The Top 10 YouTube Trends in 2020

YouTube is the number one video-sharing platform in the world with creators curating hours of content targeted to their unique audiences.

For this reason, YouTube is also an ever-growing, ever-changing hotspot for influencers and influencer marketers alike. If you’re looking to catch a big wave that will carry you through 2020, here are 10 of the top YouTube trends we’ve noticed so far this year.

Health and Beauty Category

Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google?

This means that tons of consumers are looking to videos, video reviews, and unboxings to give them advice on their next purchase, whether it’s gift-giving or to treat themselves. The YouTube crowd loves retail therapy.

Immersive Retail

A recent and wildly successful trend in shopping videos is “shop with me” or “how to shop” videos, which aim to give customers insider tips to master their next shopping spree.

These types of videos typically feature at least one shopper who frequents a certain type of store, usually a department store or some other retail outlet. The person featured in the video acts as a guide, sharing with their viewers a wealth of information regarding various things you should absolutely buy, what items to avoid, and how to score the best deals.

Creators of “shop with me” and “how to shop” videos like to set their channel up like a community, where there is an open dialogue between creators and viewers. It’s not uncommon for creators to ask their viewers to submit requests for new stores and shops to feature in future videos. Sometimes the shopper will host giveaways to incentivize likes and new subscribers.

Transformations

Everyone loves a good makeover video. Transformation videos are a paradise for influencer marketing because clothes and makeup are such visual products. With the controversies surrounding high fashion magazines photoshopping, airbrushing, and enhancing images on the page, consumers have turned to video for a more trustworthy source of information.

The latest trend in Transformation videos is the “Ugly to Pretty” or “Don’t Judge Me” challenge, where the creator’s goal is to emphasize the difference in their appearance, contrasting their no makeup, woke-up-like-this look footage of them fully done up. With this type of video, the general rule is the more striking the difference, the more views it receives.

Day-in-the-life Routines

Do you struggle to get out of bed in the morning? Wondering how you can be more productive throughout your workday?

Morning routines especially are a popular new YouTube topic and after watching one, it’s not hard to understand why. Morning routine videos tell the story of someone who likes to sleep late, but wishes they could be more productive, which is about as relatable as relatable content gets, right?

ASMR

ASMR videos are probably one of the most unique popular YouTube trends. ASMR is an acronym for autonomous sensory meridian response, which is a tingling sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the spine along the neck and upper back. Sometimes referred to as a “brain massage,” it’s triggered by soft sights and sounds like whispers, accents, and crackles. There are even ASMR videos designed to help viewers get to sleep at night

These videos typically feature a very soft-spoken or whispering host and a hyper-sensitive mic capable of picking up the slightest sounds. Popular YouTuber techniques for triggering this tingly response in their viewers include but are not limited to; popping bubble wrap, crunching hard candy, brushing the microphone with a makeup brush, and even tapping plastic containers.

How-to and DIY Category

Sustainability and Minimalism

Popular minimalist personalities like to share videos of their home, daily routines, and wardrobe to give their viewers an inside look at what it’s like to live with as little as possible. Videos from minimalist influencer YouTube channel, A Small Wardrobe, feature videos called, “25 things I only own one of”, “Why I got rid of most of my things”, and “Anti-haul”, which aim to poke fun at immersive shoppers and a materialist consumer culture.

Sustainability influencers participate in trash challenges where creators stitch together footage of them turning down plastic bags and extra packaging at stores and shops, buying as much as they can from refill stations, and even foragers and dumpster divers picking around for food and things that would otherwise go to waste. The extreme nature of some of these videos keeps the creators’ hungry audience actively engaged with their content.

Life Hacks

Everyone has fallen down the life hacks rabbit hole on YouTube. The video-sharing platform has been a fertile environment for DIYers and how-to tutorials for some time now and life hacks have taken over as one of the most popular new YouTube trends.

You’re probably familiar with the channel 5-Minute Crafts, which advertises “best hacks for extreme situations.” The channel uploads step-by-step instructions for how to do just about everything, whether you’re stranded in the wilderness or simply looking for a more convenient bathroom storage solution.

Games and Entertainment Category

Documentary

Documentary channels are seeing wild success on platforms like Hulu and Netflix and that success has carried over to YouTube as well. Crime dramas and thrillers based on true stories and inspirational tales of people overcoming extraordinary circumstances are only a few of the many topics racking up views on YouTube every day. These videos tell stories that are scary, sad, and inspirational.

Celebrities

Celebrity news platforms like TMZ, E Online, and People Magazine have been making a spectacle of famous people’s lives for a long time. Unfortunately, many of these tabloid-style gossip news outlets tell stories from pretty striking angles accompanied by shocking photography. YouTube gives celebs a unique opportunity to be the producer and director of their own content, bringing them closer to their fans and telling stories from their point of view.

Justin Bieber has mastered the art of the celebrity YouTube channel, mixing in music videos with heartfelt testimonials about his journey to the spotlight.

360 Degrees and Virtual Reality

These are definitely one of the most impressive YouTube trends from a visual standpoint. Virtual reality, 360-degree view, and 3D videos are gaining popularity across platforms including video games, television, and you guessed it: YouTube. The most-watched 360-degree video worldwide was posted more than two years ago and has since racked up more than 81 million views.

The channel 3D-VR-360 Videos regularly uploads stomach-churning 360-degree animations designed for use and enjoyment with a VR or 4K VR headset (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google Cardboard VR Box, Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, Playstation VR PSVR, or Pimax 4K).

Challenge

Last but certainly not least, challenge videos are one of the hottest new YouTube trends. The challenge trend transcends genre, ranging from the humorous Try Not To Laugh Challenge videos to healthy lifestyle challenges, and pet challenges designed to stump your cat or dog. Prank challenges between friends, roommates and even family members have taken YouTube by storm.

Some popularize familiar game show techniques with spinning wheels countdowns while others operate on a system all their own.