Tubular Labs recently published a report that highlights video trends during the first quarter of 2023 around different categories. The report helps brands and publishers alike identify trends and ensure they make the most out of their resources. 

Erica Weiniger, Director of Product Marketing for Tubular Labs, talks to us about the key details of this data and how the data gathered impacts the influencer marketing space.

Tubular Labs Sheds Light On YouTube Trends For Q1 Of 2023

What is Tubular Labs?

Tubular Labs is a social video intelligence company providing a unified view of social video across the biggest social platforms. They measure YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Twitter, and more. 

Tubular Labs has one of the largest social video databases in the world. They have over 11 billion videos and provide data on 28 million creators. They help their clients grow their businesses and lead on social by providing insights into different areas. 

Can you tell us more about the methodology behind Tubular Labs’ social video intelligence reporting?

Tubular Labs uses a variety of data sources and has a proprietary methodology that helps them deliver social video insights. One of their first data sources are thesocial platforms themselves. Tubular Labs has been in the industry for over ten years and have established relationships with various social platforms. 

The second source is through third-party panels, which allow Tubular Labs to deliver audience behavior data that doesn’t rely on things like surveys or self-reported data. The company has direct partnerships with many companies and key publishers who choose to authenticate their social channels and share data with Tubular Labs.

Tubular Labs uses the information gained from third-party panels to gain more insights and better calibrate their models. The company’s authenticated data remains aggregated and anonymized, and they use it to validate their analytics. 

Tubular Labs also uses machine learning. They have a suite of advanced machine learning capabilities and blend that with statistical techniques to estimate information and metrics unavailable elsewhere. 

What do you think is driving the increased interest in women’s basketball on YouTube, and how can brands and publishers capitalize on this trend?

Erica shares that the increased interest in women’s basketball came from the increased coverage of this year’s NCAA Tournament. The coverage was driven by broadcast partners and an increased focus on female athletes, like basketball players, due to name, image, and likeness rule changes. 

“I would say that name and image likeness has provided another path for women playing NCAA sports to market themselves. And many of them have been doing a great job at that,” Erica adds.

Erica says that brands and publishers are already starting to capitalize on this trend by putting a larger emphasis on women’s basketball than they have in the past and focusing on their star athletes this year. Given the success of women’s basketball-related content in the first quarter, she expects to see more brands and publishers creating the same type of content next year as an attempt to hop into that cultural conversation. 

How do you see the popularity of Shorts videos on YouTube evolving in the coming years?

Many of Tubular Labs’ clients are now showing interest in short-form content. The company recently released new Time of Day insights, which lets clients drill into video performance based on which day of the week and what time of the day a video was uploaded. This way, clients get to optimize their posting schedules and get better, longer-lasting results.

As the market for short-form content continues to develop, established creators now have more opportunities to take advantage of YouTube’s focus on this format. The shift in the industry also allows brands to spend more on short-form content, even if it’s just through creator partnerships. 

How can beauty brands leverage these trends in their marketing strategies?

Tubular notes that brand publishers and creators can use social video insights to tailor their own content and partnerships. It also sends a signal to brands where budgets should be allocated to reach the most engaged audience. 

What do you think is fueling the continued interest in the Royal Family, and how can brands and publishers tap into this trend?

According to Tubular, a lot of factors fuel the public’s interest in the Royal Family – namely the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the series The Crown on Netflix, and the Royal Family being in the news a lot recently with regular headlines around Prince Harry and Megan Markle. 

For news publishers to tap into this trend, Erica advises, “Knowing that this is the kind of content that keeps resonating, they should drill down to which specific topics.” They should know what they want to focus on most heavily. 

For brands, they can take advantage of the popularity of the Royal Family and reference these in British culture, as it seems this combination has resonated with specific audiences.

How can brands and publishers leverage the growing interest in Super Mario Bros. and LEGO content on YouTube?

Erica recommends that brands can pursue partnerships with Nintendo or Lego or make subtle notes to these franchises in their own content. For instance, publishing videos that resonate with audiences that are watching Super Mario Bros. content could greatly benefit the brand by creating affinities – even if no official links are there. 

What do you think is driving the increased viewership for beef and beer videos on YouTube, and how can brands and publishers capitalize on these trends?

Tubular shares that the popularity of these videos stems in part from brand-sponsored content in the market, especially around the Super Bowl. By looking at the videos, Tubular also saw the popularity for cooking content. 

Can you speak to the role of data and analytics in Tubular Labs’ work and how it helps brands and publishers make informed decisions?

Data is at the core of what Tubular Labs does. They arm their clients with data on what’s going on in the social video ecosystem and help them paint a picture of what their ideal audiences watch and the type of content they engage the most. Their clients can use that information to make better decisions, especially around how they can improve their strategies. 

In general, Tubular Labs is a data and analytics company, and they help their clients make data-informed decisions about growing their businesses and leaning on social media. 

How does Tubular Labs measure the success of its clients’ social video campaigns?

For Tubular Labs, success looks very different to every client as they have different goals. Sometimes, their clients want to drive viewership and engagement or reach new audiences. But sometimes, their clients will have other goals in mind, like they want to have evergreen content and make the most bang for their buck. 

Because of this, Tubular Labs isn’t built to define success for partners. They’re there to provide their clients with the insights, information, and data that help them benchmark and achieve their goals — whatever these goals are.

Besides benchmarking, Tubular Labs also sets realistic KPIs based on previous performance and shows their clients the value of their audience. They’re reaching what’s possible based on data and consider it as a gold standard. 

Can you discuss any examples of how Tubular Labs has helped clients achieve their marketing goals?

There are a few ways clients use Tubular Labs. One is to optimize their content strategy based on what their audience is watching on social media. For some of their major media clients, that usually means determining what kinds of TV shows and movies they are going to produce. 

Tubular Labs recently had a webinar showing their partnership with Roblox. The video showed how the brand grew its user-generated content through its influencer program. Roblox used Tubular Labs to evaluate the application of influencers by assessing the number of their views per video, the number of their followers, and more. 

Others use Tubular Labs to predict growth in different markets or different verticals and then find influencers to partner with based on that social video listening. It’s important for PR teams to make sure that influencers have a pulse on brand mentions and social videos.

Clients are also Tubular Labs for ad sales and brand partnerships. They’re bolstering their pitching by using Tubular Labs as a source of truth to prove they should win the deal. They’re also using the platform as a bargaining chip. 

How do Tubular Labs stay ahead of changes in social media algorithms and policies?

Tubular Labs isn’t impacted by the algorithms as much as their clients are. They report on what’s happening to help their clients. For example, if YouTube or Facebook decides to change their algorithms, Tubular will be the go-to place for their clients to check for that data and see how those trends are changing. 

Can you speak to the role of influencer marketing in Tubular Labs’ services and how it helps brands reach new audiences?

Erica says that creator identification and evaluation have a huge value in the use cases for their clients. They don’t require influencers to work with them to have data. They work with a platform and allow their clients to research virtually any influencer and find indicators of whether that influencer is a good match for their client’s brands without limiting themselves to a network of their own. 

Tubular Labs also has a product, Dealmaker, which allows clients to set realistic benchmarks around sponsorship opportunities. For example, if they produce a sponsored video campaign and want to ensure they’re partnering with someone who’s a fit, they’re not going to overpay. Tubular Labs will look into other sponsored videos, video performances, and sponsored campaign performances so clients know what to benchmark and ensure they’re partnering with the right influencers.