Youtube, the trendy way to promote brands

Social networks have taken an important place in our life over the last few years and most companies have clearly understood that. Today, social networks are used as a business tool. While interest for traditional media keeps getting lower, digital promotion is growing, especially in cosmetics, high-tech, video games, sports and food industries. Youtube is one of the most famous social media platforms that provides cheaper promotion to brands. The trend has become famous through beauty videos and has developed into other types of channels.

Maybe your sister or your girlfriend already watched a make-up tutorial to learn how to get a “cat-eyes” look, a review about the new Dior BB cream, a healthy gluten-free recipe or an abs exercise tutorial. Youtube has become an essential part of daily life. Viewers visit the platform to get tips and information. It brings change and entertainment in their daily life.

In these videos, Youtubers often feature various products and give their opinion about them. In this way, Youtubers may influence viewers and therefore their purchasing decisions. Even more, the system may create needs that did not exist before the viewing. That is a perfect opportunity for brands to catch. It has become a habit for companies to send free samples of their new product to Youtubers, asking them in return to discuss it in their videos. That’s what is called product placement. Youtubers are free to give a positive or negative opinion about the product they received (even though such a process is always meant to get a positive comment). Sometimes, brands send more than one sample of their new product. In that way, youtubers can make their viewers win one of them through a contest and discover the brand and products for free.    

Youtube offers more opportunities to new companies to develop their market and to enter the global market. For instance, the young Italian brand of natural cosmetics “Neve cosmetics” has become famous in France through the platform. French beauty youtubers broadcasted positive product reviews and made French viewers aware of the concept.    

Promotion through Youtube remains cheaper than advertising through other more classical platforms. Television spots are so expensive that all brands cannot afford them. And what is sure is that the ratio Youtube’s cost effectiveness is the best argument to show Youtube’s success. This depends on the number of views, commitment the rate on social networks, how famous the youtuber is. Obviously, the most famous youtuber is more expensive than a more modest youtuber, but then the more famous the youtuber is, the more views he will get.    

Because they are seen as “normal people” in people’s minds, youtubers are more convincing and viewers trust them. They feel closer to them than they do to celebrities on TV who are in some kind of way inaccessible. In fact, viewers can easily relate to youtubers because of their lifestyle or their needs, and also communicate more easily with them by just writing a comment on the video. That confidence also relies on legal conditions. According to a specific digital law, Youtubers are bound to stay transparent with the audience. They have to mention verbally or to write below the video if they have a partnership with the brand they are presenting through an item.

The phenomenon has gone further with collaborations between youtubers and brands. For instance, the American brand of cosmetics, Benefit, just launched a special edition named after the French beauty youtuber Enjoyphoenix. This is another strategy to appeal to customers given the popularity of this new businesswoman. Brands also organize promotion parties to which youtubers are invited. Why so much attention? Simply because youtubers will post about the event on their social networks accounts.  

Today there are even companies specialized in that movement whose job is to put in touch brands which wish to develop their promotion with youtubers.    

But maybe the trend is going too far. The growing number of youtubers could stain the system. Too many youtubers receive the same product and talk about it at the same time. Viewers are slowly discovering this hidden business, and could start to trust youtubers less. Some videos are characterized as concealed promotion. That is why the phenomenon is attracting attention in the UK. The Committee of Advertising Practice is trying to regulate youtubers’ activity. They accuse some brands of misleading viewers because of a lack of transparency from the video maker. Youtubers’ values are changing and the platform is turning into a business media rather than an entertainment platform.

Amélie D.