Since its creation 15 years ago, YouTube has become the top media platform for video streaming. From common users to people who make a living off of the site–also known as “YouTubers”–the company has been an outlet for millions of people to share videos in a fast and easy way.
In the past, the site has always struggled to monetize itself and has made money mostly through selling advertisements. Recently though, YouTube launched a new subscription-based service–or YouTube Red–which provides ad-free streaming, offline videos, and a variety of other services for $9.99 a month.
For marketers, the most important aspect is “ad-free.” If YouTube Red becomes widespread, how do advertisers reach their audiences? Who will see the ads that they’ve already spent so much money on?
Companies have spent billions on advertisements and Red is the first step towards ending that trend. As we’ve seen with many other social media platforms, paid advertisements shouldn’t be the main way a company reaches its audience. Rather, money should be allocated towards an organic approach where companies can provide meaningful content to influencers whose core audience matches with its own. Marketing online then, is not about paying for the best ad spot on a website. Instead, it is about creating the best products and the best brand so that audiences come to the company–not the other way around.
