Over the past decade, from May 2005, when former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim released the first version of the YouTube service to the public, up until the present day, websites with short videos have ceased to play simply an entertainment role. Even though entertainment content continues to break records as the most popular, for some time now YouTube has been recognized as one of the most effective tools for exerting influence, shaping the taste of viewers and, what is most significant from the point of view of this work, shaping a personal image, in other words the phenomenon known as personal branding.
With each passing year, an ever-growing number of professionals, both individuals interested in building their own personal brand, as well as those who create images for products or organizations, are growing aware of the driving force that comes from competent and conscious use of the possibilities YouTube offers. The possibilities for the distribution of information and use of this dynamically developing medium for the shaping of a personal brand are indeed huge, for at least several reasons:
- (a)free, wide access to content as well as the ability to publish for free
- (b)low level of technical complexity
- (c)ease of viewing
- (d)international, trans-cultural and without broadcast limitations
- (e)measurable penetration and scope of content distribution
- (f)popularity of the service, providing a wide range of internauts with the ability to shape their personal brand.
There are many examples that show how the amount of funds invested in the production of videos for YouTube is not very important—often popularity records are set by material recorded using cell phones with an amateur soundtrack. It is the idea and the content of the published material that has the greatest influence on whether a video will “go viral” (viral ads—a trick used more and more often in advertising campaigns), and users themselves begin to distribute it, sharing it with their friends on their own YT channels or via the most popular social media such as Facebook or Twitter .
Today, amateur recording of video material practically does not require having either expensive equipment or specialized professional skills. The widespread development of cell phone providers offering smartphones as part of a subscription (the cost of which is “hidden” in the monthly subscription fee) has resulted in access to the ability to record video material becoming commonplace. Moreover, most amateur-level cameras, camcorders or even smartphones available on the marketplace today permit recording in high resolution (HD), with stabilization, editing and processing on the device itself (without the need for any specialized software).
Video material viewed by internet users does not require any interaction from them, no engagement or for them to do anything additional at all. A user does not need to actively participate in exploring such material, does not need to click on anything or scroll through screens to view the next items. Moreover, the run time of most video material on YouTube does not usually exceed a few minutes, which is a conscious decision on the part of creators to make maximal use of the first level of user interest and show content before the level of interest falls. This trait of the material on the YouTube service was noticed by specialists in sales and promotion—the short format sells much better, as users are more eager to view it.
The global reach of the internet as well as the fact that YouTube is not divided into dedicated domains for specific countries means that distribution of material is unlimited (Schwabel, 2010, p. 37). A video published in one place on the globe is available at the same moment for all users of the network. There is no limitation regarding the general time of the broadcast or the time of day. There or no limitations regarding the timeslot, television channel or station or its range. YouTube has global reach and makes it possible to open the materials it hosts in every corner of the world at any time.
A channel on YouTube offers huge opportunities for research. It makes statistical data available that contain a great amount of information, ranging from the demographic profile and localization of its users, through statistics regarding hits, views and subscriptions, on the basis of which one can easily determine the global reach of a given item of content published on the service. That alone attracts interest in the marketing opportunities of YouTube, which cannot be overestimated, from more and more companies and corporations (Malinowska-Parzydło, 2015, p. 226) that only just over a decade ago could not even dream of such an inexpensive promotional tool that at the same time operates worldwide.
Before the rise of YouTube , the tools available for shaping a personal brand were limited to operating in the public sphere using traditional media. However, presence in the traditional media, both for brands and for individuals, required overcoming a high financial barrier (purchase of paid advertising or entire promotional campaigns) and also the long-term process of becoming a public figure. This process often took years, and depended on a number of factors: media interest, talent in the given field, journalistic and acting ability, et cetera. The appearance of YouTube , together with its whole range of possibilities, not only made this process shorter, but also opened access to effective instruments for shaping a personal brand (Neher, 2013, p. 16). Today, personal branding tools are free (Malinowska-Parzydło, 2015, p. 74) and available to everyone (Schwabel, 2010, p. 7). The difference lies above all in the different terms of entry. For example, appearing on a television program is only possible when someone is invited to do so. Appearing on YouTube requires no invitation, and only the content determines how many viewers (sometimes millions of them) will become familiar with the performance (Montoya & Vandehey, 2008, p. 231).
The number of users of the service who decide to give up using traditional media such as broadcast or satellite television channels or local and national radio broadcasts is also growing. For them, YouTube is the primary medium for music and film distribution. The number of views received by the most popular YouTube channels exceed many times over the possibilities of the most popular television stations, and this of course attracts huge interest in the service from both advertisers and many companies seeking to recruit employees.
One of the premises of taking up the problem of personal branding in this work is the dependency, that is becoming clearer and clearer, between the opportunities for earning income from advertising or finding a lucrative occupation and a personal brand constructed using YouTube . This work addresses topics having to do with building and negotiating a personal brand, considering in particular the tools for shaping a personal brand on YouTube and the effects of using them professionally.
The main goal of this work is to identify and compare strategies for shaping personal brands used by young Polish and American internauts and YouTubers , which constitute examples of the success of personal branding and make it possible to establish a set of effective practices.
The work seeks answers to the following research questions:
- Is YouTube an effective tool for shaping a personal brand for members of the younger generation (Generation Y and Generation Z )?
- To what extent are YouTubers , who are building their image with the service, recognizable?
- How is YouTube perceived in regard to achieving financial success?
- What effect does a well-constructed personal brand have on finding work and getting to know new people?
- To what extent is the idea of a personal brand known?
- What social media d...