Clickbait YouTubers and Emotiva?

[GusGus]

So, I’m involved in a Facebook group with over 10,000 members. We pretty much talk and recommend audio equipment depending on our experiences and ownership. Many of us have been questioning why does Emotiva uses CheapAudioMan’s reviews? I know his reviews are favorable, but he provides no supporting data to whatever he says. Same goes with other YouTubers (i.e.Darko).

When I started my 2 channel journey, I used to watch these two YouTubers, but I soon came to realize these people are merely entertaining viewers, but they provide no data to support their product / claims.

Wouldn’t it be better if Emotiva were to send products to YouTubers who can actually provided data to prove their point/review? Even if the review is negative. I think that would strengthen the manufactures reputation rather than using YouTubers with clickbait titles.

[Hair Nick]

Hey Gus,

Chiming in here since I work with all our affiliates and help manage the review pipeline. Anyone on our affiliate roster, I'm happy to send any piece of gear that they ask for as we fully vet review channels before adding them to the list.

We have worked with all the main reviewers over the years: Cheapaudioman, Andrew Robinson, That Home Theater Dude, Youthman, Technodad, Home Theater Hobbyist, TwoGuyzTech, Spare Change, Matt Coykendall, Nemo Propaganda, Z Reviews, Thomas & Stereo, Hatoraid Cowboy, Erin's Audio Corner, New Record Day, Ealan Osbourne, and plenty of publications.

From time to time I will reach out to reviewers to see if they are interested but a large part depends on the direction their channel is going and how far out it is until they can get to a review. Some guys have months long waiting lists before they have an open slot for a review.

We have been reviewed by people that are data driven and people that are driven by the sound alone and are happy to take part in either one.

[GusGus]

Thanks for the reply. The only add that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed is the one from cheapaudioman. It’s pretty annoying. It would be nice to get some objective review adds.

[geebo]

Sept 15, 2024 10:38:57 GMT -5 GusGus said:

Thanks for the reply. The only add that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed is the one from cheapaudioman. It’s pretty annoying. It would be nice to get some objective review adds.

I very rarely see any cheapaudioman's ads but I do see a lot of Emotiva ads. I've only visited his site a couple times and I visit Emotiva a lot. Could be tied to browsing activity?

[vcautokid]

I see the Emotiva ones from time to time. More on instagram. Cheapaudioman annoys me no end, but hey that is me.

[KeithL]

Yes... EVERYTHING you see in your web browser is tied to your browsing activity... in several different ways... (mostly all sinister)  .
And, since CheapAudioMan is both popular, does a lot of audio content, and reviews a lot of Emotiva gear, that "ties" his appearance to both Emotiva and audio gear in general.

On YouTube you will find ties to:
* who is popular in general
* what videos seem to be associated with subjects you watch
* whose videos you've clicked on in the past
* whose videos you have watched to the end
* and extra points if you watch multiple videos by the same channel one after the other

So, in this case, a lot of people who research Emotiva gear also watch a lot of CheapAudioMan reviews.
(And so "the algorithm" tends to link us together... )

And, yes, that same sort of thing applies outside of YouTube as regards popup ads.
(And sometimes even ads you see or receive on your phone too.)

Sept 15, 2024 16:02:36 GMT -5 geebo said:

Sept 15, 2024 10:38:57 GMT -5 GusGus said:

Thanks for the reply. The only add that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed is the one from cheapaudioman. It’s pretty annoying. It would be nice to get some objective review adds.

I very rarely see any cheapaudioman's ads but I do see a lot of Emotiva ads. I've only visited his site a couple times and I visit Emotiva a lot. Could be tied to browsing activity?

[KeithL]

The Youtube algorithm considers things like the popularity of the video and the sort of content you usually watch...
And, of course, it goes down the rabbit hole of "things that other people, who watch the stuff you watch, also watch".
(And it's not all that particular... or not so as you can tell... so you probably get "anything audiophile-ish".)

So, if you want SPECIFIC types of content, then your best bet is to simply enter what you want in the search bar...

You can also "steer" the algorithm simply by SUBSCRIBING to reviewers that you like.
This will make their new content show up more often... nearer to the top of your "feed".
(It doesn't cost anything, and you still won't get boinged every time they post something if you don't click Notify.)

Sept 15, 2024 10:38:57 GMT -5 GusGus said:

Thanks for the reply. The only add that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed is the one from cheapaudioman. It’s pretty annoying. It would be nice to get some objective review adds.

[KeithL]

I wanted to throw in a little editorial comment here about "click bait" AND "clickbait video titles".
I'm afraid that, until and unless YouTube changes their algorithms, clickbait is here to stay.
(Or until and unless the majority of YouTube VIEWERS make a concerted effort to NOT respond to clickbait.)

As I mentioned in another post, how the algorithm decides what to send you to depends on a lot of things, including how many people click on a video.
However, now you have to look at it from the other direction - how people MAKE MONEY by making and posting YouTube videos.
The proper term for that is "monetization".

And, as it turns out, both the algorithm that recommends your video to people, AND THE PROCESS OF MAKING MONEY FROM A VIDEO, depend on how many people click on it.
Yes, someone gets MORE money when you give their video a thumbs up, or when you simply watch it to the end, or when you watch several of their videos in a row.
It also helps if you comment... even if it's a negative comment... because it shows "interest".
(So, yes, they make money when you post a comment saying "how horrible the video was"... imagine that.)
But video producers DO get some money simply based on "how many people click on their video"...
And how many people click on their video also determines how many times the algorithm will recommend that video to other people...
And, as it turns out, overall, having your video get A LOT OF CLICKS is of disproportionate value... 
If a huge number of people click on your video, it helps you make money, even if they don't watch it to the end...

So, in other words, YouTube has created an "economy" where it makes sense to do ANYTHING to get a lot of people to click on your video...
And, sadly, this pretty well forces people who want to make money to "be more clickbaity", and disadvantages the people who refuse to do so...
(That's the definition of "clickbait"... "something that gets people to click on it"... it doesn't even have to be stupid or irrelevant... even though it usually is.)

So, yes, there are YouTube channels who rely on having a lot of dedicated subscribers...
And there are MANY YouTube channels that are tied to other venues... for example, they sell merch, or use Patreon, and offer rewards to people who donate money...
And, of course, there are people who just consider YouTube to be their soap box... or genuinely like to share knowledge they have... and don't care about making money.
But, by and large, YouTubers who want to make a living at it are being forced to resort, at least a little bit, to using clickbait...

Also bear in mind that reviewers, who ONLY do reviews, are less likely to have a lot of repeat viewers...
You may watch a channel that publishes "audio tips and tricks" every week...
But you may only check out a reviewer when he or she happens to be reviewing a product that you're interested in...
Which means that they have to work even harder to "catch and hold your attention"...
And clickbait is (unfortunately) a good way to catch the attention of new users...

If you want to see how well it works...
Just check out a few of the myriad bogus "free power" videos...
And check out HOW MANY VIEWS they get...
Unfortunately, like many other things we'd prefer to see the end of, clickbait quite obviously WORKS.
(And, really now, whose fault is that?)

[GusGus]

I don’t follow or watch any videos from CheapAudioMan. It’s been almost 8 months since I unsubscribed from his channel. It only comes up on Facebook for some reason or another.

It is unfortunate that YouTubers have resorted to Click Bait Titles since I believe most do not have a day job and rely on their content monetization to survive and the subjective competition is fierce among them.

[KeithL]

FaceBook has their own algorithms...
But, since he is "a popular audio reviewer", CheapAudioMan's reviews are likely to "come up" in a lot of places.

And, of course, AD placement has ITS own algorithms too...

Unfortunately, as Microsoft actually says in a few places, "there's basically nothing you can do to reduce the NUMBER of ads you see"...
The algorithm simply decides WHICH ads you're going to get stuck with.

Sept 16, 2024 17:42:19 GMT -5 GusGus said:

I don’t follow or watch any videos from CheapAudioMan. It’s been almost 8 months since I unsubscribed from his channel. It only comes up on Facebook for some reason or another.

It is unfortunate that YouTubers have resorted to Click Bait Titles since I believe most do not have a day job and rely on their content monetization to survive and the subjective competition is fierce among them.

[Hair Nick]

Also specifically why you are seeing that condensed "review" of the XT1 speakers, is because we asked Randy if he would allow us to use his review from his channel for free to edit down to a concise 30 second ad that we run. So you aren't seeing it from his channel, but from our google/facebook advertising that we are paying to run.

I have seen similar ones run by SVS featuring Ealan Osbourne and Arendal featuring Woodys Soundup, Youthman, Home Theater Hobbyist, etc. Brands are now looking to see if these content creators will allow them/us to use their positive feedback and push them as ads from our side. They are quite effective.

We decided to use a review that Randy had already published whereas the Arendal and SVS ads I have seen are them paying those creators to say nice things about the brand which I don't know how much we want to get into that game because it completely undermines their opinion if they decided to actually review any of that brands products.

We don't pay our reviewers to say anything about us. We offer gear for them to review on their own accord though they can make money from affiliate links on any sales that happen from that review. You will see most of the YouTube reviewers with tons of affiliate links in their video descriptions because that is how they make money.

[GusGus]

Sept 19, 2024 16:51:24 GMT -5 Hair Nick said:

Also specifically why you are seeing that condensed "review" of the XT1 speakers, is because we asked Randy if he would allow us to use his review from his channel for free to edit down to a concise 30 second ad that we run. So you aren't seeing it from his channel, but from our google/facebook advertising that we are paying to run.

I have seen similar ones run by SVS featuring Ealan Osbourne and Arendal featuring Woodys Soundup, Youthman, Home Theater Hobbyist, etc. Brands are now looking to see if these content creators will allow them/us to use their positive feedback and push them as ads from our side. They are quite effective.

We decided to use a review that Randy had already published whereas the Arendal and SVS ads I have seen are them paying those creators to say nice things about the brand which I don't know how much we want to get into that game because it completely undermines their opinion if they decided to actually review any of that brands products.

We don't pay our reviewers to say anything about us. We offer gear for them to review on their own accord though they can make money from affiliate links on any sales that happen from that review. You will see most of the YouTube reviewers with tons of affiliate links in their video descriptions because that is how they make money.

Thanks for your input/info. I don’t own any SVS or Arendal products. I only own Emotiva, which I do recommend to friends and family. Now, I’m trying to decide if I should trade-in my Emtovia TA-100 for the newer TA1 or TA2.