YouTube’s Tradition and Developments Report has been an annual report that YouTube releases since 2021. Every year, the YouTube Tradition and Developments Report seeks to debate what precisely viewers love about their platform. This yr, YouTube mentioned the significance of fandom when it comes to permitting viewers to repeatedly eat content material from fandoms that they love whereas additionally cultivating utterly new ones.
1. Fandoms have Followers
Followers have by no means stopped at consuming content material, they usually’re not about to now! Followers have all the time been in lively dialog with their fandom by creating content material and posting it on-line. These stylish, memey movies that different followers watch as a result of they’re simply as massive of a fan of that fandom as that individual that made that video then has its personal sub-fandom.
An incredible instance of that is Tessa Netting’s content material. Tessa Netting is a YouTube creator that started her journey creating content material surrounding the Harry Potter franchise. With thousands and thousands of individuals world wide which might be followers of Harry Potter, Netting created her personal group of followers of her personal.
2. YouTube is the Place to Discover Your Area of interest
YouTube discovered that 47% of individuals polled which might be part of Era Z report belonging to a fandom that nobody they know personally is part of. Small communities of extremely area of interest fandoms make it potential for brand new followers to study the whole lot that they should know to develop into tremendous followers throughout the fandom. The camaraderie inside these remark sections of those small communities permits them to return collectively for these widespread pursuits.
Supply: YouTube Tradition and Developments Report
3. Fandom Entry Factors
The amount and number of content material shared about reveals, celebrities, films, music, content material creators, video video games, and extra permits for followers to have the best entry to info for these culturally related issues as potential. This in flip will increase the cultural relevance of the fandom as an increasing number of followers be a part of it. 66% of Gen Z People agree that they typically spent extra time watching content material that discusses or unpacks one thing than the factor itself.
4. Branding Fandoms
As content material surrounding fandom continues to develop into an increasing number of prevalent, content material optimizing fandoms will develop into probably the most profitable. Gen Z followers surveyed on-line agree that they like seeing manufacturers interact with issues they’re a fan of.
Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons every did related campaigns to faucet into fandoms. Dunkin Donuts, partnering with Charli D’Amelio, put her go-to Dunkin drink on the menu as an official drink. Equally, Tim Hortons collaborated with Justin Bieber to not solely put a chilly brew on the menu for him, however a few of their well-known “Tim Bits” as nicely.
5. Skilled Followers
8% of Gen Z would describe themselves as skilled followers who earn cash from fandom content material creation. The fashionable leisure expertise is dominated by the fan expertise and merchandise of fandom tradition. With technological advances, anybody is usually a creator; followers might be creators and have their very own fandoms.
Immediately, as a collective, followers perceive the worth of what different followers do to take part in fandoms. Followers are more and more conscious of that participation and wish to take part too, making fan tradition, collaborating, and expertise the dominant societal in style tradition.
This text was written by Alyssa Micalizzi
