The way we consume video is changing fast. Rather than gathering around the TV to watch our favourite shows, we’re gathering in virtual communities to share both short- and long-form video tailored exactly to our in-the-moment wants and needs.
YouTube’s first video was uploaded on April 23, 2005. It has been watched more than 45 million times. The content? A young man at the zoo observing that elephants have very long trunks.
Of course, YouTube content has become much more sophisticated since 2005, but the network still offers a platform in which everyone from kids to major brands can develop a loyal subscriber base.
For marketers, the YouTube opportunity is clear: tap into a massive audience that’s actively searching for and sharing video content online. In this roundup of YouTube stats that matter to marketers, we’ll examine the numbers you need to know to guide your YouTube business strategy.
YouTube user statistics
1. YouTube has more than 1.5 billion users
Among social networks, YouTube’s number of users is second only to Facebook.
2. They live all over the world
YouTube offers localized versions of its site in 88 countries and offers support for 76 languages. Only 16.6 percent of YouTube visitors come from the United States, according to Alexa, with India (8.3%), Japan (4.6%), and Russia (4.1%) being the next-largest markets.
3. More of them are male
YouTube has more male users (55 percent) than female (45 percent). That differentiates the network from Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat, all of which have more female users.
4. YouTube is the most popular social media site for teens
Ninety-six percent of online U.S. teens use the site, according to Forrester Research—yes, almost all of them. That’s up from 87 percent in 2014. For comparison, 76 percent of the same demographic uses Facebook, the next most popular social media site.
In a recent comScore survey asking which three apps are most essential and would be the hardest to give up, 18- to 34-year olds named YouTube behind only Facebook and Facebook Messenger when it comes to social networking apps.
Even more specifically in the millennial demographic, 86 percent of millennial dads use YouTube for parenting guidance.
6. It’s also one of the more popular social sites for seniors
Only 11 percent of YouTube’s users are 65 or older, but that ties it for first place among social networks with Facebook and LinkedIn in terms of percentage of senior users. The other social networks have far fewer senior users: Twitter has 6 percent, Instagram 2 percent, and Snapchat less than 1 percent.
7. Generation X watches more than 1.5 billion YouTube videos per day
And 75 percent of those aged 35 to 54 watch YouTube at least once a month.
8. More than half of all U.S. adults use YouTube
Fifty-eight percent of American adults use the site, according to Pew Research Center. Compare that to the 26 percent who use Instagram and the 15 percent who use Twitter and it’s clear YouTube is delivering a much-desired service. Among social media sites, only Facebook is used by more U.S. adults (66 percent).
9. Users have likely been to college
More than two-thirds (67%) of YouTube users have at least some college education.
YouTube usage statistics
10. People watch a ton of YouTube content
A billion hours per day, to be exact. That’s more than 114,000 years of YouTube video watched every single day.
11. The best videos rack up millions of views
The 10 top-viewed videos in 2017 collectively amassed more than 630 million views, adding up to more than 40 million hours of viewing time.
12. And so do the best ads
The top 10 ads on YouTube generated 539 million views and 14 hours of…
