Two YouTube 2024 Culture and Trends reports reveal a major shift in digital marketing. This report is not a simple content consumption, but a booming development of content creation, with creators playing an unprecedented key role in shaping popular culture and driving success.

The first report pointed out that fans are no longer just consumers of content, and their active participation in content creation is crucial to the success of an individual or work. The second report highlights that today's franchises that shape popular culture are increasingly born online or become within reach in the digital space through the activities of creators.

What does this mean for digital marketers?

We are proficient in traditional marketing models: B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business). However, we need to broaden our horizons and incorporate new models: B2C2C (business to creator to consumer) and B2C2B (business to creator to enterprise).

YouTube’s latest Global Culture and Trends report can help us identify seven major shifts that are reshaping the U.S. and global pop culture that are also reshaping digital marketing as we know it.

1. YouTube's coverage is far more than the world's largest country

YouTube has approximately 2.5 billion monthly active users (MAU). It is the second most visited website in the world, second only to Google, but ahead of Facebook (third), Instagram (fifth), and TikTok (twentieth). If YouTube was a country, it would rank far higher than the most populous country in the world. Data shows:

• India is the most populous country in the world, with a population of about 1.4 billion.
• China is following closely behind, with a population of just under 1.4 billion.
• The United States ranks third with a population of about 340 million.

As I observed in "YouTube SEO Basics: What You Need to Know":

• “For at least seven years, YouTube has been the most widely used online platform in the United States, with 85% of adults saying they use the platform. By comparison, 70% of Facebook use, 50% of Instagram use and 33% of TikTok use.”

So why do so many digital marketers view YouTube as the “unvalued kid” in the social media family? Don't they know that YouTuber needs at least 100,000 subscribers to get a Karat black card (a credit card for social media influencers), while Instagram users need 125,000 followers, and TikTok users need 2.5 million followers?

This is because YouTube subscribers are considered 25% more valuable than Instagram followers and 25 times more valuable than TikTok followers.

One of the YouTubers who understand the value of YouTube subscribers is James Stephen “Jimmy” Donaldson, whose better known web name is MrBeast. His YouTube channel has 338 million subscribers.

In 2024, his 68 YouTube videos received 13.3 billion views and 508 million interactions. CNBC estimates MrBeast's annual revenue ranges from $600 million to $700 million.

According to YouTube's Global Culture & Trends Report, MrBeast became:

• Top creators in Canada, India, Indonesia and the United States
• France, Germany and the United Kingdom second place
• No. 4 in Japan
• South Korea's fifth place
• Mexico's ninth place

MrBeast’s YouTube content is known for its high production value, fast pace, and well-designed challenges and giveaways. For example, his most popular video, “The World’s Fastest Cleaner” (uploaded on April 25) last year, received 583 million views and 24.1 million interactions (according to Tubular Intelligence).

2. The rise of independent animators is reshaping popular culture

With enthusiastic fans, independent animators are turning their social video hits into full-fledged franchises, demonstrating the power of online communities to reshape popular culture.

A typical example is the "Amazing Digital Circus" of the GLITCH channel. The independent animation studio in Sydney, Australia uploaded “The Amazing Digital Circus: Pilot” on October 13, 2023. Their goal is to "create animated shows like never before." Their first episode received 364 million views and 6.6 million interactions.

GLITCH's second episode "The Amazing Digital Circus - Ep 2: Candy Carrier Chaos!" premiered on May 3, with 140 million views and 4.2 million interactions.

In the same month, a SmithGeiger study showed that 22% of young people aged 14-24 in the United States knew about the show, although creator Gooseworx's animation series only released two episodes. It is worth noting that Netflix is ??licensed to release the series simultaneously with YouTube premiere, highlighting the show’s significant impact.

By the end of 2024, eight "funny, colorful animated shows, occasionally violent and existential collapse" have generated 671 million views and 17.9 million interactions over the past 15 months, according to Tubular Intelligence. The GLITCH channel has 12.9 million subscribers.

This rapid success can be attributed to an active fan community that fills the gap between episodes by creating fan-made animations, commentary videos and music videos. This extends the franchise’s influence beyond the series itself, with 5,175 fans creating 32,900 videos about “The Amazing Digital Circus” that have received 19.2 billion views and 678 million interactions over the past 15 months, according to Tubular Intelligence. "The Amazing Digital Circus" appears on the list of trend topics in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to YouTube's Culture and Trends Report. Trend themes highlight popular cultural moments, covering movies, memes, music and other fields. These trends are determined by YouTube's Culture & Trends team, which analyze data such as video views, uploads, and creator interactions.

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3. Creators are expanding the cultural omnipresence of individual video games

For example, the fashion game Dress to Impress on Roblox quickly became a global phenomenon.

4. Non-digital native franchise can thrive in digital culture

YouTube's Culture & Trends report highlights that "traditional franchises" such as the "2024 Paris Olympics" (appeared on the list of trend themes in 10 of 12 countries) and "Deadpool and Wolverine" (appeared on five of 12 countries), clearly suggesting that traditional franchises can succeed in digital culture.

5. India is YouTube's largest market, followed by the United States

6. Hot songs will not only be listened to, but will also be remixed

7. The Middle East and North Africa are a region, not a country

The Rise of Creator-Driven Marketing: Insights from the Latest YouTube Report

How will these seven important transformations affect digital marketers? We may know everything about B2C and B2B marketing, but we are just beginning to learn B2C2C and B2C2B marketing. YouTube creators are doing more than just making videos worth watching and reaching global audiences, they also form teams and build businesses on the platform.

In summary, YouTube’s report highlights the key role of creators in shaping popular culture and digital marketing, where digital marketers need to adapt to the new B2C2C and B2C2B models and focus on trends and cultural differences across different regions around the world.

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