There is increasing competition in video platforms, but YouTube still plays a leading role in the Mexican market, as the average number of users of generation Z and millennials is 55.7 million monthly, surpassing other subscription services, such as Netflix, or based on advertising, according to a study by Nielsen.
YouTube also has 70% more audience on all screens in Mexico, said Francisco Sayan, leader of Google and YouTube brand solutions for Latin America, who in a meeting with journalists highlighted how this diversity of devices is allowing the growth of different formats.
Given the proliferation of short video, it could be thought that the longer narrative is being relegated. However, Sayan stresses that this is not the case because such videos are finding an audience on a larger screen: smart TV.
On this, the Nielsen report revealed that in the country more than 30 million people consumed content through television, that is, one in four Mexicans. This demonstrates the constant updating of this device in homes, Sayan said.
Pop culture and the way it is consumed is also changing
Karla Agis, culture and trends manager for YouTube Latin America, mentioned that entertainment within YouTube is also constantly evolving, and proof of this is that pop culture is fragmented or individualized for certain audiences that generate content about a topic.
In addition, he highlighted that there are types of creativity that impact how content is generated. For example, community creativity, which occurs when a group that shares passions or tastes generate content, which also has a representation in the physical world.
In Mexico, this kind of creativity works for the video platform, because 61% of Generation Z consider themselves a fan or superfan of something, according to a survey by Ipsos Cannes Trend. In other words, fandoms have an impact on the creation of videos.
Although users who are part of a group or who share tastes are an important source of inspiration to generate content, the specialist pointed out that audiences also seek different readings of the same event, which demonstrates its fragmentation.
These characteristics are something that creators must understand, said Agis, because that way they also understand the content that their audiences are asking for, as well as the format or duration that most attracts their attention.
Does the short format threaten long videos?
Currently, the big trend of social media platforms is short video. According to figures from YouTube, its commitment to this content, Shorts, has an average of 30,000 million views a day worldwide, so now there is a question as to whether it will replace youtubers focused on long video.
Faced with this questioning, Agis was clear in saying that the future of the creator depends on the richness of its content, not on its format and, therefore, one should not opt for one or the other. Likewise, he highlighted that trends are not restricted to a duration and even influence each other, because when there is a trend in Shorts, users look for longer content about it.
