How To Make A Successful YouTube Channel

There is no doubt that the Internet overall and social media specifically have made the world a smaller place. Underneath this uber trend of social media as a global news and community force is a sub-trend of how visuals, and not just words, are taking over the digitalsphere. At Rival IQ, we see tens of thousands of companies come through our system, and a year ago, nearly 100% of those set up their accounts with a traditional Website URL.

Over the past year, however, we’ve seen an increasing number of “entities” use YouTube channels as their “homepage” or main URL. Clearly, YouTube (and other visual channels like Instagram) is playing an increasingly important role in social media, especially if you are targeting consumers. We queried our database to find the 50 most engaging YouTube videos in Rival IQ (which means that a user has created a landscape that includes this YouTube channel).

The results validated two things: One is that the millennial generation rules the airwaves. The second is that it really is a small world after all. The social video content that is winning the hearts and minds of people around the globe is personal, not corporate or political, and usually funny, but sometimes, heartwarming.

Let’s dig into the most engaging YouTube videos and then look beyond the videos to what these people and organizations are doing to build a strong following and community on social media. 1. Tomorrowland 2012 Official Aftermovie: With over 116 Million views, this video is still taking the globe by storm.

Tomorrowland 2012 is part of an amazing musical festival series. Videos for TomorrowWorld 2014, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, are already garnering hundreds of thousands of views. This Belgian-based company saw a market opportunity to bring European electronic dance music (EDM) to the U.S. 2. PewDiePie A Funny Montage: With more than 56 million views and nearly a million likes, this is just one of literally dozens of PewDiePie videos that are winning the YouTube viewer battle. From his YouTube channel: “I’m just a guy from Sweden who likes to laugh and make other people laugh.

Sharing gaming moments on YouTube with my bros! You can subscribe to his channel to “become a Bro”. And the Bros are clearly enjoying this. Overall, this Swedish YouTube star has over 30 million subscribers to his channel and has had more than 5 billion views of his videos. PewDiePie has risen to YouTube conqueror through his video game commentary, silly antics, and by clearly knowing his audience.

Wikipedia calls him a “YouTube Celebrity” - showing the rise of a new genre of celebrity. He’s also won multiple accolades, including 2013 Most Popular Social Show and the Teen Choice Awards for Web Star in the Gaming category. 3. Epic Rap Battles of History: Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney: Okay, I have to admit that this is my personal favorite.

Yes, I love rap, and these guys are brilliant in the way they tell a story and weave in actual history with hysterical rhymes. While this video is not G-rated, they have figured out how to bring history to the people. This specific video has nearly 95 million views and 700,000 Likes.

Like PewDiePie, this is just one of many videos this ERB channel has achieved tens of millions of views and likes. The group creates rapper face-offs between business people, like Gates vs Jobs; civil rights leaders, such as Gandhi vs Martin Luther King; bizarre combinations, like Mario Bros vs. Wright Bros or Marilyn Monroe vs. Cleopatra; and athletes, like Michael Jordan vs. Muhammad Ali (featuring funny men Key & Peele - who have their own most engaging video with Substitute Teacher). I’ll warn you, once you start watching these, it’s hard to stop.

4. Five Seconds of Summer: She Looks So Perfect: I’ll admit that I’m having trouble distinguishing one boy band from the next. However, give these four Australian young men credit, as their video and debut album, “She Looks So Perfect” is owning YouTube. With over 72 million views and nearly 700,000 likes, this video rose to the top ranks is just the past six months. While their channel, 5SOSVEVO, has under 2 million subscribers, their videos are getting the views and likes around the world.