Why How-to Videos Keep Killing It Online
Innovative business models to exploit the hackable human mind are primary drivers
How-to videos or more generally how-to content has been growing at the rate of knots on the interwebs for many years now. Why is that so? I believe there are a few underlying reasons why this kind of content is so abundant online.
Firstly, humans by nature are curious and like “knowing stuff” even when it is of no real use to them. This can be a source of great social capital for someone. During the heyday of TV, shows like “How It’s Made”, “How The Universe Works” and a host of others found many takers. Now, of course, people utilize the internet to satisfy their thirst for such knowledge.
Secondly, depending on the category, how-to content is actually a practical way to asynchronously resolve queries people have in those categories. In computers & electronics, they can help people figure out how to perform certain functions. In health & fitness, they can help people know important facts about the prevention of many ailments. In education, people might be looking for effective shortcuts to learn something or develop themselves. The list goes on!
Thirdly, and this is primarily post-Covid, there has been a significant shift towards DIY in how we choose to get things done in life. This could range from how we decide to satisfy our taste buds to how we get home repairs done. This trend has also given a boost to such content.
Since there is always demand for how-to content, once there is a half-decent economic model in place on any media platform, it will not have a dearth of supply. In the age of TV, advertising was the primary revenue model for infotainment channels like Discovery. With the rise of Google and the advent of YouTube, the scope for the same model has broadened so that it can be applied on a much larger base of content at a more personalized level. This has caused “supply” to have mushroomed in all sorts of niches that were once impractical in a TV-dominated ecosystem.
The core driving factors behind the need for how-to content is not going away any time soon and with established business models in place for such content, it will continue to drive the engine of capitalism online.