Is YouTube an underrated marketing channel right now?

Everyone talks about YouTube. 

And probably has their favorite YouTube content. 

But if you ask marketers about channels they’d promote their brands on, YouTube is rarely the first one that comes to mind. Unless you’re a YouTube-specific marketer, that is.

In any case, we’ve decided to dig into some recent data on YouTube and see whether you should start taking YouTube more seriously or not.

Let’s spill the charts…

YouTube usage beats TikTok and Instagram among all US teens 

TikTok? Nah, the kids are all on YouTube, apparently.

Check it out:

We tend to associate TikTok with Gen Z and the younger generation, but it appears that YouTube is actually the king of social media content. And by a lot.

For example, 90% of all teenagers use YouTube. That’s a significant difference compared to TikTok (63%) and Instagram (61%). 

There’s also not a lot of difference between the demographic that uses it—both urban and rural, lower and higher household income… They are all pretty much on YouTube. 

If you compare it to TikTok—the difference between users from urban areas (70%) compared to suburban (59%) is stark. 

What does all this mean: This bodes well for the future of YouTube as the platform shows that it can appeal to the youngest demographic despite its longevity.  

Not just that, but it still maintains the biggest popularity. Even compared to powerhouses like Instagram or TikTok—who usually take all the plaudits.

If you’re a marketer, there are a few takeaways here:

• If you’re targeting younger demographics, TikTok might sound like an obvious choice, but YouTube might actually have a higher reach and be more effective.
• Invest in YouTube-first content. Many brands treat it as a dumping ground for TikTok content. Instead, leverage YouTube content creators and create Shorts that feel native to the platform.

YouTube Ads are becoming Google’s cash cow

YouTube isn’t just a dominant platform for users—it’s becoming a revenue giant for Google.

In 2017, YouTube’s ad revenue was just $8.15 billion, making up 7.3% of Google’s total revenue. 

Fast forward to 2024, and that number has skyrocketed to $36.15 billion, now accounting for a massive 13.66% of Google’s earnings. It almost doubled since 2014.

While growth slowed in 2022 and 2023, 2024 marks a clear resurgence. YouTube’s ad business is not just holding steady—it’s thriving. And we’ll see why later.

This means YouTube ads are working. If brands weren’t seeing results, ad spend wouldn’t be climbing at this rate.

On the other hand, competition—and ad costs—may rise as a consequence.

With YouTube becoming a bigger piece of Google’s pie, you can expect more investment in ad products, but also more competition in ad auctions.

Now might be the time to refine your YouTube ads strategy before costs go up even more.

Mobile reigns supreme on YouTube

…but desktop holds steady as well.

Here’s how it looked like for the second half of last year:

Mobile visits dominate, hitting 55.8 billion in December 2024. 

This could also be due to CTV probably being counted as mobile, given that we mostly access it via Android on our smart TVs.

But desktop usage is surprisingly resilient as well. Even though mobile brings in double the traffic, desktop visits have actually grown in late 2024—from 21.8B in August to nearly 23.6B in December.

This means you should create content and ads with both desktop and mobile in mind. 

Long-form content and tutorials perform well on desktop, while Shorts and quick-hit content thrive on mobile. So try to diversify.

Also, consider device targeting for ads. Mobile ads may get more views, but desktop ads could see higher engagement. Especially for in-depth content. 

YouTube Ads are taking over TV

If you read Stacked Marketer regularly (thank you!), you might remember we reported a surprising stat—that YouTube has more TV viewers than mobile viewers in the US.

And it looks like this is reflected in advertising:

According to the latest data, YouTube TV is hungry.

Hungry for the larger piece of pie in the US.

In just one year, TV screens rose from 26% to 39% in the ad campaign share—a staggering 13%! 

Of course, this means that TV is taking a share from ads on phone screens—which decreased 9% in 12 months—but as well as a few percent of desktop and tablet. A pair that had a much lower share anyway.

What does this mean: This backs up the notion that YouTube’s audience is shifting. 

People are watching on their screens instead of on their phones so they’re likely more 

relaxed, engaged, and possibly watching with family or friends. Just like regular TV, yeah.

What can you do: A short, high-energy ad designed for someone holding their phone might not translate well to a lean-back experience on a big screen. Instead, you can:

• Adjust ads for TV: Clear image, bigger text, and pacing fitting a viewing experience.
• Leverage non-skippable placements: TV watchers are less likely to skip ads. You’ll have more time to build brand recall and tell a compelling story.
• Target by device: Consider running separate campaigns optimized for TV experience rather than using the same creatives across all screens.

If you have some other tips, let us know—we might feature you in our newsletter.

How popular is YouTube among advertisers?

After everything we’ve read so far, you’d think YouTube is super popular.

When exactly, it’s somewhere in the middle:

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are undisputed kings of social media. Be it organic social or paid ads. 

YouTube, on the other hand, sits in between the giants in the golden mean (51%)—with LinkedIn surprisingly being more popular among marketers—almost 65%. 

TikTok is also in an interesting place, showing that maybe not all marketers on the globe look at the platform as favorably as in the US or Europe.

YouTube might still be underutilized: You might’ve noticed that too. Most advertisers tend to focus on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. They rarely bring up YouTube.

On the other hand, all parameters show that YouTube is steadily growing. Ad revenue is up, the number of users as well—while CTV is proving an interesting option.

This shows that there might be more potential on YouTube than we currently think.

And speaking of…

YouTube is the platform with the highest ROI

Compared to last year, YouTube has seen the biggest ROI increase of all the platforms.

Here’s the data:

According to HubSpot, YouTube’s returns spiked by 11% from 2023 to 2024.

This is the biggest ROI increase out of all platforms—with Instagram close behind with 7%. 

On the other hand, Facebook and LiInkedIn saw slight decreases, with the latter having around 6% ROI. As expected.

This tells us that YouTube might be getting more effective. With better targeting options and the ability to measure CTV success, ad spend on YouTube might be good money spent.

But don’t take that at face value.

You’d think the popularity of Shorts helps this boost a lot on the advertising side, too.

And when it comes to Shorts…

Shorts are an effective awareness tool

It might bring some money back, but marketers use Shorts for a different goal:

Almost half of all marketers say that increasing brand visibility is the primary goal of Shorts posts. 

Makes sense, with Shorts’ recommendation algorithm allowing you to get in front of the right audience organically.

A quarter say that Shorts are targeting a specific demographic, while around 15% claim Shorts are good for concise format promotion or driving traffic to longer content.

We can also understand the last one as increasing brand awareness, of sorts.

If you want to use Shorts, think of them as a top-of-funnel play. Shorts are built for reach, discovery, and quick engagement—not necessarily for immediate conversions. 

The algorithm prioritizes content that grabs attention fast and keeps viewers watching, which means you have a chance to land in front of your ideal audience.

Make sure you hook fast, brand early with the first 2-3 seconds mattering most. Use captions & on-screen text as many watch without sound, and also reinforce key messages with larger letters or captions. 

If your goal is conversions, use Shorts to tease value—and then direct viewers to longer- form content, landing pages, or even social profiles.

And here’s why…

Shorts are extremely engaging

We don’t exaggerate.

If you think TikTok and Reels keep you hooked, what if we told you Shorts are doing it at almost a higher rate? Check it out:

Shorts actually have almost a 6% engagement rate. The difference is minor compared to TikTok and Reels, yes—but consider these two things:

• Unlike TikTok, which has a strong demographic skew, YouTube’s audience is super broad. Your Shorts content can reach more diverse groups of people.
• Shorts is directly integrated into YouTube’s ecosystem, meaning it connects directly to long-form content. So you can leverage both.

What can you do: Don’t just post Shorts in isolation. 

Use them as teasers for longer videos, product demos, or even live streams. The high engagement rate means more viewers are likely to take the next step.

Also, optimize for retention. That’s what the algorithm loves and favors. Keep your Shorts snappy, visually engaging, and structured to maintain interest for the full duration.

Short or long — YouTube goes strong

That’s not us saying this. It’s what we found from the data online.

YouTube has the reach, the engagement, and the ad revenue to prove that it is holding ground and thriving in the new “content media” environment. 

It also allows you a number of different angles—whether it is Shorts, CTV, or long-form content. So you might want to take it seriously, if you already haven’t.