Long before the explosion of short-form video and our lockdown-induced TikTok obsession, YouTube was the original rabbit hole- and we’ve been falling down it ever since 2005. Globally we watch over 1 billion hours of video every day, and with over 15 million creators on the app, there is a vast range of content to choose from. No matter what you’re into, there is a creator and a channel to suit your taste: 38 million active channels, to be precise. 

At TAKUMI, social media is our bread and butter and we spend most of the working week devouring content through an influencer marketing lens. But at the end of the day, we fall down the YouTube rabbit hole just like everyone else. 

So, what do marketers love to watch? Here, we explore the favourite YouTube creators and most-watched videos from the TAKUMI team. 

 

Rhiannon Malley, UK Junior Project Manager.

Favourite YouTube creator: Jamie Genevieve / 994k subscribers

Jamie Grant-  aka Jamie Genevieve – shot to social media fame as a beauty creator, sharing her experience and expertise as a pro makeup artist with her growing community of fans. Before long, Jamie’s makeup tutorials, vlogs and partnerships took her to new heights of success, allowing the Scottish sensation to quit her job and create content full-time; she now boasts nearly 1M subscribers on YouTube as a result. Jamie’s success then stretched beyond the realms of digital creation, with the highly anticipated launch of her very own beauty brand, VIEVE.

I really like watching Jamie Genevieve’s videos; I feel that she’s different to a lot of creators, and she is so down-to-earth. She has risen so high in such a short time but never lets it get to her head, and she’s always so thankful for her fans. Also, she is exactly the same in person as in her videos and I think that’s a great trait. I specifically love her vlog content as it’s really funny and entertaining.

Rhiannon Malley

Jim Meadows, Chief Strategy Officer.

Favourite YouTube creator: MrNigelNg / 4.54M subscribers

London-based, Malaysian born creator Nigel Ng is no stranger to virality. Although Ng is a successful stand-up comedian, he’s best known for his larger-than-life, overly critical alter ego, Uncle Roger. Uncle Roger’s hilarious critique of chef Hersha Patel- specifically, the way she cooked rice during a BBC culinary show- has now amassed over 26 million views on YouTube. Since then, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey have both had their fried rice cooking techniques critiqued by the great Uncle Roger (who was originally masterminded by Evelyn Mok, Ng’s comedy partner!). Mok co-hosts the podcast ‘Rice to Meet You’ alongside Ng, in which they chat about Asian culture. Internet stardom has catapulted Uncle Roger- and Nigel Ng, of course- into the mainstream, making him one of the most well known comedy creators out there today.

Ritchie Marshall, Chief Finance Officer.

Favourite YouTube Creator: acooknamedMatt / 840k subscribers.

Matt Broussard, otherwise known as A Cook Named Matt, is a chef and content creator based out of Seattle. When he’s not sharing recipe tutorials – popular for their simplicity and to-the-point approach, he’s in charge of recipe development and content creation at Spiceology. Matt’s signature is his love for flakey salt and seriously impressive knives, both of which frequently make an appearance in his videos, but it’s his genuine love of cooking – and the manner in which he shares it with his online community – that makes him so likeable.

 

 

I guess I like the short format actionable recipes which are often multi-cultural and completely different to what I see out there. Also, I like that he’s worked in the restaurant trade but he isn’t stuffy with it. The product values are great too.

Ritchie Marshall

Mikhaila Corbett-Hassit, Marketing Assistant.

Favourite YouTube content: ASMR

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response- in other words,  the tingling sensation you experience upon receiving specific triggers- usually audio or visuals. ASMR is a subculture on the rise; according to SEMRush, it’s the third most popular YouTube search of all time. Content intended to trigger ASMR is ideal for the likes of YouTube and TikTok, where visuals and audio unite perfectly, and for innovative creators the trigger possibilities are endless.

 

ASMR isn’t for everyone. I started watching it one evening when I was struggling to sleep, because I’d read that it was really relaxing and calming. Now, ‘sleepy ASMR’ is my go-to solution when I need a good night’s sleep. Sometimes the most simple triggers are the most effective, like nails tapping on an item. ASMR creators are so innovative; masters of sound and characterisation. Many produce roleplaying content, where they tailor the triggers to a particular scenario, like a spa day.

My favourite ASMR creators are LottieLovesASMR and Batala’s ASMR.

Mikhaila Corbett-Hassit

Check out LottieLovesASMR and Batala’s ASMR.

Callum Salida, UK Community Manager.

Favourite YouTube Creator: Olivia Neill / 773k subscribers.

Northern Irish creator, Olivia Neill, started her content creation career on YouTube, posting vlogs just for fun. But it was the pandemic – and TikTok- that truly pushed the 19 year old into the spotlight. Although she is best known for her TikTok dances and amusing, off-beat vlogs on Youtube, Neill has gained an eye-watering number of followers across all her social media channels. Most recently, she announced the launch of very own podcast, ‘Inner Monologue’, which highlights just how far her online presence has grown, since her humble beginnings on YouTube.

Watching Olivia’s content is like relaxing with a friend; she’s so easy and comforting to watch, and that’s stayed the same no matter how big her following has grown. She’s consistent, and I think that’s why she’s been able to grow from strength to strength in terms of her creator career.

Callum Salida