YouTube has been around for a hot minute at this point, and through the years, it has had its fair share of ups and downs.
From controversies surrounding YouTube creators to monetization scandals, YouTube has maintained one of the top spots when it comes to the video marketing industry.
More than a third of all Internet users today use YouTube, which means that more than 1 billion hours of video are consumed every single day.
Every minute more than 500 hours of YouTube content is uploaded and on TV screens, more than 250 million hours are watched every day.
This means that it is fair to say that YouTube has revolutionized how we watch videos online, and another thing that it has done is create completely new genres of video as well as hundreds of pop culture icons that are unique to the platform.
From a blog to an unboxing video, some of the top YouTube creators have completely redefined learning, entertainment, and shopping.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the most popular types of YouTube videos right now, that you might want to check out.
The Most Popular Types of YouTube Videos
1. Commentary YouTube Videos
A commentary YouTube video is when someone shares commentary or their opinion on a specific topic. This can be either a conspiracy or a vlog.
A vlog is otherwise known as a video blog, and it captures the everyday thoughts, life, and emotions of a YouTube influencer.
How many times someone uploads a blog can vary greatly, but the content tends to be unscripted, authentic and focused on a specific niche.
Like a lot of television shows out there, the most well-known vlogs on YouTube attract thousands of people who tune in regularly to watch these video journals of their favorite people on social media.
Many of the top YouTube creators have millions of subscribers who regularly watch their vlogs, and they often do this in place of a series or TV show.
A study showed that some of the top digital influencers continued to override traditional celebrities when it comes to millennial audiences of today.
Because of their relevance, reach, and engagement, brands realize the importance of being able to market with social media influencers and have integrated this into their influencer marketing strategy so that they can reach more of the right consumers.
Conspiracy
One of the most well-known YouTubers in the conspiracy niche is Shane Dawson. He creates conspiracy videos that center on popular and obscure conspiracy theories.
YouTube creators who cover conspiracy theories take a look into alternative justifications for situations or events, sometimes with a political agenda, despite a typically accepted viewpoint.
As you probably already know, conspiracy content is prevalent online, and it has recently gained traction on YouTube in a series format.
Shane Dawson looks into mysteries and common phenomena, and they have proven to be really popular with his audience.
2. Product Reviews
With the product review, a YouTube creator is going to offer feedback on a specific product. This is often seen as a first impression, where the YouTuber is going to review a product and include critique, personal feedback, and assessment.
There are a lot of people out there that rely on YouTube for information which means that product reviews are essential in influencing consumer decisions.
A study showed that 62% of people watch product review videos before they make a purchase, and another study found that 52% of customers are more likely to purchase a product that has been featured in a product review on YouTube.
Product reviews are also in the form of an unboxing video.
Unboxing Videos
Unboxing videos serve to capture the reaction of the YouTuber, as well as their initial impressions as they open the packaging of a product for the first time, which allows you to vicariously experience their excitement around a new product.
This has now become a cultural phenomenon, and they are often seen as an important step in the process of making a purchasing choice and have become a really good way for brands to increase awareness around their product.
This is why brands are eager to sponsor unboxing videos so that they can increase their search visibility, and reach millions of customers at that important point in the purchasing process.
3. Tutorial/How-To Videos on YouTube
Tutorial videos are typically educational, and they help audiences learn how to do a specific thing. They are also known as a tutorial, and they’re typically instructional, and walk you through a service or product.
If it is a physical product, then the YouTuber is going to show you how to use it. If it is software, then they’re going to show you how to use it at a high level, or how to use a specific function or feature.
For service, the YouTube creator is going to demonstrate using the service themselves, and generally speaking, tutorials like this are meant to educate the viewer on more intricate features, tools, and processes when it comes to products and services.
Searching ‘how to’ on YouTube has increased over the years, with 91% of people with a smartphone watching ‘how to’ videos when they think about embarking on a new task. Millennials are watching ‘how to’ YouTube content the most.
A lot of the time, they are task-specific, which means that brands are able to access unique sponsorship opportunities.
These kinds of videos can be watched time and again, and they can attract millions of views. You can find how-to videos within the cooking, tech, beauty, craft, and automotive communities.
4. Top List YouTube Videos
Also referred to as listicles, this type of YouTube video is known for a few things. Let’s look at a few categories that this kind of YouTube video falls into.
Hauls
A haul is when a YouTube creator shows off a product, typically clothing, make-up, or home goods after they have purchased it.
They typically highlight a specific brand and might include a short first impression review. Because they are used to showing exciting new products and sharing upcoming trends, and they have become a favorite when it comes to fashion, beauty, and lifestyle channels.
Similar to product review videos, hauls have been known to drive big sales for products that are discussed positively by YouTube creators.
They are primarily used by fashion and beauty YouTube creators but they are also popular in other niches, including, health, tech, and home.
Best of Videos
Because people love following a YouTube creator and tend to trust them a lot, it is pretty easy to win your audience over and have them trust your opinion.
This has led to the creation of the ‘best of’ genre when it comes to YouTube videos, where YouTube creators share their favorite products.
This is slightly different to product review videos because it features a YouTube content creator sharing their favorite service, product, or experience within a specific category.
For example, a beauty YouTuber might share her favorite eyeshadow palette, while a travel YouTuber might list their favorite places to stay in South America.
These kinds of videos do really well for audiences who are looking for the right product to purchase, what to wear, and where to travel to.
Collections
Another popular type of YouTube video is collection videos, where a YouTube creator is going to walk their audience through a specific product that they have been collecting over time.
Typically, this is going to fall into the accessories, make-up, home goods, clothing, or make-up category.
They might integrate aspects of other YouTube videos, like a product review or a favorite, but this kind of content is often used as a way for audiences to learn more about their favorite YouTube creator.
It allows audiences to see the kinds of products that their favorite YouTube creator has chosen to fill their life with.
Compilations
A compilation video is a video that has taken clips from longer videos and put them together.
Highlight reels for gameplay are popular on video game channels, while fail compilations are also popular when it comes to comedy YouTube channels.
A compilation can also be autobiographical, for example, a YouTube content creator might publish a year-end compilation showing the highlights of the year.
Compilations can also highlight a selection of items that a YouTube creator is interested then, or they have created.
5. Comedy YouTube Videos
Comedy YouTube videos incorporate comedic elements to offer humorous entertainment to the audience and include formats like pranks, skits, and parodies.
They are still among the most well-known YouTube videos, often garnering viral status and generating millions of views.
There are a lot of current comedians that have found fame on YouTube through their YouTube channel because YouTube as a platform makes it really easy for aspiring entertainers to try out content on their audience.
Skits
Sketch videos are small performances or plays that are performed by a YouTuber or YouTubers.
They are sometimes considered sketches, and they are typically a quick scene of a comical situation with a personal twist from the creator.
They are typically supposed to be humorous, but sometimes the YouTube creator is going to use them to inform the audience about an important topic.
Pranks
Prank videos on YouTube capture social experiments and practical jokes played by popular YouTube creators on their family members, friends, and unaware members of the public.
YouTube prank videos have been incredibly popular over the years, and there are a lot of YouTube creators these days that have amassed millions of subscribers by developing funny prank videos, as prank content attracts more likes and shares.
Parodies
Parody videos are created by YouTube creators to make fun of, mock, or mashup existing YouTube video content. It is meant to make fun of the original content and imitates by making the subject, the creator, or the style or the center of ridicule.
6. Challenges
Challenge videos are another type of YouTube video that has the potential to easily go viral because YouTube creators include shout-outs for their subscribers to engage in a contest.
Based on the thrill of being part of a competition, challenges are going to create awareness around a certain cause, or even just exist for entertainment purposes.
This has included everything from charity challenges like the ice bucket challenge, to fun challenges like the cinnamon challenge.
Memes are also an important part of challenge videos because they are easily recognizable and easily shared across platforms.
7. Reactions
Reaction videos are of course created to capture the reaction of a YouTube creator to a specific piece of content or a real-world event.
Driven by strong emotions, these kinds of videos build excitement and suspense among viewers who want to react alongside the YouTube creator.
These kinds of YouTube videos can involve a group reaction or a third-party individual reaction. The reaction can be a response to a film trailer, a TV series, a news event, commercial, or even someone else’s YouTube content.
8. Q&A Videos
When talking about question-and-answer videos, YouTube creators usually answer questions that their subscribers have posted online.
The YouTube creator usually determines the line of questioning, and they typically choose from the submissions the questions that they’re going to answer, and then put them together in a list so that they can answer them in one video.
There are a lot of YouTube creators out there that have amassed a large following by engaging directly with their subscribers like this, and a question-and-answer YouTube video like this can deepen the connection between the YouTube creator and their subscribers, by providing an intimate look into their inner thoughts.
This is also a good place for a YouTube creator to address controversy or set the record straight on a rumor.
The thing about You Tube creators is that they have become famous in their own right, mostly because they come across as more relatable than traditional celebrities.
Through question-and-answer videos on YouTube, YouTube creators are able to engage with their audience, so that they can foster a sense of closeness with their subscribers.
9. Interview
An interview video is a conversation between two people or two groups of people where question and answers are exchanged.
A YouTube interviewer is going to aim to discuss specific topics with the interviewee that the audience is going to find interesting. These topics can range from pop culture to conspiracies to politics to career.
10. Docuseries
Similar to a documentary, a YouTube docuseries has become more popular among YouTube creators that are interested in creating a series of thematic videos.
They will involve several parts that are YouTube creator is going to release in segments, to build suspense and increase their following.
Because docuseries are typically long form, these videos build viewership, because they detail accounts of the creators’ interests, life, or involvement in a specific event over a period of time.
When it comes to quality, producing a docuseries is going to require a deeper understanding of filmmaking, as opposed to quickly filming a YouTube video and uploading it.
11. Educational YouTube Videos
An educational YouTube video is going to provide the audience with current information through interesting and thought-provoking cultural content.
These videos typically target a specific demographic including a college student or a child. Because educational YouTube channels helped to keep their subscribers informed, dissect complicated issues, answer questions, or even provide random facts that are interesting, this content typically receives high traffic, as well as repeat views, because they are usually shared as a resource.
Interestingly, YouTube has become one of the biggest sources when it comes to learning and features hours of content from established educational institutions like the AP and Harvard Medical School.
Because YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world, it is consistently searched for learning material and educational content. This is why learning-related videos are viewed on YouTube more than a billion times every day.
12. Music Videos
YouTube content creators who dabble in music are going to create music videos, which they film in conjunction with a song that they have made.
A lot of the time, these videos contain musical elements including visual graphics, dancing, other performers, or lyrics. They can either be made from scratch, or they can parody existing music content, or they can even remix the song.
They might be a little less sophisticated than traditional music videos when it comes to production, but they still aim to cater to a large audience.
13. Narratives
A narrative video is when a YouTube creator narrates a report of either a fictional or real event using videography.
Stories
Story videos are popular when a YouTube creator wants to use imagery and storytelling to communicate the characters, events, conflicts, and resolutions of a fictional story.
The YouTube creator might recount a personal experience, or they might share a hypothetical situation.
Explainers
And explainer video is going to offer an explanation for a topic of interest.
A YouTube creator who produces an explainer video aims to provide commentary on a topic, whether it is educational or not, and might use animation, or dramatic flair to get the point across.
14. YouTube Gaming Videos
YouTube gaming videos are some of the most well-known YouTube videos out there, and they capture video games that are played by popular YouTube gamers and can take on a number of different formats.
These formats can include tutorials, live streams, walkthroughs, game reviews, challenges, or montages. It is a pretty saturated niche, because it is one of the most searched topics when it comes to YouTube.
This means that anyone who wants to embark on this kind of YouTube channel is going to come up against it in terms of competition.
However, despite this, YouTube gamers are some of the most successful YouTube creators who consistently drive high engagement and views.
In fact, more than half of the world’s top YouTube creators are gamers, or they make YouTube Gaming videos.
YouTube live and YouTube Gaming has become a big part of gaming culture on YouTube, putting the platform in direct competition of another gaming platform, Twitch.
Live streaming and gaming have continued to be a part of YouTube’s growth strategy, but right now, Twitch still beats out YouTube Gaming when it comes to user activity.
15. ASMR
ASMR is a relatively recent type of YouTube video that has growing exponentially, and it is a specific genre of YouTube video that causes a tingling sensation when a viewer hears or sees certain videos.
By offering visual input or audio input, ASMR YouTubers can cause a physical reaction which feels relaxing and soothing.
While there are a number of different niches within this category to explore, the main point is to help viewers feel relaxed.
It allows YouTube creators to connect with their subscribers in a new way, it also offers brands a unique way to get their product in front of their audience.
16. Sports
Sports videos are also a popular YouTube video type, which involves a YouTube creative viewing, playing, discussing, or watching a sport of some type. A
YouTube creators can also record a voiceover of a televised sports game, design a sports challenge, or create a sports fail compilation.
17. Trick Shots
A trickshot video is going to aim to boost the viewer by performing a challenging, record-breaking, and high-intensity trick shot.
These videos have gone viral and continue to push the boundaries when it comes to skill feats that look impossible to overcome.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many different types of YouTube video formats out there, which means that if you are someone who is trying to grow a YouTube channel, you’ve got a lot of options available to you.
There is every chance that you’re going to be able to find your niche and find what you’re passionate about so that you can start to create content that is going to resonate with your audience and help you foster a long-term relationship with them.
Whatever content you create, make sure that your channel is set up professionally, if you haven’t branded it use a YouTube banner maker to create one.
Don’t be afraid to play around with different types of YouTube videos, so that you can eventually land on the right one. Good luck!
