If you have been on the Internet at all in the last week or so, you have most likely seen at least one reference to the new virtual reality mobile game Pokemon Go. This game was an overnight sensation, becoming more frequently used than Facebook and Twitter and adding billions of dollars to the Pokemon franchise in just a few days.
Believe it or not, aspiring YouTubers actually have a lot to learn from this game! Here are four reasons why Pokemon Go has become overwhelmingly popular and what YouTubers can learn from them!
1. The game is nostalgic for fans.
Pokemon is a franchise that has been around since 1995. This means that it’s just over 20 years old now, and countless millennials have grown up with the franchise. Fans have played with Pokemon cards, watched the anime series, and played the Pokemon video games. Now they get to take their love of Pokemon to the next step with this new game!
The nostalgia has definitely added to the popularity. It also reminds aspiring YouTubers to incorporate things from their childhood into their videos in order to appeal to fans with the nostalgia factor!
Check out this nostalgic video in which YouTubers Niki and Gabi talk about things that remind them of their childhood. Because they’re the same age as many of the video’s 2.5 million viewers, Niki and Gabi were able to create something that all of their subscribers can relate to!
2. Players can have a unique experience with the game in their town.
Pokemon Go is a virtual reality game, meaning that players can play while they are walking around outside. The game is programmed in the way that you can find Pokemon and special prizes at different landmarks in your town! This makes the experience totally unique for people who live in different places.
From this, aspiring YouTubers can learn to find ways to incorporate their viewers’ locations into their videos! For example, if you were to make a video about your hometown, you could challenge your viewers to comment or post a video about where they live! This makes the video watching experience different for each person from each place.
Take a look at the popular YouTuber Zoella’s video, in which she plays Pokemon Go in her local town in England! (Hint: You can also post a video of yourself playing Pokemon Go in your town!)
3. The game is bringing people together.
Another reason that everyone loves Pokemon Go is that the players are constantly meeting each other while playing! When players see each other in public areas, they can ask each other if there are any good Pokemon in the area and help each other catch Pokemon! Many people say that this game has made them feel much less nervous about making new friends, because when they see other Pokemon Go players in public they know that they share similar interests!
Here’s a video of a Pokemon Go meetup in Toronto! To go straight to footage of the meet, skip to 3:10 in the video. This video and reason serve to remind YouTubers to constantly find ways to engage with their viewers and community. For example, YouTubers can go to YouTube conventions such as VidCon, or they can even hold fan meet-ups of their own!
4. The game is motivating people to get moving.
You wouldn’t expect an electronic game to give people motivation to go outside. However, Pokemon Go does just that, because you can only play the game by going outside! This game has become so popular because people love having reasons to go outside and get exercise. It’s also fighting against the sedentary lifestyle that electronic games usually cause. The prizes at outdoor landmarks motivate users to check out special places.
YouTubers can take this as a lesson and find ways to prompt their viewers to get moving! For example, YouTubers can post videos of themselves doing their favorite activity, such as horseback riding or yoga, and then challenge their viewers to try something new and post pictures of their own.
The popular lifestyle channel Raw Alignment often posts workout tutorials or ideas to inspire viewers to try a new exercise activity. Check out this glimpse of acro yoga!
Pokemon Go has become unbelievably popular because it is nostalgic for fans, creates a location-based experience, brings people together, and motivates people to get moving. If YouTubers take the things that made Pokemon Go so popular and uniquely apply them their videos, they’ll be finding similar success in no time.
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David Yaghutiel is a Bay Area native who enjoys traveling, theatre, playing the ukulele, and learning as much about the world as he possibly can. He also occasionally daylights as a senior at UCLA.
