Screen Time: On YouTube
Did you know next year will be the 20th anniversary of YouTube? It’s almost impossible to remember what YouTube was like in 2005, or even before it was acquired by Google in 2008. Have no fear though, some of us were there. I actually remember my dad showing me “Lazy Sunday” before SNL had it removed from the site. I am still subscribed today to a number of channels that started in 2009. Back then, no one could have guessed what YouTube was going to become. Little did we know the site you had to open two hours in advance to allow videos to buffer would become a household commodity and hub of endless knowledge. These days, I think YouTube is more akin to “broadcast media” than it is “social media.”
On average, around 3.7 million videos are uploaded to YouTube per day. For context, that’s around 4,000 times as many episodes of SNL have aired in its 50 year run. Luckily, YouTube boasts a daily user rate of around 122 million, so I guess there’s not too much content…
If your strategy involves posting to YouTube, understanding the inner workings of the site is imperative. While you may be able to stumble into moderate success on a platform like Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok, you will find zero, and I do mean zero, success on YouTube without this knowledge. YouTube demands strategy and a meticulous approach across multiple steps. If someone has ever told you that YouTube is easy, they lied. YouTube is the Big Leagues, kid.
The first thing to note about YouTube is its absolutely massive scope. YouTube fits into conversations about social media outlets just as easily as it does into conversations about cutting traditional cable television. Not only do you have short-form and long-form user generated content, you have live streams, live television, professional sports broadcasts and feature films. The most subscribed to channel on the platform has 64.7 billion views all-time. The second most subscribed to channel is an Indian music label. Number three does exclusively children’s nursery rhymes.
I want to pause here, in the fifth paragraph, to declare that this is not a YouTube “how-to” guide. If you want one of those, I’d actually suggest checking YouTube. The point of this article is to examine how YouTube factors screen time into its algorithm and determine how to react to that information. If this is your first in this blog series about how screen time equals value, consider checking out some of the other issues! I’ve already covered Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Or don’t, I’m not your dad.
Alright, the YouTube algorithm. Because of the sheer size of the platform, it’s actually easier to see the YouTube algorithm at work. There have been some monumental shifts on the platform over the past 15 years which really showcase this. For the first eight or so years, YouTube primarily suggested videos based on clicks. This sparked the rise of the “CLICKBAIT title! HUGE YOUTUBE click HERE” style of video titles and the trend towards misleading thumbnails. The first major algorithm shift came in 2012 when YouTube switched from valuing clicks to valuing watch time. Suddenly the power shifted to channels and outlets that could produce multiple videos quickly. It wasn’t uncommon to see channels upload three to five videos every day and if you produced content that took a long time to create, well, tough break.
In 2015, YouTube went public with their new, AI-driven algorithm which promised to feed users videos based on their personal preference. You won’t believe it if you weren’t there, but when you opened YouTube, it used to show you videos from channels you subscribed to before recommending anything else. Also in 2015, YouTube fine tuned their watch time algorithm to consider watch percentage versus total watch time. These changes developed the modern YouTube “Home Page,” a mismatch of content from channels that other people like you have watched and videos YouTube thinks you will watch. Sounds kind of lame, right? Turns out it actually turns users into extremists. So that’s neat.
In 2017, YouTube tightened down on its content moderation due to “ad-pocalypse.” There was also the whole, “the algorithm filled YouTube Kids with explicit content” fiasco around the same time. In 2020, YouTube joined the TikTok revolution with YouTube Shorts, which launched world wide in 2021. All to say, the 20 year old platform has seen a lot of change. And yet, chances are, you hadn’t heard of any of these things. Because for most users, YouTube is the same website they’ve watched videos on since dial-up. I implore you to consider it as more than that.
So where does screen time factor into the conversation? As stated above, watch percentage and watch time are still the driving factors of the YouTube algorithm. If you have watched a video on YouTube recently, you’ve likely noticed the uptick in ads on the site. Well YouTube uses those watch percentage and watch time numbers to sell those ads. Unlike cable TV, YouTube can tell advertisers the exact second users click off a video. They can also tell advertisers what video a user is most likely to watch after another video. And the more ads a user watches, the more money YouTube makes. Again, screen time equals value.
Unlike other social media sites, YouTube doesn’t require active participation. Users don’t need to scroll a feed or engage at a particular level to receive content. YouTube loves a user who pulls up a video in the background and then lets the algorithm do its thing. “But what if it’s a new user? How will YouTube know what they want to see? I hear you asking. Easy answer, they’re going to show that user something the other 122 million daily users have liked. Also, YouTube is owned by Google so their algorithm has access to your Google cookies. They know where you sleep.
If LinkedIn is the most professional dressed flea market, YouTube is a planet-sized scrap yard. (Sakaar for all you MCU nerds.) Every day, 122 million little trash gremlins flood the scrap yard looking for the coolest, shiniest piece of junk. When one of them finds it, they feed it to the scrap yard monster and go back looking for the next coolest, shiniest piece of junk. When you upload content to YouTube, you are setting up an 8-foot folding table on the far reaches of the scrap heap, hoping the gremlins will come to appreciate your wares.
I think there are two takeaways here. Thing one, you should spit-shine all your coolest junk pieces as much as you can. I think perfectionism kills content creation and that’s not what I’m suggesting here. Instead, when you upload something to YouTube, put in as much effort as you can. Title it well, take your time with the description, fill out all the metadata, check all the boxes. Again, this is not a “how-to” article, but those guides exist.
Thing two, gathering 122 million trash gremlins around one 8-foot table is impossible. Aim for your audience and don’t worry about who you miss along the way. Follow up, bring as many of those trash gremlins to your 8-foot table as you can yourself. Share your YouTube content absolutely everywhere possible, pull it up on your phone and watch your content the whole way through, tell people in conversation about your content. YouTube is a platform that requires you to physically gather every single view yourself. Eventually, if enough other people like it, maybe YouTube will show it to someone else.
Here’s my final word of advice: if this article has felt overwhelming and is making you reconsider your strategy around YouTube, I’d suggest not focusing on growing your YouTube presence. That does not mean you should ignore YouTube completely! In fact, I suggest the opposite! Build out your YouTube profile and use it as a database for your video content. You’ll inevitably have videos you want to embed somewhere, and those videos will need a place to live. Take the time to make that place a place worth visiting. You don’t need to focus on growth on YouTube to take advantage of what the platform has to offer.
Four down, one to go! Tomorrow we’re going to break down the new kid in town as far as social media is concerned. No, I’m not talking about Bluesky, hold it together. Tomorrow we’re focusing on the short-form juggernaut, TikTok.
Until then,
