VidCon LA was a blast! It was wonderful to meet with clients ZURU and Surfshark in person, as well as connect with creators and people within the industry. With YouTube the title sponsor of VidCon, it’s no surprise that it was very YouTube-centric. 

Key Takeaways:

Everyone’s talking about AI in the creator economy: 

It was refreshing to see industry experts exploring how AI can actually enhance creativity rather than replace it. We learned that AI can be a valuable "helper" in the creative process, opening up new possibilities for content creation while preserving the human touch. SSSniperWolf showed an example of her content being dubbed flawlessly into multiple languages such as French and German.

AI-powered dubbing was just one among a slew of new features announced by YouTube. 

Their VP of Creator Products, Amjad Hanif, delighted his co-presenters, Colin & Samir, when he confirmed that thumbnail AB testing is finally coming; a long-awaited feature that will empower creators to optimize their visuals for maximum impact, boosting discoverability and engagement. The YouTube Affiliate Program, another potentially significant revenue stream for creators, was announced with over 60 leading brands joining the rollout. 

Whether it’s affiliate programs or creator merch, social shopping is rapidly expanding.

Panels at VidCon emphasized the importance of diversifying revenue streams and thinking globally. The era of connecting with audiences and monetizing through seamless shopping experiences has arrived: over 100k YouTube creators have connected their own stores to their channel, there have been over 150 billion views on videos tagged with products and it’s only set to grow. Some big brands are also making use of it: Barbie for example has made the movie soundtrack shoppable on YouTube. 

The “MrBeastification” of YouTube was a term commonly heard at talks. 

No surprise then that MrBeast’s President Marc Hustedt talk titled “Burn The Playbook”, was one of VidCon’s best, where he shared 3 principles he sticks to with MrBeast: 

• Global-First Approach: if you watch his videos, you’ll know that they’re dubbed in over 14 different languages. That opens up his videos (and monetization) to BILLIONS more people. 
• Test & Iterate: MrBeast’s strategy is to always keep changing formats until one sticks. They’re fearless, they take risks, and they fail to succeed.
• Bangers-Only: MrBeast and his team have a real “virality” mindset, their target with their videos is for 1 in 10 to top their 10% of all time. The value of 1 x 100 million view video is worth much more than 20 x 5 million videos.

In conclusion, our VidCon experience was nothing short of amazing! It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with clients, friends, as well as immerse ourselves within the vibrant creator economy and see in-action some of the changes happening within the industry. VidCon 2023 left us inspired and motivated to continue pushing the boundaries of influencer marketing at Digital Voices. Exciting times lie ahead in the dynamic world of creators!