71 Significant YouTube Statistics 2024 Data: Demographics & Market Share

Since YouTube was bought for $1.65 billion by Google in 2006, it became a household name seemingly overnight. This is to a degree that when you don’t know how to do something you either Google it or find out more about it on YouTube. Statistically, this is a fact as YouTube became the second most-visited site just behind Google. Also, it is a great platform to get your brand exposed to a wide audience. In this article, we have compiled YouTube statistics and data that you can use for marketing.

YouTube History Statistics

In 2018, YouTube was the second most-searched keyword. It ranked second to Facebook and just above Google. This is not surprising as 92% of internet users watch videos online. In fact, young people use YouTube for entertainment, learning, sharing ideas, and catching up on the latest news. Of course, it is being used for marketing purposes. Below are some YouTube stats and facts regarding the video-sharing site’s relatively new history.

$562 million – the total spending on the YouTube app in 2019 (Statista, 2020)
500+ hours of video were uploaded to the platform in 2019. (Statista, 2020)
Young people use YouTube for entertainment and news. (Statista, 2020)
YouTube can be accessed in 80 different languages, having local versions in over 100 countries (SproutSocial, 2020)
YouTube was worth $150 billion in 2020. (Howie Mann, 2020)
These earnings delivered a +100x return to Google in less than 15 years. (Howie Mann, 2020)
YouTube splits its ad revenues 45/55 in favor of publishers.(Howie Mann, 2020)
20 million – the total number of YouTube premium subscribers as of 2020, which is 1% of the platform’s monthly active users. (Howie Mann, 2020)
169 million – the total number of Indian music network T-Series, which is the highest to date. YouTube Movies follows in second with 131 million. (Statista, 2020)
YouTube advertising started in 2007 to help content creators with revenue. (YouTube Google Blog, 2007)
In 2017, the site reached a landmark: people watch a billion hours of YouTube videos daily. (24/7 Wall St, 2016)
There were more than 9,000 partners with Content ID including record labels and music studios. (Reuters, n.d.)

Even without reading a formal Youtube report, any person would guess that most internet users go on it every day. With YouTube having so many subscribers, some marketers may initially feel that just having videos on the site would translate to better performance. However, it is not necessarily the case. You have to have the right mindset for content marketing as well as the help of the best content marketing software. Furthermore, you have to have good video editing software and a good amount of skills to use it. Also, more importantly, you have to get to know your audience. In the next section, we will get you more acquainted with YouTube users.

Demographics and YouTube Statistics

In 2016, YouTube’s user growth was at a respectable 13%. However, growth is declining today as 95% of internet users age 24 to 35 visit the platform. Also, experts expect it to dip even more. This does not mean that there are fewer people interested in using the platform. It may just mean that there isn’t much room to grow. Firstly, the annual world population growth rate is slowing down, and most internet users are YouTube users already. Here are some useful YouTube user statistics.

34% of YouTube customers in the US are small families. (Statista, 2020)
People aged 18 to 29 make up 35% of YouTube customers. (Statista, 2020)
69% of YouTube customers pay to watch digital videos. (Statista, 2020)
35% of them are frequent viewers. (Statista, 2020)
94% of YouTube customers go online using smartphones. (Statista, 2020)
Music is the most common interest among YouTube customers. (Statista, 2020)
US YouTube customers usually have high household income. (Statista, 2020)
16.5% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the US. (Alexa, 2021)
The number of YouTube users is estimated to reach 210 million in 2022. (Statista, 2018)
Only 79% of internet users from the age of 65 to 75 visit the popular video sharing site. (Statista, 2020)
74.57% of traffic sources from desktops come from direct traffic. (SimilarWeb, 2021)
Only 16.21 % of traffic comes from search. (SimilarWeb, 2021)
Only 1.37% of traffic comes from referrals. (SimilarWeb, 2021)
As of January 2019, YouTube’s Twitter account is the 9th most-followed account. (Juan C. Mejia, 2019)
As of January 2019, YouTube ranked 11th of all accounts most Facebook fans. (Juan C. Mejia, 2019)
83% of male and 83% of female internet users use YouTube. (Statista, 2020)
This means there is a 50:50 ratio between male and female YouTube viewers. (Statista, 2020)
89% of people with an income of 100k+ USD used YouTube in 2018; also people with an income of 100k+ use YouTube the most among income brackets. (Statista, 2018)
83% of people with an income of less than 30k USD used YouTube in 2018; people with less than 30k USD use YouTube only second behind people with more than 100k+. (Statista, 2018)
84% of people in urban areas used YouTube while 79% of people in rural areas are users. (Statista, 2018)
Top 5 search queries in 2018 are: ‘song’, ‘songs’, ‘movies’, ‘music’, and ‘baby. (Juan C. Mejia, 2019)

Source: Statista

Just a little YouTube research will tell you that the site’s subscribers are very diverse. There are many communities out there. Also, plain demographics are just not enough for well-targeted digital campaigns. You have to get to know your audience, come up with a great strategy and execute it with a good workflow. Furthermore, you also have to get to know available avenues like other social media sites with video content. Speaking of which, what social media site do you think do online retailers sell best?

Video Marketing and YouTube Statistics

The YouTube app ranked 7th in revenue globally in January 2019. Its popularity is not just predicated on big brands using the platform to reach millions of people. Its growth is deeply connected to the rise of organic content from individual creators. Thanks to influencer and their videos, companies can now close the gap with their audiences and vice versa. Top categories for influencers impacting purchasing decisions include cosmetics, food & drinks, clothing, and shoes. Experts expect more virtual shops to be put up in the future. Proof of this is 19% of US adults see YouTube as important in making purchase decisions. Here are useful YouTube statistics for video marketing.

Corporate media YouTube content like official music videos can reach 100 million views in less than two days. (Statista, 2020)
The most-viewed YouTube video in 2019 was Luis Fonsi’s Despacito. (Statista, 2020)
$5.04 billion – YouTube’s global advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2020. (Statista, 2020)
SamSung, Hulu, and Target are the leading advertisers on YouTube in terms of impressions. (Statista, 2020)
81% of companies leverage video for marketing (HubSpot, 2021)
More than 2 billion users log in to YouTube each day (YouTube, 2021)
72% of consumers prefer to learn about a product/service through video. (HubSpot, 2021)
20 million – the total number of YouTube premium subscribers as of 2020, which is 1% of the platform monthly active users.. (Howie Mann, 2020)
76% of consumers report they’ve purchased a product or service after viewing a video. (BrightCove, 2018)
45 percent of consumers overall and 56 percent of Millennials feel that video is more engaging than other forms of content. (BrightCove, 2018)
35% of consumers overall and 41% of Millennials expressed interest in links at the end of videos that lead them to more information about the brand and its offerings. (BrightCove, 2018)
81% of users occasionally watch suggested videos. (Pew Research Center, 2018)
‘Entertainment’ leads as the top content category viewed at 25% globally in 2018. (Think With Google, 2018)
Other categories (including educational) come second at 20%. (Think With Google, 2018)
‘Music’ is the third most popular category at 20%. (Think With Google, 2018)
‘People and blogs’ are the fourth most popular category at 19%. (Think With Google, 2018)
Tied in fifth with 7% each is ‘film & animation’ and ‘gaming.’ (Think With Google, 2018)
‘How-to’ videos get the most attention more than gaming and music. (Think With Google, 2018)
51% of US adults find YouTube vital in figuring how to do unfamiliar things. (Pew Research Center, 2018)
28% of US adults find YouTube important to help them pass the time in 2018. (Pew Research Center, 2018)

Source: statista.com

According to a Statista report in 2018, YouTube ranked the lowest in terms of Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) among other social media sites. The GMV put simply, is the total value of goods sold over a time period. The site with the highest GMV is, unsurprisingly, Facebook with 74% GMV. YouTube has a 2% share of all social media site visits measured with only 1% GMV. That is not too bad but this tells you the YouTube is not the only avenue for your video marketing campaigns. So, you might want to get acquainted with other sites.

YouTube Communication Insight Statistics

As mentioned above, YouTube is not the only way to do online video marketing. But it is a good rule of thumb that having a YouTube presence is a must-have for companies. You can be B2B or B2C. People flock the popular video sharing site for tutorials and to gather information about brands. Moreover, it is definitely a touchpoint that you surely don’t want to miss out on as it is only second to Google as a search engine. Below, we compiled some information and statistics that may help you gain useful insights for your next digital marketing campaign.

81% of users aged 15 to 25 years old use YouTube. (Statista, 2020)
The platform is also popular among 26 to 35-year-olds (71%), 36 to 45-year-olds (67%), 46 to 55-year-olds (66%), and those 56 years and above (58%) (Statista, 2020)
YouTube can be accessed in 80 different languages, having local versions in over 100 countries (SproutSocial, 2020)
16.5% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the US. (Alexa, 2021)
Online videos are forecast to compose upwards of 22% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. (Cisco, 2018)
83% of marketing professionals agree that video content is becoming more important. (Smart Insights, 2020)
20% of online video advertising budgets are spent on YouTube. (Marketing Land, 2018)
More than half of all YouTube content is viewed via mobile devices at 70% (Reuters, n.d.)
More than 70% of YouTube users access the site to solve problems with their studies, jobs, and hobbies as of 2017. (Think With Google, n.d.)
46% of people who watch videos on YouTube feel more prepared for new tasks. (Think With Google, n.d.)
41% of people who watch videos on YouTube feel smarter. (Think With Google, n.d.)
A beauty product inserted itself in tutorials versus interrupting ads found an increase of 44% in brand recall, an 18% increase in organic product-related searchers, and an 11% increase in subscriber count in just a month. (Think With Google, n.d.)

The above YouTube data point that video marketing on YouTube is one of the ways that you can grow your community and audience. By providing helpful content, you can gain brand loyalty and associate your brand with positive customer experiences. Later on, this can contribute to sales. Of course, your YouTube campaign needs to be a part of an integrated campaign. Therefore, you don’t want to just have YouTube and not have others. On the other hand, you also do not want to have everything else except YouTube. This can be made easier with the help of SaaS like the best content management systems.

The Future Landscape: Where Do You Stand?

Taking the YouTube statistics and data above into consideration, it sure seems that mobile video marketing is where it is at in the future. YouTube will be a big part of it. Videos will be a part of it. Your brand should become a part of it too. But remember, YouTube is not the only video-sharing social media network at your disposal. When it comes to social selling, Facebook is still king. It just intuitively is and with a recorded GMV of 74%, it is really hard to dispute that.

But this depends on what you are selling really. If it is B2B, then maybe Facebook isn’t the best avenue. Maybe, LinkedIn is. If you target the gaming community, maybe Twitch is the best way to go. This just all depends upon what your company is. What is pretty much true is that all these platforms have their own apps. This is many suggest that in-app advertising is going to be bigger in the future. Videos will still be a part of it and, most probably, the ads will just redirect viewers to the video on Youtube. So, whatever it is your selling, it should be up on YouTube should you want to get on the next wave.

Ads, as you may also feel, are somewhat annoying. They interrupt us from our favorite shows. Even worse is when they pop up in the middle of music videos. This is why having original content on YouTube is a good way to build a community around your product or service. ‘How-to’ videos are great. Also, information videos are also good. You can make them in-house using Adobe Premiere Pro.

Of course, there are also Adobe Premiere Pro alternatives if for any reason it doesn’t suit your needs. If you do not have the means or time to make videos yourself, you can always tap a YouTube creator to look for ways on how to incorporate your brand organically in videos. Furthermore, you can put placements in their channels or collaborate with them to help you make your own.

You also have the option to simply collaborate online. Thanks to social collaboration programs available, this can be fast and convenient for the parties involved.

Key Insights

Massive Reach and Influence: YouTube is the second most-visited website globally, making it an essential platform for brand exposure and marketing. Its extensive reach spans various demographics, making it a versatile tool for engaging diverse audiences.
User Demographics: YouTube has a broad user base, with significant engagement from young adults aged 18 to 29 and substantial usage across all age groups. It is popular among both genders and has a balanced male-to-female ratio of 50:50.
Content Consumption: The platform’s content ranges from entertainment and news to educational videos. Music remains the most popular category, followed by entertainment and educational content. ‘How-to’ videos are particularly effective in engaging users.
Mobile Dominance: More than half of all YouTube content is viewed on mobile devices, highlighting the importance of optimizing video content for mobile viewing. This trend is expected to grow, with online videos forecasted to account for over 22% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022.
Video Marketing Impact: Video content is a powerful marketing tool, with 72% of consumers preferring to learn about a product or service through video. Additionally, 76% of consumers report purchasing a product or service after viewing a video, demonstrating the strong influence of video marketing on consumer behavior.
Advertising and Revenue: YouTube generates significant advertising revenue, with $5.04 billion in global advertising revenues in Q3 2020. Leading advertisers include Samsung, Hulu, and Target, reflecting the platform’s effectiveness in reaching large audiences.
Emerging Features: YouTube continues to innovate, with new features such as automatic closed-captioning, paid online events, and tools for influencer and celebrity interactions. These enhancements aim to improve user experience and engagement.

FAQ

1. How has YouTube’s user base evolved since its acquisition by Google?

Since being acquired by Google in 2006, YouTube has grown exponentially, becoming the second most-visited website globally. It now serves over 2 billion logged-in users each month and is accessible in over 80 different languages with local versions in more than 100 countries.

2. What are the key demographics of YouTube users?

YouTube users are diverse, with significant engagement from young adults aged 18 to 29, who make up 35% of its user base. The platform is also popular among users aged 30 to 49 and has a balanced male-to-female ratio. Additionally, YouTube is widely used across different income brackets and urban and rural areas.

3. What types of content are most popular on YouTube?

The most popular content categories on YouTube include music, entertainment, educational videos, and ‘how-to’ tutorials. Music videos, in particular, attract massive viewership, with corporate media content like official music videos reaching 100 million views in less than two days.

4. How does mobile usage impact YouTube viewership?

Mobile usage significantly impacts YouTube viewership, with over 70% of content being viewed on mobile devices. This trend emphasizes the importance of optimizing video content for mobile platforms to reach a broader audience effectively.

5. How effective is video marketing on YouTube?

Video marketing on YouTube is highly effective, with 72% of consumers preferring to learn about products or services through video. Moreover, 76% of consumers report making a purchase after watching a video, highlighting the platform’s strong influence on buying decisions.

6. What are some recent innovations introduced by YouTube?

Recent innovations by YouTube include automatic closed-captioning for videos, paid online events for celebrities and content creators, and the development of ‘Super,’ a new product for interactive live video events. These features aim to enhance user engagement and provide new revenue opportunities for creators.

7. How does YouTube’s advertising revenue compare to other platforms?

YouTube’s advertising revenue is substantial, with $5.04 billion generated in Q3 2020. Leading advertisers on the platform include major brands like Samsung, Hulu, and Target. Despite its high revenue, YouTube’s share of Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) is lower compared to platforms like Facebook, which holds a 74% GMV share.

8. What role do influencers play in YouTube’s growth and marketing effectiveness?

Influencers play a crucial role in YouTube’s growth and marketing effectiveness by creating organic content that resonates with audiences. Their videos help bridge the gap between brands and consumers, driving engagement and influencing purchasing decisions, particularly in categories like cosmetics, food & drinks, clothing, and shoes.

References:

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Cisco. (2020). Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) White Paper. Cisco
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By James Anthony

A senior FinancesOnline writer on SaaS and B2B topics, James Anthony passion is keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge practices (other than writing personal blog posts on why Firefly needs to be renewed). He has written extensively on these two subjects, being a firm believer in SaaS to PaaS migration and how this inevitable transition would impact economies of scale. With reviews and analyses spanning a breadth of topics from software to learning models, James is one of FinancesOnline’s most creative resources on and off the office.