Despite an initial surge in brand usage of YouTube for marketing, there has been a notable decline in 2025. Creator earnings from YouTube Shorts are remarkably low, with average RPMs below $0.20, significantly less than the $3 to $6 for long-forms. This disparity may impact brands' perceptions of Ads effectiveness on YouTube, leading to decreased reliance on the platform. With only 13% of brands identifying YouTube as a top platform for branding, its effectiveness for conversions remains questionable, pointing towards broader changes in digital marketing strategies.
At the same time, more brands are spending just a little on marketing on YouTube while a lot fewer are spending a lot.
It's possible that brands' feelings toward YouTube as a driver of conversions and branding contributed to their drop in usage of the platform.
For creators specifically, it turns out that payouts from YouTube for short-form content are dwarfed by the ad revenue they can get from long-form videos.
Thirteen percent of brands and retailers told Digiday in Q1 2025 that YouTube is the best social platform for branding.
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