Characteristics of the Russian audience on YouTube
Millions of users in Russia watch YouTube on a daily basis, and the platform has a monthly audience of over 40 million Russians.
What is the dominant audience on Russian YouTube?
Moreover, how appealing is it for advertisers?
Our blog contains answers to these and other related questions.
Facts and figures about YouTube in Russia
Mediascope’s data reveals that YouTube consistently ranks among the top three platforms in terms of monthly reach among the Russian internet audience. It is noteworthy that the first two spots are occupied by internet giants in the Russian market, namely Yandex (with 28 projects) and Mail.ru (with 20 projects).
As a result, YouTube has a monthly reach of over 70% of Russian internet users, with approximately 13 million Russians watching YouTube videos daily. However, video hosting coverage varies slightly among the most populated cities in Russia, such as:
- Moscow: 69%
- Saint Petersburg: 73%
- Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and Kazan: 78%
- Cities with populations between 100,000 and 400,000: 71%
Who are the YouTube users in Russia?
Nearly half of the YouTube audience in Russia falls within the age group of 25-44 years old, accounting for 48% of the total viewership. The male audience dominates in almost all age groups.
From a marketing perspective, YouTube offers a relatively affluent audience, with 80% of users having average or higher income levels. Moreover, more than 23% of the audience comprises of specialists, while over 13% are managers.
Mobile devices are the most popular devices for watching YouTube in Russia, with almost 10 million viewers using this mode of access. Furthermore, approximately 15.8 million viewers watch videos with equal enthusiasm on both mobile devices and desktops.
By placing advertisements on YouTube, you can not only target the majority of users of popular social media platforms in Russia but also reach a substantial number of unique viewers who exclusively use the video hosting service.
Which types of content are popular among Russian viewers on YouTube?
As the audience continues to age, there has been an increase in the viewership of children’s and entertainment videos. However, according to a study by Yoola media network, viewers under 18 years old still constitute the majority of consumers of bloggers’ videos, with a share of 40%. Women aged 24-44, particularly mothers, are more likely to turn on videos for kids.
As the audience ages, their interests also evolve. In the 18-24 age category, bloggers are still popular, but gaming and entertainment are gaining popularity as well. These categories are also favored by YouTube users in the 25-44 age group. Additionally, there is a category of themed videos where men are inclined towards business, cars, and gadgets, while women prefer videos on fashion, beauty, health, motherhood, sports, shopping, and lifestyle. However, women tend to lose interest in themed content by the age of 35, while male content remains relevant for its audience.
As the audience grows older, their interests also shift. In the age group of 44 and above, entertainment and hobby videos become more popular. Life hacks and DIY videos are the most popular ones, along with content related to travel, cooking, gardening, knitting, and other activities. According to Yoola, such themes are mostly presented by small thematic channels. Unlike other content categories, the bloggers or authors of the channels are less important in the DIY category. Presenters can change, and the author’s face does not need to appear on camera, as viewers are only interested in the usefulness of the content.
Additionally, based on our experience working with different communication channels, we have observed that the YouTube audience tends to be more tolerant towards negative content. In contrast, the audience on Odnoklassniki is generally regarded as the most friendly and positive among Russian users.
Which YouTube Channels are Popular among Russian Users?
The following channels are currently among the top 20 most popular in Russia according to the Livedune ranking:
- Like Nastya Vlog – vlog for kids
- GetMovies – family channel (cartoons, movies, and informative shows for all family)
- Masha and the Bear – the most popular animated series
- Like Nastya – vlog for kids
- TheBrianMaps – humor (vlogger)
- AdamThomasMoran – +100500 humorous show (vlogger)
- VitalyzdTv – prankster (entertainment video in English) (vlogger)
- Masterskaya Nastroeniya – entertainment and informative content
- MrGear – entertainment and informative content
- AdMe.ru – entertainment and informative content
- FROST – vlogger
- Trum Trum – entertainment and informative content
- Wylsacom – channel about technologies (reviews of gadgets) (vlogger)
- Kuplinov ► Play – gaming channel
- Maryana Ro – vlogger
- TheKateClapp – vlogger
- Sasha Spilberg – vlogger
- Aid [VyacheslavOO] – let’s players (gaming channel)
- Anny May – vlogger
- This is Хорошо – vlogger
The surge in popularity of children’s content has been ongoing for several years now, but this year’s results are truly remarkable. The reason is quite simple: an increasing number of parents are choosing to entertain their children with digital devices.
Out of the Top 20 most popular channels, 4 are dedicated to kids’ content, which includes two channels for kid vloggers that are gaining immense popularity in Russia. Additionally, there are 4 channels that offer a mix of entertainment and informative content, featuring tips, life hacks, masterclasses, and other helpful information.
Let’s players are one of the most popular bloggers both in Russia and worldwide, recording, publishing, and commenting on gaming processes. Such videos are highly demanded with 74% of gamers watching YouTube videos to improve their gaming skills. Two such channels have made it to the Top 20 list.
However, the majority of the Top 20 channels are vloggers. Out of the 20, 14 channels are video bloggers with diverse content and audience, including kids’ vlogs, humor, pranks, blogs for girls, gamers, and many more, showcasing the wide range of channels on YouTube.
Conclusion
If you are planning a marketing strategy for the Russian market, YouTube should be a top priority. With its rapid growth, it is gradually catching up with TV as one of the most popular media platforms. In fact, in 2018, the monthly reach of YouTube in the Russian media market was second only to Channel One. This means that your target audience is likely already on the platform, and all you need to do is find them and engage with them effectively. Contact us today, and our experts will help you develop a winning promotion strategy for the most popular video hosting platform in Russia.