YouTubers and Brand Deals
For social media influencers on YouTube, commonly referred to as “YouTubers,” brand deals are often their bread and butter.
After what has since been referred to as “the adpocalypse,” in which YouTube changed their algorithm for advertisements in order to appease companies who were upset by their ads being paired with offensive content. In theory, this was a good idea, however YouTube’s new policy resulted in the demonetization of certain content for seemingly no reason.
Among the content that was demonitized included such content that could be considered “controversial,” such as coming out videos and suicide awareness PSAs. People were understandably upset, not just because of the implication that this content was “inappropriate,” but the fact that so many influencers’ livelihood relied on the money they received from these ads.
To my knowledge, the new algorithm responsible for the demonitization has not yet been fixed. However, among the chaos emerged a saving grace: sponsors.
All across YouTube, influencers started making deals. The arrangement seems to be this: a company or brand sponsors the video, and it is up to the YouTuber to talk about their product or service in the video. The YouTuber gets paid, and the brand gets exposure. Seems like a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Unfortunately, when this started happening, many YouTube audiences did not react favorably. Those who appreciate YouTubers for their authenticity, something that cannot be found with television shows and movies, saw this as the ultimate betrayal. In their minds, their favorite YouTube star was selling out. I saw it be said that YouTube was fake now, that these people were only on YouTube to make money.
My opinion? Yes. That’s kind of the whole point.
Let me explain: I do not think that accepting a brand deal means that the YouTuber is fake. Rather, they are doing what they have to in order to continue to make money and keep producing the content that their fans love. I was not annoyed or angry about the sponsored videos. When you think about it, we have grown up in a world with advertisements. Especially for free services, like the radio, ads are what keeps it free for us. This is no different.
If you really love a channel’s content, then you’re going to have to get used to the sponsors. Remember that, without them, these channels simply could not exist. The adpocalypse very easily could have resulted in the death of YouTube influencer as a profession altogether.
When one considers the alternative, this method of keeping the world of YouTube stars alive is really not as big of a problem as some people make it out to be. I know that I don’t plan to stop watching anytime soon.
