Despite the buzz about short videos, long format video continues to offer significant value to marketers.

What are the benefits of long format video content on YouTube?

The advantage of YouTube is that it's not built around a short content snackable, which scrolls quickly and is consumed en masse. When people come to YouTube, they know they're going to find long-form video content and that's why they're coming. We are targeting a panel of people who are ready to watch full-length movies.

The other advantage is that influencers on YouTube have an emotional attachment which is seven times higher than on any other network. With the long-form format and the vlogs, we are introduced to the life of the person we follow, compared to the TikToks who don't give us the time to immerse ourselves, to know the person by heart. In influence, this emotional attachment is very important.

Does that mean that engagement and conversion are stronger on YouTube?

If you ask anyone on the street to name an influencer, they'll name people on TikTok or Instagram but who are still on YouTube. [Léna Situations, Squeezie, McFly & Carlito were all born from YouTube, They're not native TikTokers or Instagramers. YouTube is not necessarily the best network to activate in terms of influencer marketing because It is the most expensive, but it is very important to activate influencers from other networks who are present on YouTube because they are still the most powerful. They have the best engagement rates because they created a stronger emotional attachment. They have more visibility. People are plenty more involved in their daily lives. Even if YouTube is losing market share to new networks, it remains the leader in the long format. There will always be this YouTube ancestry.

What is the best way to measure the performance of influencer campaigns on YouTube?

You can put lots of links in the info bar. YouTube isn't necessarily the platform that's most focused on ROI. Instagram stories are faster, cheaper, and give you immediate feedback. YouTube allows us to be relevant. It's a search engine. When a content creator posts a video, approximately 70-80% of the performances will happen within the first month, but after that, it's long-term. During the lockdown, for example, videos posted two, three, or five years ago exploded thanks to YouTube's functionality as a search engine. It's re-aggregating a video that was released a while ago, so ROI is difficult to measure in a given period of time.

YouTube works best for branding, image, and emotional aspects. We are working more on consideration of the audience only on direct buying, except for niche sectors like beauty where we could work with an influencer on a launch where people expect to see a review of the product.

So is it still true that tutorials and informational content work better on YouTube than entertainment as seen on TikTok?

Yes and no. Typically, we've said that TikTok is entertainment but for the beauty and skin care segments, for example, tutorials work better and are sought after. On YouTube, you can find anything and everything. There are no real rules. Beauty YouTubers are less powerful than before on YouTube but they're finding their footing on TikTok. In the meantime, entertainment concepts or big productions [that take advantage of influencers] for the release of big movies involving actors, for example, are very favorable to YouTube and work very well.

Is briefing and contracting a YouTube influencer for long-term video content more complicated?

You need to give a YouTube influencer free rein to come up with the concept, and incorporate the sponsor's service or product into the video in the most natural way possible. It is a tripartite work between the brand, the agency (if there is one) and the content creator for find the concept that works for everyone.

It's always a bit longer to make a deal for YouTube than for Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. Often, we ask for a script first, to understand the concept, the level of production required, and to know if the price will cover it. Will the talent hire someone to film and edit, or will they do it themselves? Do we need permission to film in a public place? There is often a lot of back and forth on the script with the brand, and the shooting itself can take one or two days. The process is much longer, and that justifies the price. It is a very expensive format to produce if you want to have good sound and image quality.

Do you have content requirements for snacking on other platforms?

When we make a YouTube video, We often use Instagram stories to get people's attention on the video, and to set up as many elements as possible outside of YouTube to bring people to the video. Organically, influencers also want to advertise the video, they will make stories or TikToks to use as trailers.

It is often said that YouTube is television for young people...

It's true that it's youth TV, but it's not the Real young people. It's the TV for 18-30 year olds, but we don't have enough data to know if the younger generation — the TikTok generation — Watch YouTube enough to know if it will succeed in continuing to appeal to the youngest.

Often, it's the concept videos that people like to watch on television. You can see in the stories posted by the communities, a bit like UGC, they make stories by saying 'look, I'm watching your video', where you see that they are watching it on TV or on a projector. For some videos by certain creators, the public will wait to be comfortably seated at home, or at the weekend, to watch videos that are qualitative and in demand.

Can any brand activate its influence on YouTube?

I think anyone can do it. YouTube is the network that preempts video. Video is the most important content format today. If the brand is very well known and you don't need to pay for a full 30 minutes, you can sponsor two or three minutes of a video to present a service or product. Or you can do a complete 45-minute roundtable video concept. There are various concepts that can be adapted to any brand and any need.

What are the YouTube trends to watch this year?

You have to keep an eye on the shorts. It may take a few months, or even a few years, for Shorts to take root in influencer marketing. There are content creators who make Shorts organically, but it will take some time before there are collaborations because it is not yet a reaction of the sector to offer influential Shorts.

There is also a lot of feedback and news about the podcast, which is also a long format and has strong ties to YouTube. Podcasts started to take off in 2022 and will surely be present in 2023 and could have an impact on YouTube's resurgence. A lot of podcasters and influencers make podcasts that are exclusive to Spotify but film a few episodes and post them on YouTube where they get a lot of views.

Will monetizing creators have an impact?

Definitely. Monetization on TikTok has been a big deal. More and more creators are trying to be eligible [for platform monetization programs]. More and more influencers are becoming more selective about their partnerships because they are less dependent on paid partnerships. This means that we are going to gain in authenticity in partnerships. The monetization program for creators of YouTube for Shorts can only be favorable because it will be a source of remuneration for content creators. It's a virtuous circle.