More than one billion users visit YouTube every month to stream over 6 billion hours of Internet videos. In other words, that’s a heck of a lot of content.
But for the countless videos that are uploaded to the site every day, only 65 companies in the U.S. are YouTube certified, and Nashville now has one of them.
Since launching in January, FLO{thinkery}’s multi-channel YouTube network Made In has been busy building channel partners, creating original programming, building a sales team, and yes, getting certified.
So what exactly does that mean?
“It was intense,” Made In CEO Kevin Grosch told me with a laugh.
Google-owned YouTube rolled the certification training out less than two years ago and it’s still in beta testing, which means for now, it’s by invite only. The certification covers two tracks, audience growth and advanced digital rights.
Grosch and members of his team sat through training with YouTube employees and developers, culminating in an exam that a minimum of three employees must pass.
The certification lasts for 12 months and, in addition to bragging rights, companies are publicly designated as YouTube certified, getting access to certain marketing and branding materials, which can help land channel sponsors, and other specialized training tracks.
But Grosch said the most valuable thing has been working directly with YouTube developers to understand exactly how assets are monetized and tracked on YouTube, a vitally important topic in Music City and at Made In, a channel centered around local musicians and makers.
Made In is averaging 30 to 35 million views per month across all of its channels, which includes original content and partner channels, according to Grosch. Most of the traffic to the network’s videos has come through other sites linking to a specific video or through YouTube searches, which Grosch sees as positive, indicating repeat or frequent YouTube visitors are finding the content.
Viewership on the home-grown content has lagged behind in viewership and revenue compared to partner channels, but Grosch believes that trend will change as YouTube demographics start to skew older. And, in the wake of high-dollar YouTube network acquisitions, it’s one he’s willing to invest in long-term.
“It’s only a matter of time before YouTube viewers want more mature content,” he said. “Stats only go so far … How do we focus on making compelling shows and music? For us, it’s all about the content. “