Ever since its inception in 2005, YouTube has transformed the way we watch and consume content. This phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down as today it is the world’s second most popular search engine. This massive growth of the platform has led to the birth of a brand new generation of celebrities who have emerged just by using YouTube to build an audience.
People love to watch someone with whom they can interact with and relate to. Considering that audience behavior, a lot of YouTube channels led by independent creators have emerged over the years who basically are selling a personality, be it real or fictional. The younger generation is watching YouTube videos as regularly as Television shows, making these YouTubers just as famous as those on cable.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 independent YouTubers in America who continue to innovate and build their audience worldwide in this ever-evolving world of YouTube.
PewDiePie
He bonds well with his viewers, plays games while they watch and are entertained, chats it up with his crazy-mixed-up hilarity and the viewer feels as if they’re right beside him. He has had a fair share of controversies regarding his channel content but it has also evolved a lot over the years. Just like any other popular YouTuber, PewDiePie also makes money from brand deals apart from the YouTube revenue system and has proved himself to be quite a philanthropist by contributing to various charities from his earnings. He has the tremendous the ability to inspire millions of people around the world to laugh and enjoy themselves while watching his content.
Dude Perfect
The group also regularly uploads videos of battles, where the individual members of Dude Perfect compete against one another in a good-natured game or contest usually featuring elements and creative spins on different sports and a unique set of rules. Over the years, they have created a lot of series content that is frequently updated with new episodes. Dude Perfect has a family-friendly business plan that has helped them bring in big money from YouTube, merchandise and even their own iPhone game. Their YouTube success has also led them to bag a television show of themselves.
Smosh
While the Smosh brand maintains its comedic tone, the type of content they put up expands and evolves constantly. They have many other spin-off channels dealing with specific types of content, but the flagship channel Smosh attracts the most audience. With more than 23.1 million subscribers, it stands on the third spot of the top YouTubers in America. Their channel does not showcase content around themselves but a style of comedy which has a never-ending appeal. It converts the casual audience into subscribers by promising them more of the same kind of content with various weekly series. This massive success gained on YouTube has led them to create their very own movie titled as “Smosh: The Movie”.
Ryan Higa
His success on YouTube has made him get recognition from various media outlets, such as being a nominee for choice award shows, as well as being on Forbes’ list of Influential young stars. He has also appeared on various TV shows, movies, launched an app and even written his own book talking about his YouTube career. On his channel, he often collaborates with other YouTubers, friends, and celebrities in order to keep growing his audience base and discover new content forms. He tries to keep his viewers’ interests in mind while creating his content which also aligns with his own interests. Gradually, this became his winning method for choosing the subject matter for his YouTube channel.
Markiplier
On his channel, he creates content around hilarious gaming, original comedy sketches, animated parodies, and other bits of entertainment. To further grow his audience base, he has often collaborated with other YouTubers for his sketch comedy and gaming content buckets. A recurring staple of Mark’s channel is charity livestreams, during which he plays games while campaigning for and collecting donations for various charities. His YouTube success has led him to go on sketch comedy tours across the U.S and Europe. He is often considered to be the “most caring YouTuber” due to his heartfelt appreciation to his viewers and his tendency to show his emotion on camera.
Jenna Marbles
Her YouTube fame has given her an opportunity to be cast in a fair amount of lower-end indie films, usually appearing as herself. Following her first viral video, Marbles established herself as one of the first creators to make it big on the platform. Her success depends on multiple factors but ultimately boils down to one thing: authenticity. Despite having been on YouTube for eight years, Jenna Marbles videos never give off this air of pretentiousness that comes along with an older YouTuber changing their content to fit with the times. Whether you like her content or not, she has definitely established herself as a YouTube personality who is worth admiring.
Logan Paul Vlogs
After widespread criticism of Paul for his insensitivity and poor behavior in multiple incidents, he decided to stop creating daily vlogs on this channel in order to pursue creativity in different ways. Logan tries to position himself as a kind of thought-leader, but in a sort of fun, boisterous, playful way that appeals to a younger demographic – his recent controversies have started to prove the audience otherwise. Despite the recent downfall of his channel’s success, he still makes it to this list considering his past successful projects. He is now focussing on other content categories and platforms to avoid his impending doom on the internet.
FBE
They have been making some of the web’s most popular series on this channel and across the internet for over a decade and now also make TV series and feature films. They have allocated a content category to each day of the week on this channel which makes it very convenient for the audience to pick when they want to tune in to their channel for content. Their popular ‘React’ Series videos are created with a high production quality with spot-on editing and plenty of reactions from their varied guests. FBE is a nontraditional entertainment company capable of doing traditional material while still tapping into digital audiences.
Liza Koshy
Her comedy content is heavy on self-deprecation, slapstick, and wordplay. This works perfectly for advertisers due to the repeat value of her content. Since her debut on YouTube, Liza has been well known for her fast-paced, all over the place, over the top, quirky, upbeat, clever and humorous personality she displays in her videos. She has been killing the game with her award-winning online content creation and acting gigs. She has collaborated with various popular faces of YouTube either on her channel or theirs which has led to an expansion of her audience base.
RomanAtwoodVlogs
Recently in March 2018, he announced that he will end his daily vlogging streak in order to try out different types of content. Roman is no stranger to change as he was once a popular prankster and in recent years he completely remade his content brand, focusing it on his family. He handles both his channel well by simultaneously creating a viral video and showcasing his life as a dad.
Shruti Sen
I love to explore challenging opportunities in the field of Digital Media. Primarily, my skills revolve around Digital Video in terms of Content Strategy/Marketing, Analysis and Audience Development. My natural affinity towards diverse audio-visual content across platforms helps me develop a multitude of perspectives. In totality - I'm a keen learner, collector of new enriching experiences and have an undying conviction to always stay curious in life!