The massiveness of YouTube can blind the marketer to the true innovation of the platform. Yes, 400 hours of content are uploaded every single minute, and devoured by more than 1 billion viewers around the world, but… what YouTube has done is unify all the pieces that made previous social networks attractive and added something new in the shape of access to viewing and publish the most magnetic of media, moving pictures. YouTube found its niche beyond TV by adding community, shared creativity, and an invitation to join the game, argues Ogilvy & Mather/Victorious in the Digital Social Contract report.
And let’s face it, YouTube’s timing was pretty good. Its launch coincided with the widespread rollout of broadband access. Then it went and got itself bought by Google, which gave it the backing — and time — it needed. And along came smartphones, plus point-and-shoot and prosumer cameras offering higher- and higher-resolution video at decreasing costs – all of which enabled the Mobile Generation.
This gen had three qualities that made YouTube a natural fit, according to O&M. “First, they had grown up in an atomising video world. They were already accustomed to the move toward narrower interests, and the desire for the story trumped any requirement for high production values. Second, they were used to searching digitally for what they wanted. And finally, they yearned to create and share — in an average week, over one-fourth of them uploaded a video, while more than half uploaded a photo.”
And what seemed like an undifferentiated stew to many was rendered navigable and intelligible to the Mobile Generation through its sharing ethos. Cue clusters of fans forming around the best, most-magnetic, authentic, or otherwise attractive, video creators. And, of course, they pretty often emerged from the fan community itself.
Where do brands fit in here? They are nothing but awkward intruders at someone else’s party, it seems. And if they want to be welcome guests, they’re going to need to understand, and abide by the new, unwritten rules of the community (what the report is calling the Digital Social Contract).
And — we know you want them — the six rules of the contract are:
Pure passion trumps production. Authentic passion is critical — even more important than production — to generating a meaningful creative career and business.
Community is king. Understanding this new generation of fandom is a requirement, since this group dictates the ascendance — and demise — of new social platforms, creativity, and commerce.
Engagement-driven, not hit-driven. Fan communities can’t just be addressed — they need to be collaborated with. This level of engagement empowers creators, giving them a higher level of influence than that found in traditional media.
Think small to be big. Thanks to community diversity and the ongoing engagement between fans and creators, the latter can financially sustain more niche businesses than ever before.
Make universes, not content. Navigating and programming for all social technology platforms is cost, time, and labour intensive. Approaching disparate platforms holistically, as a unified brand, has the opposite effect, streamlining production and easing platform navigation.
Revenue grows when it disappears. The Mobile Generation hates being sold to, at least in an obvious way. As a result, platforms and businesses need to engineer revenue streams that amplify — rather than interrupt — the creative experience.
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