This weekend I had the honor and incredible opportunity to attend Indy Pop Con — special thanks to Brian Wyrick and (connection) for hooking me up with a press pass!
What is Indy Pop Con? Well, it’s a celebration of all things pop culture from gaming to comics to film to Internet celebrities.
At the convention, I wanted to focus on the pop culture phenomena that is YouTube stardom. Here’s what I saw and what we as social media marketers can learn from the uncanny success and influence of Internet stars.
I arrived at Pop Con at 8:30 a.m., not yet awake and still coffee-less, I walked into this…
With over 8 million YouTube subscribers — the 49th most subscribed to account on all of YouTube — over 1 million Twitter followers and Facebook fans, Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach is kind of a big deal. The best part is, this kid doesn’t even know how stupid famous he is, how much influence he has over literally millions of people. WILD.
I talked to a few other YouTube stars, none as big as Markiplier, but still stars in their own right. They all started YouTubing videos of things they liked or quirky talents they had. Brizzy Voices, a YouTuber with 836K+ subscribers, launched into Internet stardom with her video of voice impressions for all 151 first generation Pokemon. Now she has a voice acting contract and lives in Los Angeles.
I chatted with Jakester, a 16-year-old YouTube “let’s play” style gamer, who specializes in Oculus Rift gaming. Why? He realized he was competing with hundreds, perhaps thousands of other “let’s play” YouTubers and needed to do something to set himself apart from the crowd. Solution: virtual reality, the future of gaming.
After I was all talked out and done dropping small stacks of cash on comics, I finished my day at Pop Con by sitting in on the panel “Life on YouTube” led by The Completionist, Brizzy Voices and Black Nerd Comedy. The panel focused on how to be a YouTube sensation. The Internet stars gave advice to a crowd of aspiring YouTubers on how they too could be successful, perhaps even famous. They drove home three key components to YouTube success:
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Be original — There are a lot of “let’s play” style YouTubers out there, so find your niche or put a fresh creative spin on an overdone type of content.
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Be consistent — Set a publishing schedule and stick to it. When you stop putting out content, your fans start looking elsewhere for their fix.
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Be relevant — Make sure your content is relevant to what’s trending, to what your fan base is interested in.
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Be original, consistent and relevant — Sounds like social media 101 to me, and these YouTube stars follow the laws of social media success to the letter.
The lesson here is this: Regardless of what your product or service is, to be successful you need to be original, consistent and relevant.
While some of us may think that what people like Markiplier, The Completionist, Brizzy Voices and Black Nerd do is over-glorified Internet drivel, they’ve amassed small armies of fervent young fans. They’ve already made it through the social noise. What they say, is heard, shared and loved by millions. They are an untapped gateway into the hearts and minds of the most skeptical, illusive, ADD consumer generation in all of human history, Millennials. They are perfect examples of how the Internet empowers and amplifies the consumer’s voice.
So, if you’re scratching your heads trying to figure out how to cut through the clutter, reach your target audience and hold their attention, your kid’s favorite YouTube star might be the tactic your brand needs. Contact Raidious to explore more!
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