On the evening of Tuesday 21st June 2016, we headed down to London for a seminar exploring the relationships between vloggers and PR professionals, headed up by PR Moment.com. Speakers included the founders of OP Talent and Channel Mum.
Blogger outreach has become a huge part of PR and is quickly catching up with the work that we traditionally do with journalists. For example, inviting bloggers to review a short break for our travel clients, or trying out new recipes from our food brands. Vloggers are just another extension of this model.
Here’s what we learned:
Kids up to 24 years old watch YouTube more than TV
The numbers are confirming what we’ve all been thinking, that the younger generation are tuning in to YouTube more than TV. For brands that are looking at where to focus their spend, YouTube is a real contender and it’s often cheaper to work with influencers than to create a TV ad.
Big subscriber numbers doesn’t always mean the most engagement
YouTube channels and influencers with a smaller audience have shown that they receive more engagement than larger channels. By using a view to subscriber ratio you can measure this engagement. The average YouTube channel should see an average ratio of 14%, we were shown a great example of a famous YouTuber receiving a 9% engagement rate and a smaller YouTuber with a 26% engagement rate. Also look around the stats and check out their social channels, video likes and comments to get a good idea of how responsive their audience is.
It’s not always about YouTube
Influencers are on all different social channels. There are Instagram influencers with millions of followers and no YouTube channel. Not everyone needs to be an all-rounder. If a certain social influencer suits your brand or client more than a vlogger then engage with them!
Paid vs earned
This caused a bit of a stir around the room, with a mix of professionals in both fields in attendance, one brave soul asked the question:
‘Who should be approaching these vloggers, should it be PR or marketing?’
Dan Neale, Co-Founder at Alfred, was very honest, he said being approached by marketing professionals is naturally easier because they often have a budget. Although there was a consensus that because of the storytelling aspect of a vloggers content the approach has been found to sit better with PR. There just needs to be an understanding that sometimes there will be talks around payment.
The YT generation has grown up and is having babies
The term ‘mummy blogger’ is one we come across time and time again. Channel Mum founder Siobhan Freeguard was on the speakers panel to give us an insight into how these mums have turned to YouTube to create their content.
Millennials now have families and naturally these mums and dads want to get their information from YouTube, but there is very limited, appropriate info, out there. That is why Channel Mum was founded.
A key point Siobhan shared was that mums do not tend to subscribe or follow YouTubers like younger fans might. Don’t be discouraged from working with low subscriber numbers. Check out their social channels and video comments as well.
Grow with the influencer
‘Famous’ YouTubers are just the tip of the iceberg. Why work with someone huge for one video when you can engage with a growing vlogger, who your brand or client can champion and grow with, creating more content along the way?
Tailor your ideas to their voice and content
A vlogger’s audience watches their channel for a reason, because they love their content! A collaboration won’t work if you are planning on approaching them with an idea that doesn’t fit with what they already do. Don’t be afraid to get the opinion of the vlogger ask yourself what would they add to your idea to make it a fit for them?
There is no secret formula to finding talent
You need to put in the leg work – take the time to browse YouTube and social media to find influencers who are already naturally talking about your brand. Sentiment check their channels and go with your gut instinct, you will know when their content is and isn’t right for your brand or client.
If you have any questions about working with bloggers and vloggers or want to discuss how blogger outreach could work for you, get in touch with the PR and Content team.
