The Internet Is a Souk, Not a Cathedral

In Italy, today there are 42 million YouTube users, compared to 32 million on Instagram and 22 million on TikTok. “According to data from Comscore, a platform analyzing internet traffic, YouTube users in our country could be as many as 97% of the population between 18 and 54 years of age.” What does this mean? “That YouTube is anything but a platform for children. At most, it is for adults with a Peter Pan syndrome.” says Alessandro Mininno, Bocconi alumnus, co-founder of the digital communication agency Gummy Industries and of the content creation agency Flatmates (but his background also includes web marketing for Expo 2015 and numerous teaching assignments). And it means that on YouTube — like or perhaps even more than other platforms characterized by the endless offer of content — the battle for user attention becomes crucial in determining the success of content creators.

Alessandro, what is the recipe for attracting user attention?

If I knew, I would be a billionaire already! Let's say that what I learned from YouTube is that the first variable is to respect the person in front of you. You have to respect the time of users, offering content that is as precise and exclusive as possible. Think about corporate videos: they are often made more to please insiders rather than outsiders of the company. They are too self-referential. Furthermore, if I am a YouTuber, I must not talk about things that are too niche.

How important is originality?

Originality is a huge economic risk. It's like in cinema: it is much riskier to make a new film than a sequel or a remake of a successful movie. Furthermore, inserting yourself into existing cultural trends maximizes return on investment. Fortunately, however, there are praiseworthy exceptions. However, jumping on existing trends, proposing formats already existing elsewhere to your audience, perhaps taken from YouTubers from other countries, should not be taken as a negative thing. What makes the difference and determines success is the way in which that format is applied to the reality of the content creator. It is how the YouTuber makes it his or her own and manages it to make it exclusive for the community of viewers.

Does content packaging also have its importance?

Today, 80% of a video's success is given by title and thumbnail, the preview thumbnail. If they are not attractive, users do not click and if they don’t click, they don’t watch. However, what must be above all kept in mind is that online recipes and online tactics change every day. No recipe is valid forever. The assemblage of content on the internet should be seen as a Souk, as a bustling street market, not as a temple of worship fixed in stone like a Cathedral. It is not a building constructed once and for all, but a noisy set of stalls: if one of these does not work, it is substituted by another that sells a different ware. The best way to attract attention, therefore, is incremental, a little at a time.

Exclusive content, even if not original, and respect for the user. This is how the YouTuber makes an impact

We read newspapers less and less and we prefer to follow five finance YouTubers rather than read IlSole24Ore. If they show me they can speak with competence, I trust them, even though expectations are lower online. Companies have also understood this, and today they prefer communication entrusted to content creators to top-down communication, for example on television (which customers have learned to recognize as not always true and transparent), even at the cost of losing control over content. Because on the other hand, this way they can directly reach the creator's community, which trusts him or her. Online, a lie doesn't have a leg to stand on. When YouTubers lie, the community immediately exposes them in the comments below the vids. Obviously, the content creator must speak with competence on the topic. It's true that bogus gurus (fuffa-guru in Italian) exist, but those who are unable to distinguish real gurus from fake ones online are the same people who wouldn't be able to tell a charlatan from an expert on TV.