You must have wondered what YouTube is, a social media platform, search engine, or content creation one? The questions resonate because we do not use it as we use Facebook or Instagram, nor is Snapchat the same. 

So what makes YouTube a social media platform? How does it make a social media platform? What type of social media platform is it? 

This is exactly what we will be exploring in this article like; understanding the usage of YouTube, its diverse portfolio, and how it makes the social media mark, while outstanding from other social media platforms.

However, if you are looking to connect to YouTube, create content, host content, publish or make any form of content, you need a stable, reliable internet connection. Because YouTube runs smooth and fast on a high-speed internet connection. For which you could for example take up one of the best providers in the USA like Xfinity and may obtain it through calling Xfinity phone number, which has a dedicated helpline to assist anyone that comes up to them. You could also explore other options in your locality and choose what suits your location and usage. 

Moving on, besides a good internet connection, you need to understand what YouTube is before moving onto content creation through it or just understanding it for information’s sake because YouTube is going up fast and becoming a multi-media, going up to become a money earning platform –big time. 

Some to-the-point facts about YouTube:

  • It is a video sharing platform
  • Has a billion monthly users
  • An important part of an online experience
  • Both watch content and create it

Thus, the question, “How is YouTube a social media platform?” and that folks will be all sorted by the end of this article. 

What Is Social Media Anyways?

Social media is a broader term, which has many different types of platforms. To make sense of what social media is, we can say it is an online service, a form of communication. This is however interactive and allows people to engage with the content. However, in today’s time, social media is also a content creation option for people like an influencer. Influencer marketing is one form of content creation that has taken up the hype in the market reaching millions just through social media. 

The generally accepted social media platform are:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Snapchat
  • Instagram

These also include niche platforms like Pinterest for picture sharing and liking which is an image-based social media network. Another, like Artfol, which is a social media network for artists. Thus, there is a lot of variation in social media but the main thing common is that they help to communicate. Whether it is connecting artists, videographers, or avid book readers.

To understand if YouTube classifies as a social media platform, then you need to know the basics of what classification do social media platforms have:

The five broad categories would be:

  • Social networking is done like LinkedIn.
  • Images sharing and messaging Like Facebook and Instagram
  • Video sharing like TikTok
  • Blogging socially like Twitter
  • Social community/discords/discussion sites like Reddit or Quora

Is YouTube A Social Media?

There are many reasons why YouTube makes the mark. Let us see how it is considered to be a social platform.

  • Subscriptions
  • Commenting
  • Likes
  • Community Posting
  • Content creation
  • Revenue Model

The main reason why YouTube makes the mark are listed above. It allows users to subscribe to what they like, like the follow function on Facebook and Instagram. This allows people to stay up to date and keep in touch with the creator’s content. The commenting and liking keep the engagement going.

The community posts also engage but allow people with over 1000 subscribers to post images, text, GIFs, or polls on YouTube that shows that YouTube highlights itself as a social media platform. YouTube is also known to be taken up to be like video-streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. However, YouTube is different and should be regarded more as a social platform. People can create content and upload, but following the guidelines, YouTube has. The benefit is that people can make a channel to create traffic for their actual handles and business pages like a clothing brand on Instagram have a YouTube channel on styling. Thus, YouTube has a revenue model, as users free content while the company makes money from displaying ads and from other content creators who pay for space after a certain subscriber base and are also paid by YouTube, as they are bringing in traffic too. It also allows shares and further attraction of people to the platform.

Final Verdict

So, What Type Of Social Media Does YouTube Fit?

Therefore, we finally come to the end. The Verdict?

Well, YouTube is mainly watching videos and interactions through multi-media, comments, shares, likes, subscribers, and thus growth base. It is like TikTok but somewhat better in content and variety. 

Therefore, yes, YouTube is a social media platform that falls in the category of video-sharing and streaming content. Happy YouTube surfing or starting something on it. The word is, it is kicking up hype and going up 2022 and beyond. 

Author

Sumit is a Tech and Gadget freak and loves writing about Android and iOS, his favourite past time is playing video games.

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