We’ve all interacted with YouTube at some point. YouTube has billions of monthly visits, and many users often get confused about what social media category YouTube falls under.
There are different reasons why YouTube is categorized as a social media platform. Besides, there are various social media categories, and we will help you identify what category YouTube falls under.
To understand what type of social media YouTube is, we must understand how YouTube works. Ideally, YouTube involves accessing the site and viewing the shared content. With a YouTube account, you can upload video content for people to interact with. One category of social media is the video-sharing category. Therefore, YouTube is a video-sharing social media type.
We will define social media and its various aspects. Moreover, we will understand why YouTube is categorized as a social media platform. Further, we will explain how YouTube works to help us identify what type of social media YouTube is.
What Is a Social Media Platform?
When you mention the term social media, many platforms come to mind. A social media platform is best described as a platform that allows people to share information and interests interactively.
A social media platform has various aspects, and the most common is that it lets influencers get a following and engage with their followers. Thus, many social media platforms involve creating personal accounts and a profile where you can get a following.
There are four main social media categories.
Social Networking Platforms
This category comprises platforms that focus on networking. They help people build connections with each other. This platform lets you find other people and create different networking levels. An excellent example is LinkedIn which lets you create networks with professionals.
Discussion Sites
They are social community sites where people meet and share ideas. They involve creating threads and deeper conversations via text. They include sites like Reddit.
Image Sharing and Messaging Platforms
These are the platforms that allow people to communicate. Here, you can message people directly or create group chats.
Moreover, you can share feeds or chats for the world to see. Examples of such platforms are Facebook and Instagram.
Video-Sharing Sites
This type contains platforms that focus on sharing video content. Ideally, the creator uploads video content, and people can visit the site to search for and play different video content. TikTok is an excellent example.
What Type of Social Media Is YouTube?
We’ve discussed the four categories of social media platforms. Before we conclude what category YouTube falls under, let’s understand how YouTube works by explaining what aspects make it a social media platform. These aspects include the following.
Personal Account
When you want to start uploading video content on YouTube, you must sign up for a YouTube account. Social media platforms require you to sign up for an account using your details. Once you sign up on YouTube, you can monetize your channel and upload content.
Engaging With Others
You can engage with viewers in the comment section as the channel owner. Moreover, viewers can share their views and feedback in the comments section for others to see. This engagement feature qualifies YouTube to be a social media platform.
Monetization
Social media platforms are mainly known for letting influencers monetize their accounts. The same applies to YouTube. You can monetize your account and earn when you attain a threshold.
Sense of Community
On YouTube, creators can gradually grow their subscribers to create a sense of community. Moreover, you can give special perks to the subscribers and make them feel part of your channel.
Based on how YouTube works and its aspects, we conclude it is a video-sharing social media platform. YouTube allows creators to upload interactive content for others to see and share. Thus, it seamlessly falls under the video-sharing type of social media.
Conclusion
YouTube is a social media platform. We’ve defined social media and explained what makes YouTube a social media platform. Moreover, we’ve concluded that YouTube is a video-sharing social media type.
