Analytical Framework

Once the top 10 popular beauty YouTubers were identified, the five most recent beauty related videos from each channel were analyzed for certain qualities that was previously determined to be possible indicators of success on YouTube.

Excel spreadsheets were created to record information about each channel and

video. The channel information deemed noteworthy were the number of subscribers, number of videos uploaded, upload frequency, and total views. Also included for reference were channel name, the YouTuber’s real name, and the date they joined YouTube. Many YouTubers are active on other social media, so the number of followers they have on other platforms was also noted. (See Appendix A for information about each channel)

Basic Information

Basic information about each video, including video name, the number of views the video has gathered thus far, the number of comments thus far, the number of likes and dislikes, the date it was uploaded on, the duration of the video, the video type (for instance is it a tutorial or a product review), and the date it was viewed for the purposes of this research were noted.

21 Characteristics

The observations were split into four main categories based on the characteristics that appeared to be most important for determining the success of YouTubers, based on existing literature: Trustworthiness, consistency, information quality, and appeals.

These four main categories are then broken down into a total of 21 characteristics that will be looked out for and analyzed to see if they predict a YouTuber’s success.

These characteristics were gathered from various existing literature and thought to be important for YouTubers to possess.

It is possible to gather a total of 105 ‘hits’, if all five videos from each YouTuber demonstrates all 21 characteristics. This analysis is mainly qualitative in nature, though some quantitative analysis in regards to statistics about which characteristics appear to be most important will also be included. (See Appendix B to see which characteristics are demonstrated in each video)

Below is the detailed explanation for each characteristic:

Trustworthiness is split into four subcategories: honesty and transparency, morality, professionalism, and passion. Honesty and transparency deals with whether the

YouTuber appears to be honest, that is, do they disclose information about sponsorships or specific biases they may have for a particular brand? Audience members need to feel that they can trust this person if they are to let his or her opinions affect their own purchasing decisions. Morality is about whether they seem to be ‘good’ people. People prefer to listen to people they feel are ‘good’, so do these YouTubers appear to be kind, caring, and considerate? Professionalism is another big factor is how trustworthy someone seems. Do they take YouTube seriously as a job, or are they just fooling around? Professionalism is not to be confused with expertise. Here, professionalism refers to the YouTuber’s attitude more so than to their knowledge or skills. Finally, passion refers to how much the YouTuber appears to love what they are doing.

YouTube audiences do not favour influencers who seem to be doing YouTube for the money. They appreciate YouTubers who genuinely love makeup and want to share their love with others.

2. Consistency e) Slogan

f) Repetitiveness

Consistency is split into two subcategories: slogan and repetitiveness. Slogans, or signature greetings, make fans feel like they are part of a community. It gives them a sense of belonging and they expect to hear it in every video. Does this YouTuber have a personal slogan or greeting they use in every video? Repetitiveness refers to whether a YouTuber sticks to his or her opinion or whether they have certain catchphrases and distinct way of speaking. Sticking to one’s own opinion over time gives the viewers the sense that the YouTubers really believe in what they are saying, while having certain catchphrases or distinct personal style makes them memorable and stand out from others.

Information quality is split into five categories: completeness, accuracy,

appropriateness, instructiveness, and relevance. Completeness means that the YouTuber does things like list out all products they mentioned in the video in the description, or lists prices in the video when they introduce a product, to make it easier for the viewer to weigh future purchases. Accuracy simply means whether or not what this YouTuber says is correct. This is not always a measure that can be evaluated since a lot of the times, a YouTuber is sharing his or her own opinion. However, if a YouTuber gives detailed product information like pricing, product ingredients, dimensions, etc. that they found from prior research, this can be seen as giving accurate information.

Appropriateness means whether the content is suitable for all ages. The more

appropriate the videos are, the larger potential audience base this YouTuber has.

Instructiveness refers to whether they give clear instructions for applying products.

Relevance refers to whether the video content is in line with the latest trends and newest releases. A YouTuber who is constantly reviewing the newest products are more likely to be regarded as giving valuable information compared to a YouTuber who is always reviewing old products.

The last category, appeals, is a large one, with 10 subcategories. Aesthetic appeal refers to everything from the physical attractiveness of the YouTuber, to the lighting, to the backdrop of their video. Literary appeal has to do with how articulate the YouTuber is and what type of tone they adopt in their videos. Curiosity appeal is how attention grabbing they make their videos. Is there an attention-grabbing introduction, a famous guest, or do they make references to other videos to make people want to view those mentioned videos? Personal connection refers to whether the YouTubers give audiences

engagement looks into whether the YouTuber makes viewers feel personally engaged and a part of the experience. Unity appeal is a tactic used to make fans feel like they are part of something special and that they are appreciated by the YouTuber. Reward refers to YouTubers rewarding viewers for their support, for instance with product giveaways.

Positivity has to do with the YouTuber’s personality, and whether they come across as a happy individual who spreads positive energy. Most viewers prefer watching videos that make them feel good, and having a positive attitude is important in achieving that.

Motivation refers to how much encouragement or emotional support the YouTuber provides the viewers. Since YouTubers like to create the illusion that they are friends with the audience, their fans look to them to provide support for them just as a friend would. Finally, relatability refers to how ‘normal’ and down to earth the YouTuber is.

As mentioned before, fans like to see the YouTuber as a friend, so they want to believe the YouTuber is ‘just like them’. If a YouTuber lives an extravagant lifestyle

completely different from their viewers’, the fans are likely to feel that they cannot relate to them. Thus, a common tactic used by YouTubers to make themselves appear more relatable is by reviewing and using affordable drugstore makeup in their videos.

Interactions

Apart from these 21 characteristics, the interactions between the YouTubers and their audience will also be analyzed to provide insight for branding collaborations. This includes taking note of thumbs up, thumbs down, and comments, as well as the content of the comments.

The total number of comments for each of the five videos for each YouTuber is noted, as are the number of ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’. Next, the comment section is analyzed to find any examples of the YouTubers engaging with their audience as well as examples of the audience being directly influenced by the YouTuber.

One of the key differences between using celebrities and YouTubers for brand endorsement is the level of personal interaction between the audience and the endorser.

The advantage of a YouTuber is that the audience feels personally connected to them.

This paper will analyze the level of interpersonal activity present outside of the videos themselves.