’s better than not being there.”