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Millennial-Mobile “How-To” Searches Explode On YouTube

Explainer videos an often overlooked content marketing opportunity.

Greg Sterling on May 13, 2015 at 10:01 am

Google says that “how-to” searches on YouTube have grown 70 percent year-over-year, adding that “more than 100 million hours of how-to content have been watched in North America so far this year.”

Much of this activity on YouTube is happening on mobile devices. According to Google, “91 percent of smartphone users turn to their smartphone for ideas while doing a given task.” Google also reports that the largest demographic group doing these “how-to” lookups is Millennials.

Perhaps most interesting to marketers, the company points out that roughly 30 percent of Millennials report buying a product as a result of watching a how-to video. Google refers to these “how-to” mobile queries as “moments of intent.”

Google’s post uses examples from brands and retailers to illustrate how “how-to” content on YouTube can drive sales:

Top paint brand Valspar’s YouTube channel has content that spans from project inspiration and color guidance to painting processes and tools, helping people throughout the purchase journey. “[Seeking content] can happen early in the project for those who plan in advance, during store visits to guide purchase decisions, and even in the middle of painting a room for those who didn’t prepare or want to ensure they are ‘doing it right,'” says Heidi Petz, vice president of marketing at Valspar . . . “Mobile is increasingly becoming the dominant way [consumers] access our content,” says Petz.

The top how-to search trends on YouTube include Beauty, Cooking and Home. Among the top Home-related queries were: how to install a toilet, how to remove wallpaper, how to clean a cast iron skillet.

Here are some of Google’s best practices for marketers regarding how-to content on YouTube:

Identify the I-want-to-do moments in which consumers have a need and your brand can play a role.
Find these moments across the entire consumer journey and put them at the center of your strategy.
What are the questions and concerns people have related to the types of products you sell or the types of projects they are used for?
Create I-want-to-do content for your website and YouTube channel to serve as resources for them.
Make your videos easy to find by adding descriptive titles, details, and relevant tags to each video.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.