Felix Kjellberg, widely known as PewDiePie, has been the most subscribed youtuber for a few years. Starting out, he was just a guy commentating on video games in his bedroom, but now he has over 53 million Youtube subscribers, 9.67 million Twitter followers, 11.7 million Instagram followers, and over 7 million likes on Facebook.
PewDiePie became such a internet sensation that everything he does now is closely watched by the media. Many sites use his popularity to draw in traffic with eye catching and controversial articles. A web dedicated to youtuber news (http://www.wetheunicorns.com/) had used or mentioned the name PewDiePie in more than 10 articles in January of 2017!
PewDiePie ventured on the internet as the pioneer of Let’s Play videos. In the year 2010, bloggers were the biggest thing on Youtube, and there wasn’t a famous youtuber playing video games on camera. Seeing the opportunity, PewDiePie took a chance and was the first to enter this niche category.
The most important component of being a successful youtuber is the fan base. PewDiePie earned himself a loyal and a large pool of subscribers by treating his fans like “bros”. In the early stages of his Youtube journey, he used Facebook and Tumblr as his main medium other than Youtube to connect with fans.
PewDiePie encouraged feedbacks from his fans and responded to them quickly. In order to further develop a relationship and to get in touch with the “bros”, he created broarmy.net in 2014 dedicated to his fans . He also constantly collects art works from his fans to be featured in his videos, and hosts contests where he asks his followers to photoshop his photos.
As the channel grows, media started to pay more attention to him and he was featured in The New York Times in 2013. Later came many awards and an interview with Stephen Colbert in 2016. PewDiePie also has an app, two mobile games, and a published book.
PewDiePie thought to give back to the community by raising money for many charities through his influence. Notably in 2013, he raised almost $450K for charity: water (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA7R-7nJ2vs), and 1.3 Million in 2016 through his christmas live stream collaboration “Cringemas” with other youtubers.
Just like any public figure, PewDiePie also receives a considerable amount of criticisms, with many articles freaking out over how much money he makes for just being a youtuber. PewDiePie takes these criticisms rather well. He constantly responses them explaining his passion for what he does and mentioning how money isn’t the centre for everything.
A quick overview of PewDiePie’s youtube career shines light onto how he made a place for himself on the internet.
- He was in a niche area of the Youtube market by being one of the first Let’s Play youtubers, which gave him a huge lead over the late-comers
- He commits to his work by posting videos everyday
- He made strong connections with his fan base and has personal ties with his “bros”
- He addresses issues and concerns on his channel constantly, and keeps up to what’s relevant
Nowadays it is quite easy to become internet famous, however it is much more challenging to make a lasting impression that sticks with your audience for many years, and PewDiePie has done just that.
