The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Statistics

The popularity of YouTube has seen a steady rise in recent years. Today, it is the second most popular search engine after Google. Among the video search engines, it is undoubtedly the best and the most popular one. Any individual or brand that wants to establish an online video presence is aware of the importance of YouTube in the world of video.

A look at YouTube statistics would show that in 2020, more than 2 billion users watched YouTube videos every month. On an average day, more than 5 billion YouTube videos were consumed. These figures res-establish the importance of YouTube. If you are a brand looking to leverage the power of YouTube in your video marketing initiatives, you need to be aware of the scope of the medium. To do justice to that, you need to have a look at some relevant statistical figures.

Site Visits

YouTube is the most visited website in the world. In the United States, it is the second most visited website. 90% of the digital consumers of the US are regular users of the platform. On a global scale, the platform has 30 million active users who visit YouTube daily. The monthly active users’ figures stand at 2 billion.

Thus, as a brand selling any product or service, you need to understand that there are high chances for your users are active on YouTube. If you can establish your presence on this platform, it will be easier for you to grab their attention and convince them of the effectiveness of your business offering.

YouTube Channel

To reach out to your target group in a professional manner, you need to create a brand channel. As of today, there are more than 38 million active channels on YouTube. Out of those, 22,000 channels have more than a million subscribers each.

You need to be on your toes and develop high-quality content if you want to stand apart from the other 15 million content creators of YouTube. Luckily for you, only 9% of small, independent businesses have a dedicated YouTube channel. It means that by establishing a YouTube presence, you will be giving your brand a head start in the competitive business world.

The ‘Baby Shark Dance’ video by Pinkfong is the most viewed YouTube video and has more than 7.8 million views.  BTS, a major K-Pop Band, has an average of 16 million global searches every month. To break it down, this means six searches every second. Thus, if you can create content that engages and connects with your audience, the sky is the limit in the world of YouTube.

YouTube Usage

Over 9000 network broadcasters, recording studios, and others have a content-id in YouTube, and their presence makes YouTube the most popular video-sharing platform across the world. The diversity of YouTube is unquestionable, and today, the platform is available in more than 80 global languages.

Such is the popularity of YouTube that millennials across the globe consider YouTube as the second most preferred video content platform. For them, Netflix remains the most popular platform. The role of YouTube as an entertainment platform can be ascertained from the fact that 20% of the top 100 YouTube searches are related to entertainment and music.

 Thus, if you can create content that is enjoyable to watch, there are high chances of it being shared. With the US, India, and Japan being the top three countries that use the platform, you have a high chance of being viral in the platform if your content caters to people from these regions.

Other than ‘for entertainment’, people also watch YouTube ‘to relax’. Thus, if you can come up with light-hearted content and work on its SEO optimization, the video will become popular on the platform. Optimization involves the use of keywords in the video description and title and adding closed captioning to the video.

Viewing Trends

A look at the viewer demographics of YouTube would reveal that 55% of its viewers are male while the remaining 45% are women. Thus, if your brand sells products or services that are targeted at a male audience, YouTube may be the ideal video marketing platform for you. It is also interesting to note that 70% of YouTube watches come from the platform’s recommendations.  In 2020, when the world was fighting its deadly battle against a global pandemic, 70% of people relied on YouTube to keep up with the live coverage of live events.

YouTube is immensely popular on mobile devices and more than 70% of video views come from mobile apps. Studies have established that mobile users are two times more likely to pay attention to what they are viewing as compared to television users.

The best part about recent mobile trends is that 7 out of 10 people place their devices in horizontal mode while playing a video on their phone. This makes it easier for influencers and brands as they no longer have to create videos that are dedicated to mobile users. Thus, if you can optimize your video for mobile viewing, there is a significantly higher chance of it being popular.

Marketing Trends

While talking about the amazing YouTube statistics, you cannot ignore its role in the world of marketing. As of today, YouTube ranks as the second most preferred platform for marketing professionals to post their video content. While Facebook is the most preferred medium, the fact is 50% of content creators invest in creating exclusive YouTube content.

Even in situations where YouTube is not the only video marketing platform they resort to, 71% of B2B marketing professionals have video as a part of their assorted marketing strategy. The popularity of YouTube as a marketing medium can be ascertained from the fact that 40% of shoppers have purchased items based on their YouTube discoveries. Thus, if a brand can present its products well, there are high chances of convincing potential customers into a purchase. The fact that YouTube viewers are 50% less likely to skip advertisements further ascertains this fact. With the average YouTube watch time standing at 17 minutes 31 seconds, brands have ample opportunity to showcase their business offerings.

The above figures are a testimony of YouTube as a video-sharing platform. The more time that you spend on the platform, the clearer picture you will have on how to leverage that for your business growth.  Irrespective of the nature of your business or the type of video that you are creating, YouTube will give a high ROI for the efforts that you put in. It is worth the effort to channelize your video marketing efforts in the right direction and make the most of the potential of YouTube.