What kind of videos do MILLENIALS watch/enjoy?

[elitechic26]

Hey guys, I want to re-invent my channel/ establish a brand identity. I am a millenial (early twenties). I currently have 100-something subscribers, but my views are down 42% + I don't have many "loyal" viewers commenting/engaged. I want to one day profit off my channel + I know that I need to change. As millenials, what types of videos do you LOVE/ENJOY? One possible idea I had was to target millenials and do a channel devoted to them (college, dating/relationships, instagram hacks (idk), snapchat, twitter, etc.) As a millenial, I know some things we watch a lot (imo) are skincare videos, fitness videos, reaction videos, celebrity gossip videos, and comedy. What other things do you guys watch/do you have any suggestions? I know that people made videos saying YouTube has changed + I can see that. Esp for us newbies, it's hard to 'keep up' if we are not consistently evolving.

P.S Also, what is your opinion on YT channels that are 100% positive + ones that are occassionally 'negative?" One part of my brand identity I really want to emphasize is my authenticity BUT I see that even in the videos I watch, I very much prefer positive people. In your opinion, do people like people who are 100% transparent, or do they prefer happy? I'm a very reflective person + an idea I had was to be 100% transparent w/ my subscribers/viewers about my personal evolution (friendships, self-discipline, self-confidence, etc)....1) Do people even give a **** and 2) Is that a good idea?

Thanks!

 

[Amphioen]

Well, I guess I'm a millenial. I usually watch DIY and gaming videos, rather than lifestyle videos. When I watch lifestyle videos it's about healthy food or indeed skincare.

It's probably best to make videos about your own interests/life/opinions and I think targeting millenials would be a good idea. Especially when talking about life challenges, ours are slightly different than those of the generations before us. It's also nice to be in a community of people who are dealing with similar things.

For the negativity part, I think it's good to be real, but I don't think people would like to much negative videos. You could also reflect on your problems with somewhat of a possible perspective, tell people how you deal with negative things and learned from them/turned them into a positive. I would wary of making videos that are just negative, without a solution or reflection, even though you might feel that way sometimes.

 

[elitechic26]

Well, I guess I'm a millenial. I usually watch DIY and gaming videos, rather than lifestyle videos. When I watch lifestyle videos it's about healthy food or indeed skincare.

It's probably best to make videos about your own interests/life/opinions and I think targeting millenials would be a good idea. Especially when talking about life challenges, ours are slightly different than those of the generations before us. It's also nice to be in a community of people who are dealing with similar things.

For the negativity part, I think it's good to be real, but I don't think people would like to much negative videos. You could also reflect on your problems with somewhat of a possible perspective, tell people how you deal with negative things and learned from them/turned them into a positive. I would wary of making videos that are just negative, without a solution or reflection, even though you might feel that way sometimes.

Right, how could I forget about DIY? XD So popular xD I agree. When you say issues millenials face, could you give me some examples? Do you mean things like trying to get a job? Or other things like stereotypes? And okay, I understand. I definitely agree.

 

[AGRADEPUNCH]

As a Milennial in his earlyish 20s, i'm a huge fan of relatable animated vlogs. Particularly on topics regarding relationships, work experience, university/school, trivial life experiences and generally comedic. I am okay with channels being generally positive and transparent however, i do have peeves against somewhat overly aggressive or egotistical and rant-inclined videos? - It all depends on the execution of the video / commentary. I enjoy things that make me laugh and i can relate to / develop a new opinion on something. Hope this helps

 

[RankdTV]

I am a millennial and I always find myself watching challenges, knowledge based videos such as How-Tos and "Taste Tests".

 

[Brandon]

I really dislike challenges and pranking channels. Those are overplayed, but I guess they're doing well. I really enjoy vlogs, DIYs, and other lifestyle type vlogs

 

[Idec Sdawkminn]

I watch mainly videos from channels I'm subscribed to. These are:

PragerU: Educational videos explaining political and economical concepts from a Conservative viewpoint.
Numberphile: Videos explaining interesting math concepts from mathematicians.
MagicofRahat: Mainly public pranks involving magic tricks. It's the only prank-based channel I like.
Emily Pruna: Just a girl telling her view on things. It's the only type of this channel I like.
Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell: Animated educational videos explaining scientific things in easy to understand ways.
JonTronShow: Hilarious review channel of mainly crappy video games and movies.
Bad Lip Reading: A guy dubs his voice over people, saying what it looks like their lips could be saying. Really funny.
cyriak: Crazy weird "WTF" animations.
brusspup: Cool optical illusions or science tricks.
Don't Hug Me .I'm Scared: Weird and dark songs in the style of a kids show.
gazorra: Funny Star Trek: The Next Generation edits.
ZackScott: Funny videos where he freaks out about spiders in his house and he tries to catch and release them outside.
Oleg Berg: Takes songs in major key and converts them to minor key and vice versa.
WebNations: Tool-Assisted Speedruns of video games. Shows the fastest possible way to beat them.
FinalCutKing: Cool video special effects.
ScienceFriction: A guy explains how super powers could be achieved, or the closest thing to it, using our current science.
RobotUnderdog2: So far they only have 1 video I'm subscribed for, and it's a live action adaptation of a Dragon Ball Z story.

I'm not subscribed to the channels below, but I still regularly watch videos from these series:

The RWBY series: Animated anime-like action drama.
The Death Battle series: Highly-researched fights between 2 fictional characters to determine who would win.

 

[Melanie King]

I'm currently 21 and I'd say I tend to gravitate towards more Comedy style videos. But honestly, I've found myself subscribed to some channels with content I'm not usually a fan of. (Gaming - Smosh Games. Pranks - FouseyTube, and I used to be subbed to Roman Atwood). It really all depends on the actual person to me.

In regard to your next inquiry about the "Positive" VS "Negative" video aspect, I'll be honest with you in saying if I had to put my content on one of those scales it'd be the "Negative" side, and I've found some people tend to gravitate to it as well. A big theme behind my videos is being able to have an outlet to talk about things that may bug you and make jokes about them, making it very obvious how you really feel.

Nowadays I feel like so many content creators broadcast this fake positive outlook on life considering once they show even a bit of negativity their "fans" tend to crucify them for it, and that's when the "You have it so good in life", "People have it so much worst", "If it wasn't for us you'd be nothing" comments comes into play. I personally find having every channel on YouTube broadcasting an ideally positive outlook on life is a bit dangerous for young impressionable fans considering I, at one point, started to believe since I wasn't all chipper and happy like my favorite content creators that their was something wrong with me. I feel YouTube may need more of a balance of "realistic" content creators. Of course, I'm not implying that everyone with a positive outlook is faking it, but some creators you can just tell, man.

I've always said bottling up your emotions and such is a very dangerous thing to do, and if you want to complain about stuff. Do it. If you're having a bad day. Talk about it. If someone puts out their hand. Take it. Your feelings are justified. And nobody should make you feel any differently about that.

Don't get me wrong, my channel isn't this big ole gloom and doom channel, but I'm very open about the fact that, "Hey! Sometimes life sucks! And that's ok. We can get through this together through the power of getting it off our chests, and laughing about it. As well as by finding our own safe outlets for it, and to do you boo." Mine and so many others outlets just happen to be YouTube

 

[Heather White]

It all comes down to my generation does not like to be labelled. You'd be better off trying to find a more specific target audience. You can find people interested in almost anything. fitness, health, beauty, photography, cars, animals, etc. It's probably best to narrow down your topic if you want a more engaged audience.