The modern era and technological advances have led us to online interaction. The Association of Indonesian Internet Service Providers (APJII) recently issued a report “Indonesian Internet Profile 2022”. In the report APJII revealed that internet penetration in Indonesia has reached 77.02% in 2021-2022 period.
Indonesia internet penetration is growing year to year. In 2018, Indonesia internet penetration has reached 64.8%. If seen so far this year, there is a rising about 12%.
The thriving Indonesia internet penetration affects the development of our digital ecosystem. This is explained in a report from Redseer, where Indonesian teenagers with high internet insertion and high smartphones utilization have strong role in making Indonesia’s digital (e-commerce) ecosystem grow rapidly.
Not only Indonesia’s digital (e-commerce) ecosystem is growing, but also the use of social media in Indonesia needs our attention. Data from datareportal states that Facebook users in Indonesia in 2022 are 129.9 million people, Instagram users are 99.15 million people, TikTok users are 92.07 million, and Youtube users are 139 million people.
Youtube is the social media with the biggest number of users in Indonesia. This is bolded by the We Are Social survey which states that 96.9% of Indonesians aged 16-64 years regularly consume videos on the internet.
If we seek this fact deeper, young people aged 18-24 years are the generation who really love to watching videos. They can spend 3 hours per day watching videos on various social media platforms.
Young people in this age range are the genesis that contributes the most consumption and adoption of video content on the internet. As a content, video combines formats such as audio and visual which easier to understand and share.
With that combination, video content has the ability to capture attention faster than content that is just text or sound. It is not surprising that Indonesian teenagers regularly consume videos.
Gen Z and Youtube: Friends for Life?
Defy Media with Adweek held a survey and received 1.452 young people aged 13-20 years as respondents. This survey asks how young people think about social media platforms.
The most popular social media platform among them is Instagram (69%), but 50% of the respondents stated that they cannot live without Youtube.
It is more and more interesting to investigate deeper to found out why young people or Gen Z are so dependent on Youtube. We did desk research and got some refreshing findings that are useful for brands or other stakeholders who want to get closer to the target audience like these young people. Brands can rearrange the composition of their communication so it can be more targeted.
The Untold Relationship Between Gen Z and Youtube
CEO HK Strategies Indonesia Marianne Admardatine stated that Gen Z has a pretty interesting content interest. The style of storytelling is still their main interest even though it is applied on digital platforms.
Admardatine also mentioned that creative content that easily catches the attention of this generation is content that wrapped in comedy, loose change, to cynical copywriting.
This is in line with our subsequent findings. According to the Global Web Index, Gen Z tends to engage with video content that covered in cynical or satirical comedy, video duration tends to be short, relevant, authentic, and interactive with the audience.
Relating the interactive factor, Gen Z likes video content that triggers two-way interactions and engages them in relevant conversations.
Hermawan Kartajaya Founder and Chairman of MarkPlus, Inc. strengthens this finding by stating personality-wise, Gen Z has a more dynamic character towards trends. So, they like light content wrapped in a sense of humor.
Gen Z Makes Youtube a Reference
Our next unique findings is that Gen Z is not only interested in comedy content or light content, but also meaningful content.
According to Youtube’s spectacle, 80% of Gen Z say this video platform helps them become more knowledgeable. They also stated that Youtube helped them to gain new skills that could support them in the future.
So, they are also engaged with informative videos and DIY (Do It by Yourself) themed. In fact, not a few of them follow the channel of science and technology.
Gen Z’s habit of watching videos on Youtube has its own meaning for brands or other stakeholders. The interesting thing about Gen Z is that they are very different from the previous generation. They can define a habit in different ways.
Brands can adapt the video content Gen Z likes on Youtube as their way for advertising. Rob Blake, Managing Director of Channel Factory, UK, found that brands that can align everything Gen Z loves from Youtube video content earn 17% higher ROI (Return On Invesment).
Related to the other habits, such as shopping habits, watching videos on Youtube can influence habits in determining purchases. Data from thrivemyway shows that 66% of Gen Z pay close attention to product quality details from brands, 52% of Gen Z seek recommendations from online influencers before deciding to buy a product, and 43% of Gen Z like to look for product review content.
Insights
- Gen Z consumes a lot of video content on social media, especially Youtube.
- Gen Z tends to like relevant video content, wrapped in comedy.
- Gen Z also consume useful video content to help them prepare for the future.
- Gen Z watches video content for their consideration before buying a product.
So, What Can Brands Do?
After knowing what things make Gen Z able to engage with video content, brands can determine what role they can play. From the explanation above, there are two roles that brands can take: Entertainer and Educator.
From this role, the brand can determine what kind of communication and video content will be built in the video content later. This part of the brand can be modified for the purpose of selling products or services.
Using influencers that are relevant to Gen Z is one way to make it easier for brands to find the face of their communication.
Some of the communication approaches above can certainly be done by brands. But, the fundamental thing that brands need to remember and implement is the authenticity and relevance of content that must be strictly maintained.
If you are interested in collaborating with us to get deeper insight and effective strategy, please contact:
faisyal.firdaus@stratx.id
08118003404
