Like and Subscribe: How Generation Z Talks About YouTube

This new tribe of young people, who are then newest consumers and the hardest nuts for marketers to crack care deeply about social responsibility and sustainability, and pay less and less attention to TV, print media, or the radio.

So how, how do we talk to these people? The so-called snowflakes, the cynics, the next generation of content creators?

 

Using comparison as an analysis method

Relative Insight is a comparison-based text analysis platform, and uses comparative methodology to derive insights from language data – which simply put, is anything with words.

For this investigation, we took lots of data made up from a combination of YouTube discussions and teen-based forums, including Reddit r/teenagers, The Student Room, and College Confidential.

To get an overall picture of the discussion, we compared this to Relative Insight’s model of standard English, and then to explore further, we split and compared all this data over time.

 

Gen Z and YouTube:

Gen Z is the first digitally-native generation and is more reliant on social media than any generation before it. These guys, unlike all other people who started their digital lives on Facebook, spend most of their time on YouTube and TikTok.

It’s staggering to think that 81% of all 15-25 year-olds in the US use the channel. Given this, the fact that it commands two billion logged-in monthly users shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. YouTube claims that they reach more people in the US – on mobile alone – than any TV network.

 

A blurred line between the online and offline world:

One definitive trait of generation Z is the fact that there’s no clear line that divides its members’ online and offline worlds. Digital and social media easily integrates with their in-person world, but what does this really mean for brands hoping to cut through?

 

Our analysis uncovered the following:

Gen Z and YouTube:

• This demographic talks a lot about accessing the platform at school, and they’re always trying to find workarounds when WiFi blocks it, this is a recent phenomenon, rising from 2019.
• Gaming videos (Let’s Play, Fortnite and Minecraft) comprise a huge part of Gen Z’s general viewing.
• A YouTuber’s personality is a huge influencer on Gen Z video choice. They’re 4x more likely to choose to watch content where they have an emotional connection with the host or creator.
• The word ’guy’ is used to describe male YouTubers, while ’guys’ is typically used by the content creator to address their mix-gender subscriber base.

 

What this demographic hates:

Gen Zs hate ‘cringy’, clichéd thumbnails, titles, intros, outros, and calls to action. They don’t like being told to “smash that like button”. They also express frustration with the platform itself. Specifically, they are annoyed by its policy of demonetising videos with ’adult’ orientated content – so much so that they’re often tempted to leave the platform when their favourite YouTubers do.

Since 2019, surprisingly, Gen Z appears to associate YouTube with poor parenting. They link mature content being demonetised with the platform being used to babysit children. They seem to believe that YouTube and parents share responsibility for unsuitable content being viewed by kids.

 

Highlights:

• For this demographic, the para-social relationship with the content creator or host is just as important as the content they produce, but cliches tend to disengage Gen Z viewers.
• YouTube’s heavy-handed demonetisation policies annoy Gen Z, who hate to see their favourite creators losing out.
• Gaming videos are a unifying genre for this demographic.

 

How these insights could be used:

• Sports content could follow the cult YouTuber format by placing a passionate, creative personality as the face of its video content.
• However, and crucially, brands need to be careful about being perceived as following a specific marketing formula by using clickbait titles and thumbnails, as well as classic YouTuber lines.
• Be aware that Gen Z might jump ship – they’re loyal, but not that loyal and their frustration with YouTube continues to rise, so make sure to diversify across platforms like TikTok and Twitch.
• Think about how to leverage the overlap between sports and gaming content to capture the sweet spot that best appeals to Gen Z.

 

Relative Insight can analyse data from any language asset. From forum data, to open-ended survey results, to social media – the possibilities are endless!

 

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