What is the Youtube Culture and Trends Report?

The Youtube Culture and Trends Report is a yearly analysis of popular internet culture on the platform, including trends, challenges, viral topics of discussion, most notable creators, and more.

Youtube releases its Culture and Trends Report at the end of every fiscal year, offering insightful opportunities for creators to reach more people and boost engagement rates. 

The first-ever trends report came out in 2021 and is a tool that every creator can leverage to their benefit as a life-hack for those seeking speedy growth. 

Youtube trends taking over in 2023

The culture and trends report is extracted by collecting data throughout the year on what type of content is created, what the most popular search terms are, and user behavior. 

User behavior insights analyze everything from watch time and engagement to retention and sharing, ranking the most interacted with content as an opportunity for other creators. Looking into everything that happened on Youtube in 2022, here’s everything the report suggests:

Increased Gen Z creators on Youtube

According to the report, over 85% of Gen Z users have never posted before 2022 and have released their first pieces of content due to new features such as shorts, Youtube Live, and Youtube Studio. 

Thanks to Youtube’s new tools and features, the number of creators on the app increased, and users can now post various types of content unrestricted to long-form videos only. 

Moving through 2023, GenZ creators are continuing to leverage new tools and analytics, further increasing the demographic’s activity on the app. Some of 2023’s main creator incentives include Youtube Shorts monetization and the accelerated reach of short-form content.

Personalized recommendations

Personalized recommendations and accurate data-based targeting 2022 was the year of helping viewers discover new creators and platform-assisted reach. 

This key feature accounts for most of Youtube’s recent success and plays a leading role in helping many develop their fanbase of subscribers. 

According to surveys, over 65% of GenZ Youtube users realize the importance of personalized content and agree that personalized videos are more valuable than trending videos to them.

Professional Fan communities

Fan accounts are relatively new to the Youtube community and a trending topic on almost every major social platform, including Meta, Twitter, and TikTok. Professional fans are content creators that build their whole influencer career around admiring or praising other creators or artists. 

These creators are the online Community’s go-to for the latest celebrity news and updates. They get engagements and subscriptions by helping other creators get more subscribers and “Spreading positive vibes.”

Expect anything from new movie drops to album evaluations and even real-time reaction videos to content from their favorite creators.

According to the 2022 surveys, 61% of Gen Z Youtube users consider themselves a superfan of someone or something and watch related content on Youtube. 

The rise of meme accounts on Youtube

Memes are a popular way for creators and brands to connect with their viewers, and Youtube’s 2022 Culture and Trend report suggests that 63% of GenZ users follow a meme account on Youtube. Additionally, 51% of the surveyed population agrees that they interact more with brands and businesses when using memes in their videos.

Memes in 2023 are bigger than ever, and meme marketing is a popular go-to among trend-savvy marketing teams. Real-time marketing is the new hot topic, and memes are the backbone of any successful real-time video or post. 

Comfort creators and personalized relationships

Comfort creators were a new category in 2022 and built a strong connection with their viewers by offering satisfying videos and playing on people’s emotions. 

These creators offer experience-based content that helps viewers relate and connect on a different level of interaction using emotionally evoking techniques and strategies. 

Videos such as ASMR, Food “Mukbangs” and filling up containers are all considered satisfying and have seen a drastic increase in demand even throughout the first quarter of 2023.  

How can Youtube influencers leverage this analysis?

Youtubers and influencers can use reports like the culture and trend report as an all-inclusive analytics tool that better explains what kind of content will perform best.

Many elements go into creating the perfect Youtube video or short; however, when using the right combination of factors in the proper context, your reach will excel in no time. 

Good examples of tailoring your content according to last year’s report include:

• Using more Gen Z terms.
• Incorporating memes.
• Focusing on what appeals to your audience. 

What to look out for in the next quarter of 2023?

The content creation economy is ever-evolving, and mostly all the trends Youtube recommended creators to hop onto in late 2022 are still around this year, with more views and interactions than ever. 

While everyone is still waiting on the following Youtube Culture and Trends report for 2023, here are some new changes to this list of trends:

Leveraging Ai to Participate in Trends 

2023 is a revolutionary year for AI, and creators that haven’t yet utilized it will undoubtedly be left behind. Tools like Chat GPT and summarize.tech can help users in scriptwriting, creating SEO titles, and brainstorming for content ideas.

While Ai tools are still in their developing stages, it is essential to understand how you can leverage them and start incorporating them as an efficiency booster.

Emphasis on Vertical content 

Vertically filmed content was not youtube compatible a few years ago, but now with Youtube promoting its app to mobile users, vertical videos are more in-demand than ever. 

Supporting this claim are Youtube Shorts that reach over 30 billion daily viewers and 1.5 billion monthly users. Even long-form content can now be viewed on full-screen mobiles when shot vertically, a trend that will continue to increase in popularity until the tilted landscape layout fades away and is eventually replaced.

Live Streaming 

Another trend that started in 2022 and made its way into 2023 is live streaming. Shooting live streams is one of the most popular growth trends, especially among retailers and e-commerce brands.

Live streaming, just like Youtube shorts, is promoted and pushed by the platform to encourage more mobile engagement and views. Whenever Youtube or other social media platforms introduce a new feature, it’s best you utilize it to maximize your reach. 

Conclusion 

Youtube is helping users build an audience on the platform and shift over from different platforms; features like built-in analytics and yearly trend reports are shortcuts that every creator should start leveraging. 

All of the 2022 trends from this report have made their way into the first quarter of 2023 and will continue to increase in popularity. It’s certainly not too late to hop onto these suggested trends and popular categories while awaiting the next Youtube Culture and Trends report, all of 2023.