YouTube hosted its first-ever YouTube Brandcast in Pakistan to celebrate
YouTube’s creator community, and to share the latest insights, updates and
inspiration from brands succeeding on the platform. At Brandcast, YouTube also
spotlighted how the platform is supporting the Pakistani creator ecosystem by
building a reliable, multi-format platform that enables creators to build local
and global communities that meet the evolving needs of their audiences.
According to Google and Kantar’s Unlocking
Digital in Rural Pakistan research, YouTube is the most popular online video platform in
Pakistan with 62% of online Pakistanis ages 18-24 reported watching YouTube
once a month or more. In fact,
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91% of Pakistani internet users
say YouTube makes them feel positive
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78% of internet users in
Pakistan say that YouTube is the video platform they go to when they want to
watch their favorite shows and content
●
76% of internet users in
Pakistan say that YouTube helped them to learn something new
●
75% of internet users claim that
the video platform has content that helps them dig deeper into their interests.
●
73% of internet users in
Pakistan say that YouTube has video content for all their moods.
The same study found that 48% of
rural Pakistanis are now online, of which 78% watch YouTube. Of those that
watched YouTube, 76% say that YouTube has unique content they can't find
anywhere else
Farhan S Qureshi, Country Director Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Google said: ”YouTube is about making connections and finding a
community you can call home. It’s where viewers come to learn, unwind, and
connect with their passions. The
platform empowers people by not only giving them a voice but also financial
stability. Since the platform resonates well with people of all ages and from
all areas, it is no wonder that YouTube creates deep connections between
brands, creators, and audiences in urban and rural areas of Pakistan.”
More content; stronger
community
At the heart of YouTube are creators, who are helping build genuine
connections by delivering personally engaging content. Whether long or short
form, there is something on YouTube that will fit the bill. In the first
quarter of 2022, watchtime of the following categories of videos grew
significantly compared to the same time last year:
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Digital marketing videos grew by over 95%
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Web development videos grew by over 90%
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Exercise videos grew by over 80%
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Live television videos grew by over 8 times
Pakistani creators trust in YouTube and choose it as the platform to
share their talent and creativity with the world. In fact, the total hours of
content uploaded to YouTube by channels in Pakistan from June 2021 to May 2022
grew by over 25% when compared to the same time the year before, reiterating
its importance as a place that matters for Pakistanis to connect with their
passion, learn, and be entertained.
Aamna Haider Isani - Something Haute shared at Brandcast,
“While creating content on YouTube, we realized early on that our viewers
weren’t just watching our content because of the topics we were covering, but
for the way we were covering them.
Our channel resonated well with the audiences because they know that YouTube
creators are real people - they look and sound just like their viewers.”
YouTube’s
multi-format creativity gives creators every screen and every format possible
to succeed
This healthy growth in content uploaded to YouTube includes short-form
videos via YouTube Shorts which was launched in July last year. Globally, YouTube Shorts is now averaging 30
billion daily views[1],
growing four times from a year ago. Shorts has been hugely successful in Pakistan as well, a
testament to Pakistanis’ evolving preferences in how they choose to consume
content. With the introduction of Shorts, creators like Salman Noman have managed to cross 10M
subscribers, which is an incredible milestone for an individual YouTube
creator.
"Before YouTube, I used to
make the same style of videos on other short-form platforms and saw reasonable
success. But I realized that other platforms had a ceiling to creator growth.
Then YouTube introduced Shorts, which for me has no boundaries and makes the
world your oasis. YouTube helped me grow my audience globally and I gained
recognition because of my Shorts videos. I am so thankful for YouTube Shorts
and having the platform to grow my audience." said Salman Noman.
In this same event, Iqra Kanwal – Sistrology, also shared, “YouTube is
an incredible platform to reach your audience in a place where they are engaged
and paying attention. It is where new forms of creativity and culture are
created every day. With its multi-formats and depth of content, YouTube allows
viewers to connect with their passions, audiences and creators that they love
deeply and personally.
Marc Lefkowitz, Director of YouTube Partner Development and Management
(APAC) added, “We have creators developing diverse content for podcasts,
sketches, automobile reviews, tech reviews, tutorials, gaming and more. In
fact, the number of creators in Pakistan has grown so much over the past few
years that there are more than 5,400 Youtube channels with more than 100K
subscribers. That’s an increase of 35% over last year. More than 350 of these
channels have more than a million subscribers. The platform intends to continue
to extend its support to Pakistani creators so they can pursue their passions
and build careers in a responsible manner.”
In addition, Pakistani creators also now have access
to YouTube’s Help Center and Creator Support in Urdu, which makes it easier for
creators around the country to access help and information about the platform.
As of June 2021, the number of YouTube channels making 1 million PKR or
more in revenue is up over 110%, year over year. Whether a Pakistani from a
remote village in Punjab or a metropolis like Karachi, YouTube has proven to be
an effective medium for communication across the languages of Pashto, Sindhi,
Punjabi, Balochi or Urdu; enabling everyday Pakistanis to turn their passion
into full-time careers.
Asad and Saima - Food Fusion,
YouTube Creators concluded “It feels fantastic to see the community built by
Food Fusion on YouTube. From sharing recipes and information about ingredients
to coming together to help raise more than Rs 8 Million worth of funds for the
flood victims and also providing them with food supplies, mosquito nets, and
tents, we believe that we have come a long way.”