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More powerful than ever: why YouTube is a key platform for influencer marketing in 2025
Between immersive storytelling, podcasts, integrated shopping and the return of long-form content, YouTube is shaping a new era of influence. In this interview with Kolsquare, Cassandre Surelle, Influence Consultant at Team Lewis, explores the key levers for brands and creators in 2025.
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What is YouTube's unique strength compared to other platforms when it comes to influencer marketing?
Over the past two years, YouTube has strengthened its position as the leader in video by adapting to the evolving expectations of creators and users. The platform has integrated cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, to facilitate content creation and enrich the user experience. It has also increased monetisation opportunities with the introduction of subscriptions, live shopping and other innovative formats. This gives more weight to authentic collaborations.
YouTube allows for long, well-produced, scripted, educational or immersive videos. This gives creators the opportunity to develop strong, legitimate storytelling, explain a product in depth and build a lasting relationship of trust with their audience.
YouTube is the world's second largest search engine after Google. A video posted today can still generate views and conversions months or even years later thanks to search engine optimisation (SEO), unlike Instagram or TikTok, where content has a lifespan of a few weeks or months. What's more, unlike TikTok or Facebook, YouTube reaches all age groups, allowing brands to reach a wide range of targets.
Why do you think long-form content continues to be so successful, when other platforms are focusing on short formats?
Short content attracts attention quickly, but long-form content retains, engages, builds loyalty and converts better. And in influencer marketing, that's often what you're looking for in the long term.
Long-form content allows you to explore a topic in depth, tell a story, educate... it offers more substance. It also allows for truly emotional storytelling, which is ideal for creating connections and making a lasting impression. When people go to YouTube, they go to actively watch content, not to scroll. They are willing to give their time if the content is worth it.
Some creators are developing recurring formats: video podcasts, web series, reports, etc. These are eagerly awaited events, just like on TV. YouTube is becoming a real personal streaming platform.
Because YouTube pays better than its rivals for long videos (more ads, better retention, high viewing time), creators have an added incentive to produce long content, especially if they are focusing on direct monetisation.
YouTube pushes long videos in its recommendations if they retain the audience's attention. They are also ranked higher in searches if they respond to a clear intention.
Has YouTube's growing dominance in podcasts and TV-style content had an impact on brands' influence strategies?
Absolutely. With this evolution, YouTube is becoming a platform where influence increasingly resembles professional audiovisual content production, with content that can be reused elsewhere and creators seen as producers, not just broadcasters.
Video podcasts are a new playground for brands. YouTube has become one of the world's leading podcast platforms, enabling brands to invest in discreet and intelligent product placement (products visible on the table, mentioned in the conversation).
Television formats, series, documentaries, talk shows. More and more creators are producing narrative or scripted content of a quality close to — or even superior to — that of television. These formats have strong emotional and aspirational power and capture a highly engaged audience. Brands are becoming partners in creative projects like web series and sponsored documentaries, and integrating themselves narratively.
We are seeing a shift in brand KPIs and strategy. Before, they wanted a quick buzz. Today, they are looking for average viewing time, deep engagement through comments and audience loyalty.
When you work with creators, how do you approach the mix of Shorts and long-form content?
Working with a creator on YouTube today means knowing how to play with multiple formats, including Shorts and long-form content. The mix of the two is incredibly powerful, but it needs to be orchestrated intelligently. Personally, I work more often with long-form content, but here's how we can approach this mix in an influencer strategy:
- Shorts: catchy, viral, teasing. The perfect format for grabbing attention, reaching a wider audience, launching a campaign or teasing longer content.
- Long format: credibility, storytelling, conversion. Allows you to create an emotional connection, tell a real story or show the product/service in a real-life context.
You can alternate formats over two to three weeks to keep your audience engaged. Adapt the tone, keeping it light for Shorts and more serious or narrative for long videos.
Don't measure Shorts success in the same way as long formats.
- Shorts: views + shares + comments = awareness.
- Long formats: watch time + link clicks + comments = engagement and conversion.
Both formats allow for multi-platform reuse. Shorts can be recycled on TikTok, Reels, Snapchat, etc. Excerpts from long videos can be turned into several Shorts to maximise the lifespan of the content, or also be shared on other platforms.
What role does YouTube play in multi-platform campaigns?
YouTube is already central to multi-platform campaigns because it acts as the backbone of branded content around which other platforms gravitate.
YouTube serves as a solid foundation for developing the core message of a brand or product. It explains, demonstrates and builds a relationship, and this content can then be repurposed on TikTok and in Shorts for engagement, on Instagram for aesthetic presentation, on LinkedIn for a professional touch, in newsletters, and on the website to push content on owned media.
A single well-planned YouTube shoot can provide one main video, three to five YouTube Shorts, one TikTok, five to ten clips for Reels/Stories, and one script that can be turned into an article or LinkedIn post. This is highly profitable content that can fuel an entire campaign for weeks. It saves a huge amount of time when organising a multi-platform campaign.
In your opinion, what trends will define influencer marketing on YouTube in 2025 and beyond?
After video podcasts, Shorts, AI-generated content and direct sales via YouTube Shopping, influencer marketing on YouTube in 2025 is likely to be more interactive, smarter and more responsible. Brands will need to adapt to these new expectations by being more transparent, creative and authentic. They would be wise to choose creators who embody these values, while leveraging new technologies and innovative formats to maintain a strong connection with their communities.
1. Long-form content and the rise of loyalty: Long-form videos will remain a major force, and content series will become even more popular. Creators will increase the number of long-form formats to build a closer relationship with their audience. This is where loyalty and deep engagement will be forged. Influencer campaigns will focus on serious, long-term collaborations rather than one-offs, which are often unpopular with audiences.
2. AI and automation at the service of creation: Artificial intelligence will be used at all levels, from content creation (editing, scripts) to audience preference analysis. AI tools will offer new creative possibilities for influencers, who will be able to produce content more quickly while maximising engagement.
3. Cross-platform: Campaigns will become increasingly multi-platform, with creators operating on several networks simultaneously. The integration of YouTube Shorts and the creation of content tailored to each platform will enable brands to reach multiple audience segments at different times.
4. In-app purchases via YouTube Shopping: The ability to purchase directly from platforms will grow with the continued development of YouTube Shopping. Live shopping could be particularly popular for content creators specialising in tech, beauty, fashion, or lifestyle products. Influencer campaigns will increasingly incorporate direct purchasing features, allowing audiences to take immediate action.
About Kolsquare
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, offering a data-driven solution that empowers brands to scale their KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing strategies through authentic partnerships with top creators.
Kolsquare’s advanced technology helps marketing professionals seamlessly identify the best content creators by filtering their content and audience, while also enabling them to build, manage, and optimize campaigns from start to finish. This includes measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors.
With a thriving global community of influencer marketing experts, Kolsquare serves hundreds of customers—including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, Lush, and Hermès—by leveraging the latest Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning technologies. Our platform taps into an extensive network of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers across 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat.
As a Certified B Corporation, Kolsquare leads the way in promoting Responsible Influence, championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations that inspire positive change.
Since October 2024, Kolsquare has become part of the Team.Blue group, one of the largest private tech companies in Europe, and a leading digital enabler for businesses and entrepreneurs across Europe. Team.Blue brings together over 60 successful brands in web hosting, domains, e-commerce, online compliance, lead generation, application solutions, and social media.
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