YouTube has a lot of new plans for 2022 and they have recently shared their most important areas of focus. They are concentrating on the areas which have the most potential based on what’s happening with other social media platforms, and what has been most successful of their platform so far.
YouTube Shorts
Introduced last year in 2021, YouTube Shorts allow creators to produce vertical short-form videos which are 60 seconds or less. Since its launch it has accumulated over 5 trillion views in total, with its TikTok similarities increasingly gaining in popularity, this is a feature they will be pushing. YouTube has seen the power of shorts over the past year and wants to continue to build on this feature, making it easier for creators to engage with their audience more personally, including the introduction of replying to individual comments by creating Shorts.
YouTube is also building on its monetisation offerings for creators through Shorts; integrating fan-funded features such as Super Chat, the ability to shop directly from a Short, and build branded content through Brand Connect.
Live Streaming
Live streaming is another feature that already exists, however, YouTube wants to continue to develop and build on this, allowing creators to create deeper relationships with their audience. They are finally introducing the highly requested collaborative live streaming, allowing creators the ability to collaborate and go live together. It opens up a more personable interaction and is an area that will allow further monetisation, similarly to Instagram Live Badges.
NFTs
Over the past couple of years, blockchain and NFTs have been steadily increasing in popularity, expanding into social media platforms. To give you an understanding of NFTs if you’re unsure:
“An NFT, non-fungible token, is a unique and non-interchangeable datum stored on a digital ledger (blockchain) that can be used as a certificate of authenticity, representing as unique items easily reproducible items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.” (source)
Youtube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan announced that YouTube believes that new technologies such as NFTs could allow creators to build deeper relationships with their audience:
“For example, giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favourite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences. There’s a lot to consider in making sure we approach these new technologies responsibly, but we think there’s incredible potential as well.” (source)
The main focus is around helping creators make more money and build a business on the platform, we’ve seen creators move to competitor platforms, so it’s more important than ever for YouTube to continue improving on monetisation.
The Metaverse
One of the most spoken about topics within social media today is the metaverse, it’s an exciting innovation that will revolutionise social media and immersive viewing. The first area that YouTube will be focusing on is gaming, they want to create more interactions within games, making them feel more alive and like you’re actually in the game.
We don’t know much more about this as they’re keeping their cards close to their chest and the metaverse in general is an evolving concept, but it will be exciting to see how YouTube integrates this and how virtual worlds can become a reality.
Overall these are some interesting points of development for YouTube and it could create significant opportunities for advertisers. It’s an exciting time as technology for Web 3.0 is quickly developing and GA Agency is gaining expertise in how you can grow in this area. If you’re looking for a strategic partner who can assist, contact us!
