VidCon began just 5 years ago and boasted a respectable but small crowd of 1,400 attendees. By the time the Anaheim Convention Center opened its door for this year’s conference, that total had skyrocketed to 18,000 attendees, many of them enthusiastic fans of the headlining online video creators. The conference is, in large part, designed for these fans, to provide them a chance to see their favorite web video stars up close and to interact with them on a face-to-face level. But it’s also a conference for brands and those in the video industry, and it’s become a must-attend event for anyone trying to grasp and see into the future of the fast-moving online video trends. Our CEO Megan Cunningham flew out west to attend this year’s conference, and came back to NYC energized by the passion of the brands, creators, and fans — and encouraged by the trends she learned more about. Please find Cunningham’s thoughts and observations in the presentation below, which she shared with the whole company this week and wants to share with you now.

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VIDCON 2015
TOP 10 INFLUENCER TRENDS

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TOP 10 INFLUENCER TRENDS
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1. MOBILE video is an obsession for platforms & brands because that’s where all the views are happening!
2. VERSIONING (and especially Vertical Versioning) is key to engagement.
3. LIVE STREAMING is HUGE and growing, but it must be done well in order to succeed.
4. PASSION first, profits second. Influencers are first and foremost driven by their passions.
5. FACEBOOK has experienced an insane growth rate. This presents pros and cons for creators and brands,
and highlights the differences between Facebook & YouTube.
6. SNAPCHAT is of majorly burgeoning interest to both brands and creators.
7. MEANINGFUL METRICS MATTER. The biggest hurdle for brands is the internal pitch, meaning meaningful
metrics are essential.
8. TRADITIONAL MEDIA DEALS like books, films, TV shows, etc. Creators are signing onto projects that are
along the lines of traditional media monetization.
9. CONSISTENCY / ALWAYS-ON. There’s not a single successful creator or brand that isn’t practicing an
“always-on” approach.
10. VIRTUAL REALITY. With YouTube 360, there are more immersive experiences on the horizon.

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TOP 10
INFLUENCER TRENDS:
DEEPER DIVE
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TREND #1: MOBILE VIDEO
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Mobile now accounts for 55% of all web traffic.
Mobile video viewership represents the largest and fastest growing
opportunity for new ad revenue for content owners, more effective ads
for advertisers, and market share and revenue growth for the ad agency
ecosystem.
Mobile video advertising is the fastest growing category in advertising.
And the hyper growth for mobile video ads — both for monetizing mobile
apps and promoting products or services — has only just begun.
In the U.S. alone, 50 million people watch video on their mobile devices, and
advertisers have taken notice. Given the growth of mobile video and the
expectations for continued popularity, advertisers are adapting to media
consumption habits, resulting in higher quality video and more of it.

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TREND #2: VERSIONING
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Brands and creators should NOT have a “one size fits
all” vision. Yes, good stories travel across platforms, but
versioning will increase viewership and engagement
rates.
Just like traditional media adaptation (i.e. Marvel movies vs.
Agents of Shield), different formats work for different screens.
When Vertical Versioning is embraced (see trend one:
MOBILE!), there are STAGGERING results, including up to
300% improvement in conversion.

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TREND #3: LIVE VIDEO
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Live Streaming is HUGE and growing rapidly.
CELEBS ARE ESSENTIAL TO TENTPOLE EVENTS
PRE-PRODUCTION:
The best live events are treated like LIVE TV shows,
with professional sets and segments that the “hosts”
cut to throughout
Influencers are invited as guests, often “live chatting”
or remotely filmed through the Google Hangout on
Air platform

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TREND #4: PASSION OVER PROFITS
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“My last brand deal…paid me $30,0000!! That’s 3 summers of
lifeguarding!”
Yet, It’s passion over profits for most successful creators. They are
walking away from a lot of sponsorships and/or brand relationships
if the products don’t serve their audience — or if the opportunities
aren’t reasonable for them to manage.
Partners who manage the projects are becoming increasingly
essential to help creator / brand relationships and to ensure
schedules, budgets, and quality expectations for both sides.
COLLABORATIONS within the community are still a key to success.

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TREND #5: FACEBOOK VIDEO
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Facebook was cited on nearly every industry panel at VidCon.
Many panelists noted that Facebook surpassed YouTube in total video
viewership this spring. But Facebook sets the bar lower — its video is
almost exclusively autoplay and is served algorithmically in the user’s
feed. The structure is far different from YouTube’s channels and is not
designed to build community.
Facebook offers better audience insights and analytics, plus a way
to achieve massive viewership, but it’s tougher to form a community
within it.
Of note: Many creators say they have found a more female-focused
viewership on Facebook than on YouTube.

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TREND #6: SNAPCHAT
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We’re in an experimental phase, but this user base is
GIGANTIC and growing. Snapchat has 100 million daily active
users.
70% are women.
Snapchat users are online buyers interested in coupons and
discounts — 76% of Snapchat users purchased a product online in
the last month.
Snapchat users are multi-network users — 72% are active on
Facebook Messenger.

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TREND #7: MEANINGFUL METRICS
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Internal obstacles are the biggest hurdles to brands.
Brand leaders from Purina and Marriott both spoke at VidCon about how
they convinced company leadership about the critical importance of online
video.
To get “buy-in” from the top, they had to prove their business case with
MEANINGFUL METRICS, not just raw “views.”
These metrics include: Watch Time, Subscribers, Views, Total Social
Footprint, Tubular Influencer Score (TIS).

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TREND #8: TRADITIONAL MEDIA DEALS
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Many creators are releasing books or long-form
projects.
TV Viewership experienced a 4% decline. In just the past
year, that rate accelerated to 12%. Some networks have
even dropped 50% year-over-year. Traditional Media
companies are looking for new sources of great
storytelling with built-in fan bases.
Thus we’re in an experimental phase for TV / Studios. It’s
great for creators because it helps them sustain
themselves as ad-rates grow. In many cases, these projects
weren’t necessarily expected to be huge hits — and some
are already bestsellers.

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TREND #9: CONSISTENCY, ALWAYS-ON
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Successful brands and creators are transitioning from the
“campaign” format (with starts and stops), to an always-on
format, with consistent programming designed to build and
serve loyal audiences.
Every algorithm works in favor of consistency and rankings
are GREATLY IMPROVED by being “always on.”
Keys: Partnerships, Collaborations, Co-Creation, and Curation.

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TREND #10: VIRTUAL REALITY
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Recently, Facebook bought Oculus VR, Google released Google
Cardboard, and at Sundance and SxSW, there was significant
growth in virtual reality presence.
At Vidcon, YouTube 360 was the hot topic. It supports 3D
videos using the 360 degree format.
What’s the appeal? In a world where consumers are constantly
distracted by messaging, VR/360 degree experiences transport
them. These take stories beyond traditional storytelling and are
even more immersive.

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