This Is Why YouTube Is The New Centre Of Learning

There are now 500 million views of learning-related content on YouTube. Every. Day.
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People attend the YouTube Fanfest in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Beawiharta
Beawiharta Beawiharta / Reuters

Why do we love the first day of school? It's the new and undiscovered – the beginning of a love affair with learning. And this love has forged the growth of educational YouTube content. There are now 500 million views of learning-related content on YouTube. Every. Day.

Did you know YouTube's four core values are freedom of expression, freedom of opportunity, freedom to belong and freedom of information? Accurate umbrellas for the vast array of content users can search for. The fourth value, freedom of information, is a particular area of passion for many YouTubers.

Malik Ducard, YouTube's Director of Family and Learning, shared recently that brands have much they can learn from educational content on YouTube. Ducard sees YouTube's values as the perfect mirror of a supportive classroom or learning environment that produces empowered, knowledgeable and well-adjusted students.

So how can brands tap into people's need – and love – for educational video? Here are some guidelines.

There's space for everyone

If you need a guide, chances are someone else has needed one too. Anything and everything from make-up tutorials to IT support and cooking tips have all found a home on YouTube – and they have loyal followers. Whatever your brand, there's some information you can share with the right audience. And someone is looking for it as you read this.

Everyone's unique

There are no rules for the format of educational content. It will be determined by the content itself and may take the form of piece-to-camera conversational, step-by-step guide and even lecture-style delivery. The more niche the topic, the easier it will be to drill down to what your audience will respond to and create the content accordingly. The one guiding light – it needs to be engaging.

Adopt a lateral approach to how and what you're going to create and where you can source information. Your team are the gatekeepers of information – the managers, product developers and salespeople. Tap into them to seek out the material your customers want.

Always tell the truth

Whatever you're making, it should be real, practical and well-considered which starts with extensive research and preparation. This is why it remains critical to partner with professional content creators. Creating video content may be fun, but it's not simple. You want to satisfy your customer's curiosity with content that does justice to your brand or service, so do it properly.

Once you're set up with a creative agency who understands your brand, the information your audiences are looking for and is steadily creating entertaining educational YouTube content to match – the only thing left to do is press play.