Advertisers court YouTube 'influencers' with money, taco selfies
ANAHEIM, Calif. — What’s playing on mobile? The sound of money.
At the VidCon convention here, the estimated 100,000 people who earn a living making videos for online exposure are being celebrated by fans, brands and video platforms.
Kia, M&Ms, Taco Bell, Dove Chocolate and Sweet Tarts are exhibiting on the convention floor.
Industry heavyweight YouTube, owned by Google, is wining and dining the “creators,” at parties and staging big premieres of original YouTube productions here, like "Escape the Night," a comedy horror film, with YouTube star Joey Graceffa. .
YouTube won’t say how much it’s paid out to the creator community, but in an interview with USA TODAY, CEO Susan Wojcicki said it’s “millions and millions.”
While YouTube still dominates the online video market, it no longer has it all to itself.
Twitter came to VidCon to encourage the folks who make their living on YouTube to branch out by uploading their videos to Twitter—in exchange for a hefty 70% of the ad revenues.
Fans of online creators are on Twitter as well, so why not reach them there, Twitter’s Jeremy Rishel said.
Social network Facebook is here touting its massive video growth and the new Live tools for broadcasting to their fan base. But there was no answer for the big question: When will Facebook start paying creators?
Fidji Simo, Facebook’s video chief, told USA TODAY that the company is committed to making it happen, but is still not there yet.“We’re going to be testing a variety of models over next few months to figure out what works,” she said.
The VidCon convention attracts some 25,000 folks, mostly young teens and pre-teens who come after school gets out for the year to visit Southern California and meet their favorite YouTube stars.
It’s that fan base and their parents that prompted Kia to put a huge purple booth, complete with a rocking dance floor, to hall B of the Convention Center here.
“Young people have a big influence over their parents,” said David Schoonover, senior manager of digital and social for Kia Motors. “Even at 12 years old, they know which brands get it, and which ones don’t.”
Taco Bell encouraged folks to create Taco-related videos at its booth.
“We’re here because this is where our audience is,” said Jozlynn Rush, Taco Bell’s social media manager.
Advertisers have a tough time targeting the millennial and generation Y consumer with traditional media so companies like Taco Bell and Kia also look to the “influencers,” YouTube stars with large fan bases, who, in return for a fee, tout their products to their fans. There are about 100,000 of these viral creators, estimates James McFadden, CEO of Collab, a digital studio that works with online talent to help increase their exposure.
“It’s a way to tap into an audience you might not have to otherwise,” Rush said.
Taco Bell didn’t use an influencer to plug tacos on Cinco De Mayo day, but instead an augmented reality tool from communications app Snapchat that let people put their faces into animated tacos. It was a prime example of an augmented reality in use, and a huge hit with Snapchatters. “It broke all records,” she said.
Snapchat didn’t exhibit at VidCon, but it was the elephant in the room, a major force for YouTubers to look to grow their audience and making money via sponsorship deals.
“There are so many eyeballs on Snapchat,” said Shaun McBride, who broadcasts on YouTube and Snapchat as Shonduras. "Instead of putting money into a billboard, and hoping people will respond, brands are putting it into Snapchat, and the engagement is really blowing up.”
Snapchat or YouTube? “That is the question of the day,” said Schoonover. “Snapchat is doing an amazing job, and a lot of people are trying to figure out how to connect with people on Snapchat. So I’d say both.”
Follow USA TODAY tech columnist and #TalkingTech host Jefferson Graham on Twitter, @jeffersongraham, and listen to the daily podcast on Stitcher and iTunes.