The Content Secret Behind The Top 10 YouTube Culture & Trends of 2021

With the Holidays closer, it looks like every platform is making a recap of this year’s best trends and contents—and YouTube, of course, is no different. The giant video platform launched a Culture & Trends site where users can learn more about the Top 10 Videos and Creators of 2021.

YouTube was not the only one. Twitter made the Best of Tweets 2021, Spotify launched its traditional Wrapped (highlighting a case of working with data and gamification), and even Google provided the Year in Search.

And of course, you can learn from each of these special surveys and get good insights into your content marketing strategies. But, what makes YouTube unique?

The answer is simple: YouTube Top 10 Videos and Creators of 2021 is all about content.

That’s what we’ll discuss here. Let me guide you through YouTube’s Culture & Trends, and sum up to you the valuable lessons we can learn from the best creators of 2021.

What’s the Youtube Culture and Trends 2021?

Youtube Culture and Trends 2021 provides an overview of the most popular videos and creators of the year. 

This is the first year the platform’s done something like this for the Holidays. In the past, YouTube would offer a “Rewind” clip at the end of the year, but that changed after it received a  negative response to its more recent creator compilations.

With this new strategy, YouTube launched a deeper and more complex website, where users can not only see what performed well this year but also learn more about each video or channel. 

The top 10 listings are available for 17 specific regions and have several different categories including trending videos, breakout creators, top creators, and music videos. 

What can be learned from the strategy behind YouTube Top 10 Videos of 2021?

Even though it is a relatively small sample of videos, analyzing some of the main characteristics of the most successful content on YouTube this year can help us identify and understand some of the online audience’s behavioral patterns. This provides significant insights to digital marketing strategy.

Here are the main topics that are worth keeping an eye on (and even apply some of that in your own Content Strategy in 2022):

Episodic Series

In the third most-watched video of this year, YouTuber Mark Rober’s used a glitter bomb to punish phone scammers while filming their reaction. 

Mark has a lot of similar videos, trolling all types of scammers and using the famous glitter bomb to do so. After the success of his initial “scammer bombing”, Rober continued with this approach. So, it became a series with different targets and improvements made on the glitter bomb technologies in each new video.

Making those video series has proven to be an excellent strategy to keep the audience engaged and to establish authority on YouTube. Rober built his loyal following because he understood the crowd enjoyed his antics and methods. 

Playlists can be built to group all of the videos from the same segment and have a specific weekday to release them, like “Scary Tuesdays” or “Sunday Recipes”. This nurtures the episodic theme and presents continuity to the dedicated followers. 

Make a conversation with your audience 

Another observation is that YouTubers are interacting more with their audience in a lot of different ways. 

In the most-watched video of this year, YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson buried himself alive for 50 hours (people can do weird things on video platforms and we at Rock Content don’t recommend you participate in risky activities). 

The point is: during the video he responded to some questions and requests that were left in the comments of previous similar challenges, showing that he is attentive to what his visitors say.

Asking your subscribers what they want to see in the next content (and actually listening to what they’re saying) or even just responding to the comments left on each video’s comment session gives your audience a connection to the experience  and they will be more likely to follow your channel and share your videos with their network.

Whether it’s on YouTube or any other point of touch, try to make conversation. Let them be part of your content strategy.

Gaming Universe

Two of the top ten most viewed videos in 2021 come from the gaming community. In the last few years, gamers  took over the internet,  and they have mastered the art of keeping the public engaged and loyal. Using personality, humor, and long videos, they manage to capture the attention of their viewers and are able to quickly grow on Youtube.

We also notice that they use professional level equipment, resulting in high-quality sound and images. This is a key factor for a good user experience and it can even help with the youtube algorithm.

A dash of comedy can help your strategy

Part of our lives since ancient times, comedy was also seen on the trending videos of the year. The channel Dude Perfect hit more than 30 million views with its sketch about game night stereotypes.

People want to relate to what they’re consuming (whether it’s videos,audio or writing content), so creating this type of content can be a fun tactic for your strategy. If it’s a fitness store, for example, they could make a “Gym stereotypes” video or something similar to get their customers’ attention by making them laugh a bit.

And last, but never least: shorts

We already know that TikTok made a lot of noise in 2021. In fact, their presence was so loud that its competitors tried hard to create new tools to stop its constant growth. 

YouTube also launched a new format of video delivery: the shorts. 

Competing with Tik Tok, YouTube Shorts allows users to create videos within the app: recording, editing, and posting in a simpler and faster way. But, as the name says, it’s only for short videos: up to 60 seconds long, a format that has become an addiction on social media. 

Magic, pranks, and comedy sketches are part of the most successful Shorts of 2021. But we also have another interesting topic on the trends: teeth-related content. 

Yes, one dentist and one “toothpaste reviewer” were part of the top 10 shorts creators list.

In 2022, content will lead the way to your brand’s visibility on the internet. The more you understand your audience and make creative content to communicate, the better. 

You can reach a very large audience even with a business account, building authority online, while being entertaining at the same time. 

YouTube marketing strategies for 2022 

Above all else, be original. Don’t be scared to try out new ideas: none of the top creators were fearful- and that’s why they made the list. 

Establish a conversational approach with your audience, ask them what they want to watch, reply to their suggestions and involve them as much as possible. 

Content marketing is a compound strategy and videos should be part of your efforts. There is a vast amount of new ideas that brands can explore. We are living in the era of differentiation, so be bold.

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