One of the best ways for YouTubers to grow their subscriber base is by doing a “collab,” which is when two creators team up for a couple of videos meant to be viewed together. Fans of both channels get introduced to the other, and, ideally, both audiences grow.
Collabs are popular for creators of gaming, comedy, and music channels, and also for beauty vloggers. One of the most common beauty collabs is the “beauty swap,” where the YouTubers send each other a box of cosmetics and other beauty items according to guidelines they set up for the trade. The two channel owners then do paired unboxing videos where the creators promote each other’s complementary video and channel.
The YouTuber “Product Collab”
Beauty swaps might be called a “product collab,” because the videos review products, and these present great earned media opportunities for the brands that get mentioned. Beauty swaps can be a great for both participants and fans. There’s the surprise factor of the unboxing, the reveal of what’s inside, the commentary of what the product is about, and, ideally, gratitude and a growing friendship bond among YouTube friends. Beauty swap videos are self-created tent-pole events for a YouTube channel, and often get viewed significantly more than other videos on that channel.
Brands’ Missed Opportunities
And while YouTube stars may do beauty swaps, there is a vast sea of mid-tier YouTubers with loyal audiences who are experts on the products they love. Unfortunately, these YouTubers fly under the radar of many brands who are not engaging with YouTube creators at scale.
Wrap it up
In the video “Makeup Swap with Trisha,” Chelsea Garay unpacks her swap box from Trisha of “Aglitterylife.” Trisha has gone overboard by wrapping each item in a unique way, and she put a lot of thought into getting things Chelsea might like.
Above-Average Viewcounts
An average active YouTuber might expect a given video to get views somewhere in the range of 20% of their subscriber number. And yet with just 6,600 subscribers, Chelsea’s swap video got 44,000 views, almost 700% her subscriber numbers. Clearly this video has recruited many new viewers to Chelsea’s channel.
Chelsea links to Trisha in the description, and Trisha’s video “Makeup SWAP!!!! Major High end HAUL!” received almost twice as many views (13,000) as subscribers (7,400). So this beauty swap product collab was a major traffic growth source for both YouTubers.
When Swaps Go Wrong
One of the exciting things about beauty swaps, if not quite so good for the participants, is the flip side of the pleasant surprise. That is, when things go wrong. And they do, frequently — so much so that some YouTubers have sworn off swaps. There have been multiple reports of “swap-lifters,” women who try to get someone to send them lots of stuff, but don’t send anything in return. And YouTubers can sometimes be disappointed if the swap doesn’t seem equal — there was a big commotion made by the fans of Shaaanxo and MissJenFABULOUS when their international trade seemed unfair (due, possibly to the difference in price of products in their respective countries).
And there is the group beauty swap, which is sort of like a Secret Santa gift swap. But it’s no fun if you’re the only one who didn’t get something as with Ashley Adkins’ video “SWAP GONE WRONG.” However even with no product, the video’s 12,000 viewcount was 6X her 2,000 subscribers. Controversy or problems, however unfortunate, get lots of views. And they are an inherent risk in any exchange.
Even though the swaps, if done wrong, can harm a YouTuber’s feelings or reputation, they offer great potential traffic upswings for creators, so the trend won’t be ending any time soon. But as yet cosmetics companies, even those highly involved with YouTube creators, have not found a way to support the tens of thousands of creators who are showcasing their products in these videos.
The Power of Mid-Tier Creators
This is a service that we offer at Octoly. Instead of focusing only on YouTube stars, our software helps brands find and connect with mid-tier and niche-audience creators who are talking about brands in ways brands probably aren’t aware of.
YouTubers are essential to the efforts of beauty brands because only one tenth of all views of cosmetics videos are from the brands themselves — while 86% of those views are on videos created by individual YouTubers. So brands are only one voice in many about their products. They must give up control in order to get control, engaging with these YouTube voices who love their products. And while it can be tempting to just want to work with YouTube stars, it’s the mid-tier and niche-audience YouTubers with authentic audiences who are doing much of the heavy lifting for these beauty brands across the globe.
Find Out Yourself
Have question about beauty swaps or how your brand can engage with YouTube creators? Ask in the comments below. Or, to get a free report about your brand on YouTube, enter your YouTube channel here at http://octoly.com/brands.
