• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, June 15, 2011

User-generated content gets a bad rap.  At its inception online, UGC was immediately categorized as low-quality video content, and brands were a bit hesitant to dive in and sponsor them (at the time, rightfully so). Still, in the last three to four years, the hesitation has subsided and marketers are truly on board.  UGC is growing up!

There are two influencing factors that weigh into this maturation of the vehicle.  First off, the content itself has actually become quite good!  It boggles my mind when I watch these videos just how much free time people have!!  There are "haul" videos on YouTube where girls show the deals they get when they go shopping, and these videos get over 1 million views each (JuicyStar07 is the leader, by far).    There are lots of news and pop culture video recaps, like the ones from the Smoshpit (routinely more than 200,000 views per edition).  There are music videos, guitar lessons, and of course skateboard videos (both with real people as well as dogs riding skateboards -- I guess not everything has grown up).   Publishers like Lonely Planet make scores of videos and post them on YouTube.  A good portion of these videos get more viewers in a month than some daytime and cable TV shows do, so you can't possibly say the quality isn't there.  The quality is at least as good as, if not better than, "One Life To Live."

The second fact is that with the sheer volume of content and visitors, we're seeing the best content curate to the top. Some stats say that as much as 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, which means that there's a lot to choose from, but if you scour and browse through YouTube, you see the "best of the best" rising to the top.  What other people are watching is what will come up on a cursory review.   There are cooking shows as well as do-it-yourself videos as well as "scripted content" that rival what you see on Comcast.

If you chat with the younger generation of kids ages 12-18, you'll find that many of these kids watch YouTube as TV, rather than watching mainstream television shows.  There are lots of people with significant followings on YouTube, and YouTube has made it very profitable for these young folks to make videos.  It's proven to be such a strong opportunity that we have semiprofessional and professional avenues for creating video content that is exclusively launched on YouTube.  YouTube has become a primary channel -- more so than many cable networks!

If you dive into the numbers, you see something else interesting.  For the week ending June 5,  the top-performing shows on TV were the NBA Finals, "The Voice" and "America's Got Talent."   These shows garnered audience between 8.5 million and 5.6 million viewers in the 18-49 year old demographic.   YouTube garners approximately 15.4 million viewers between 18-49 years old in a week.  Some shows are getting 1 million views in a week.  To generate reach on both avenues is actually similar, with YouTube potentially winning in terms of total reach.  To build frequency on those programs, you would have to spend more money on TV than on YouTube because the CPM is higher.  What's even more interesting is that the top shows on TV are sports and reality programming, which one could argue is no better than any of the UGC content you would find on YouTube, so in an apples to apples comparison I think the opportunity would be higher on YouTube than on traditional TV.

The industry itself recognizes this, as many television sets are becoming equipped for YouTube and other Web access.  The programming options and reach are getting bigger, and the content is getting better.  User-generated content has matured, and marketers are paying attention!

How are you and your brands using UGC to reach your audience?  Share with us on the Spin Board!