YouTube as the gateway to celebrities
Considering the kind of views that Pakistani television serials are getting on YouTube (popular shows tend to get 1+ million views within 24 hours of their upload on YouTube) it is not surprising that for many of their online audience YouTube is the gateway to learn about celebrities’ lifestyle instead of their other activities over other social media outlets. Actors routinely use the video hosting platform to solicit more social media following as their other social media accounts regularly get a shout-out during the videos. The audience that is on YouTube is huge in number and is a completely different group relative to the one on Instagram/Facebook.
“Having an actor’s YouTube channel appear in the suggestion box while a person is watching a drama featuring that actor just gives more exposure to them,” says Samra Muslim, one of the top PR heads/talent managers of the Pakistani entertainment industry.
As a way of changing perceptions
On the other hand, a celebrity with his own YouTube channel gets the freedom and space to showcase various sides of their personalities which then goes on to help them diversify their career choices. Actors getting typecast in one kind of role is a common occurrence and it becomes hard to shed off a certain image. YouTube can help with that.
Yashma Gill, for instance, had decided to join YouTube to be able to explore her personality and change the perception that she is only good for negative roles. Her YouTube channel has videos of her taking up different kinds of challenges that show the actress’s fun, spontaneous side which is not something that is necessarily reflected in the kind of roles she does on screen.
Helps connect with the fans
Maida Azmat, CEO of Mint PR and Image Consultancy, talked about two of the stars she represents, Hania Amir and Iqra Aziz, and their reason for joining YouTube. She explained that while social media has made it easy for fans to get a glimpse of their stars’ personal life, there are still some restrictions on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
“The kind of content that these girls put up is very casual. Their fans get to have an insight into their lives which they don’t get to see too often on other social media platforms. It allows the fans to connect with their favorite stars as they get to see what goes on in the daily lives of celebrities” says Maida.
Monetary gains and bandwagon
Of course, one cannot ignore the potentially lucrative monetary side of the video platform. A reason why many people have started to take YouTube seriously is that it now allows content creators an opportunity to earn money. This, as well as the hype to join the bandwagon, faced with the option of missing out on a hot new trend, has many celebrities turning to the platform to make their presence felt.
“YouTube as a platform demands consistency. So many celebrities opened up their YouTube channel and after one or two videos, they disappeared altogether from the platform. Creating content for YouTube is not as easy as it needs to be different from what one shares on their Instagram (account). And if the celebrities cannot do that, or if they don’t have any solid reason for joining YouTube, they shouldn’t join the platform,” says Samra Muslim.
Maida Azmat, however, does not agree that celebrities are joining YouTube for any monetary gains.
“If the intention was to get some monetary benefits then the content created would be a lot different. The casualness of daily vlogs, which are solely dependent on the actor’s schedule and free time, does not work in favor of someone who wants to gain monetary benefits from the platform.”
Final word
Regardless of the reasons why celebrities join YouTube, be it to change the public perception or share a more detailed insight of their lives with their fans, as a way of connecting with them, it looks like YouTube is well on the way towards becoming a bigger part of celebrities life. Media personnel and actors use different social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to show different facets of their personalities. For many celebrities, YouTube is now looking to join this list as it allows them the opportunity to show a side of their personas that cannot be expressed on other platforms.
