They may all be mid-to-late Millennials, but males and females between the ages of 18 and 34 are watching very different types of content on YouTube. Knowing what different demographics of viewers engage with online is key to brands understanding who their audience is, what kind of of content they should be creating, and which YouTube influencers they should be collaborating with.
First, let’s take a look what topics males aged 18 to 34 are engaging with on YouTube:
A large category overall in online video, gaming topics are incredibly popular on YouTube with males in the US aged 18-34. For males aged 18 to 24, gameplay is the topic that’s engaged with the most, while film is the most engaging topic for males aged 25 to 34 followed by gameplay and then videos related to the game Grand Theft Auto. Now let’s look at which native YouTube channels males from 18 to 34 are engaging with most:
The chart above further proves the popularity of gaming and entertainment channels on YouTube and these creators have a huge influence on how viewers think and on what they buy. Females between the ages of 18 and 34 engage the most with different topics on YouTube than males of the same age:
Cosmetics is the top topic for US females 18-34 across the boards. How-to and style videos focused on beauty tips and tutorials can drive engagement on YouTube. Females 18-34 also often engage with music topics on YouTube. The only popular topic both males and females in this age group engage with is film. Let’s see which native YouTube channels females aged 18 to 34 engage the most with:
Males aged 18 to 34 are more interested in gaming and comedy (practical jokes especially), while females in the same age bracket are more interested in beauty and music. Let’s take a look at the most subscribed channels on YouTube (not including Vevo):
Note that most of the channels in the top ten skew toward one gender; for a few of these channels, they skew almost completely in one direction – heavily male. So, If a beauty brand wants to grow their YouTube audience, they should first look at channels that are popular with females aged 18-34, then see what kind of videos those channels are uploading. Finally, they should create their own content based upon what those females are engaging with and look to partner with YouTubers who are influential within the beauty category for that specific demographic. Understanding how YouTube viewing breaks down demographically is crucial for any brand or anyone looking to reach an audience through online video.
* Data in males topics graph taken from 6-month period (10/1/2013 – 4/1/2014) and females topics graph from 90-day period (4/2014 – 6/2014)