Keeping up with the latest YouTube trends is crucial for creators.Â
It helps you craft viral content, keep your monetization strategy up to scratch, and stay ahead of the curve.Â
To give you a head start, here are the top 5 2024 YouTube trends that you need to adopt today.Â
Contents
Leveraging AI Responsibly
First off, there’s AI.Â
Not a big shocker, eh? Over the past year, AI has become omnipresent online, including social media platforms like YouTube.Â
In fact, many creators are already leveraging AI to simplify their content creation workflows. Many of them use generative AI like ChatGPT or Bard to help them write scripts or do background research. Others harness applications like Midjourney or Canva Magic Create to craft clickable thumbnails. Some even rely on AI-based video editing tools, like Adobe’s Sensei Premiere integration.Â
Going into 2024, this trend is only going to get stronger and creators who don’t keep up will find themselves at a disadvantage.
However, it’s essential to adopt AI responsibly. YouTube is already bracing for a flood of low-quality, AI-generated content, much of it spreading misinformation. In fact, it recently updated its guidelines to make it easier to remove content like this.
Focusing on YouTube Shorts
Next up, YouTube Shorts is going to stay a major trend in 2024. Between 2022 and 2023, global YouTube Shorts monthly active users increased by 500 million – from 1.5 to 2 billion.Â
With YouTube introducing Shorts monetization and better integrating the Shorts algorithm with long-form content, Shorts are now an undisputed mainstay.Â
Creators often produce original Shorts content, but Shorts are also a fantastic way to tease long-form content and draw in new viewers.
Irish comedy YouTubers Foil, Arms & Hog use Shorts to draw viewers to their weekly skits.
Interactive and Live Content
Like Shorts, interactive content is something that has been gaining momentum in 2023 and will stay a major trend in 2024.Â
YouTube’s algorithm now uses audience satisfaction and engagement as the key metric to decide which videos will go viral and which disappear into obscurity. As a result, many creators leverage interactive content to drive up engagement.Â
Asking followers what kind of content they want to see is a surefire way to drive up metrics. You can do that:Â
- in your videos’ comment sectionsÂ
- during live streamsÂ
- through polls and votesÂ
- in member-only spaces, like Patreon
YouTuber Naomi Jon ordered everything her supporters sent her, promptly earning 1.8M views.Â
Multi-Channel Promotion
Another trend that has been gaining momentum, especially when it comes to short-form content, is multi-channel promotion.Â
A recent survey revealed that most successful creators harness multiple social media platforms to generate diverse income streams. Using YouTube as a principal component of your creator presence – rather than your sole basis – is becoming increasingly common.Â
Especially now that multiple platforms offer similar content types, cross-posting and reformatting has become a breeze. For example, many creators post their verticals to Shorts, Reels, and TikTok.Â
Loic Suberville, a multilingual comedy creator of TikTok fame, has earned millions of YouTube views on Shorts.
Diverse and Targeted Monetization Strategies
Finally, a fifth major 2024 YouTube trend is the diversification of monetization strategies. More than ever, creators are looking to generate different income streams to secure a stable income. These include:Â
- joining the YouTube Partner Program to earn ad revenues and use tipping features like SuperThanksÂ
- leveraging tipping platformsÂ
- offering memberships
- selling merchandiseÂ
- joining affiliate programs
- negotiating brand dealsÂ
Many also use native monetization features on their secondary platforms, like the TikTok Creativity Program and the Creator Marketplace.Â
According to statistics, successful creators use an average of 4 different monetization avenues. Going into 2024, diversifying your monetization approach and figuring out the platforms and tools that work best for individual creators will stay a major trend.Â
FAQs
In 2024, some of the major YouTube trends are using AI to facilitate the content creation workflow, focusing on YouTube Shorts, venturing into interactive content, branching out to multiple channels, and diversifying your income streams.
Shorts is one of the most popular formats on YouTube. Between 2022 and 2023, global monthly active Shorts users increased from 1.5 to 2 billion.
Many creators use AI to help them write scripts, generate thumbnails, and even speed up the video editing process. However, YouTube recently updated its guidelines to restrict the use of AI for generating low-quality or misleading content, so relying purely on AI for video generation is a no-go.
Interactive YouTube content allows the audience to have a say in what kind of content a creator works on next. This can take the form of interactions in comments, polls, or discussions during live streams.
A first step is to join the YouTube Partner Program, which gives you access to ad revenue sharing and tipping features such as Super Thanks. You can also set up tipping platforms like Patreon, start selling merch, offer memberships, join affiliate programs, and negotiate brand deals.
