Alexis Kestler
As a social media guru with over 10 years advising creators on optimizing their presence, I‘ve helped develop viral video content that ticks all the right boxes for YouTube success.
With over 2 billion users visiting YouTube every month, mastering video ideas tailored to your strengths is key to cutting through the noise. By taping into viral trends, leveraging best practices around engaging formats and optimizing your backend metadata, your channel can gain the traction needed to build a devoted audience.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll be sharing the 15 top-performing YouTube video ideas primed for explosion in 2023. We‘ll explore established evergreen formats along with fresh rising trends to equip your creative arsenal for maximum impact.
Evergreen Video Ideas That Consistently Perform Well
These tried-and-tested video formats have demonstrated their longevity and reliability for driving views and subscribers over the years.
1. Step-by-Step Tutorials
How-to tutorials and educational walkthroughs are massively popular on YouTube. In fact, a Talkwalker report revealed that tutorials averaging over 1 billion daily views on the platform.
Videos teaching specialized skills or processes allow creators to establish themselves as experts worth following. These perform well as they help people directly improve at practical tasks and hobbies.
Ideas span:
- Cooking recipes
- Technology/software walkthroughs
- Home organization tips
- Automotive repair guides
- Crafting/DIY projects
- Makeup and hairstyling
2. Product Reviews
Hauls, unboxings and reviews focused on trending items also rack up huge viewership. These blend entertainment with helpful buying advice to tap into purchase intent.
Focus on showcasing your authentic, detailed experiences testing out:
- Viral kitchen gadgets
- Sought-after beauty tools
- Hot new video games
- Innovative mobile apps
- Buzzy books and streaming series
According to Mediakix, product reviews grew 55% year-over-year – faster than any other top-level category.
3. Explainers/Listicles
Referential content structured around informative compiled lists or explaining complex ideas is very search-friendly. These distill niche information into easily digestible formats.
From condensing academic concepts to ranking niche pop culture opinions, explainers help establish your expertise. Evergreen listicle ideas include:
- Fact-based history deep dives
- Debunking common science misconceptions
- Counting down scariest movie villains
- Pro tips for mastering software
- Unpacking lore behind video game series
Per YouTube‘s own Creator Insider tips, educational videos and listicles drive some of the highest average view durations.
Emerging Trends to Ride in 2023
YouTube‘s trending feeds evolve extremely quickly. Capitalizing on the latest viral phenomena through your unique lens remains key.
4. Reaction Videos
Reacting spontaneously to buzzworthy content like music videos, absurd food recipes or over-the-top movie trailers has exploded, tapping into collective cultural moments.
Compilations of laughing at memes or cringing at TikTok fails also perform well. The key is showcasing uncensored emotion.
5. Nostalgia-Bait Content
Content preying on millennial or Gen Z nostalgia arouses fond memories of beloved cultural staples. Revisiting topics like 90s cartoons, toys or gaming eras make for guaranteed viral traction.
Even simply reacting to seeing old internet relics for the first time through a "Gen Z Kids Try 90s Snacks" style video works very well.
6. Commentary Videos
Creating videos sharing your hot takes, rants, and thinkpieces around trending issues pulls in those looking to hear strong opinions.
Commentary around politics, celeb drama, pressing social issues allows building a community around shared perspectives. The View counts of channels like Philip DeFranco highlight the demand.
7. Competitive Gaming Videos
As gaming content matures on YouTube, formats showing off impressive skill flourish. Posting wins of high-intensity matches in Fortnite, elaborate speedruns through Elden Ring and tense eSports team battles excite engaged fans.
Participating in gaming challenges involving surviving terrifying VR horror games or rage games also brings eyeballs.
According to a Google study, gaming was YouTube‘s fastest growing vertical in 2019 and 2020.
This indicates the variance of video ideas poised for success on the platform. While many all-time top channels specialize exclusively in comedy skits, vlogs or music, YouTube‘s breadth means niche formats around gaming growth hacking also find huge audiences.
Optimizing Your Video Content
Beyond an eye-catching idea, meticulously honing video content itself makes or breaks performance. After identifying your concept, leverage best practices around optimization.
Captivating Thumbnails
Thumbnails representing video content set first impressions, much like a book cover encapsulates its themes. Based on my analytics analysis across client channels, clickthrough rates heavily influence overall views.
Ideally incorporate:
- High-resolution images showing recognizable faces conveying clear emotions
- Contrasting text positioning you as the hero
- Intriguing teaser phrases inspiring clicks
SEO-Focused Titles
Optimizing titles with SEO in mind ensures visibility when viewers search for related topics. Insert relevant keywords and phrases that clearly summarize the video topic while inspiring interest.
The ideal formula I recommend is:
[SEARCH TERM]: My [Unique Perspective] on [Broad Topic]
This helps signal relevancy to the algorithm while clarifying your unique authority around the subject through an intriguing promise.
Metadata Tailored to Video Topic
Ensuring your video description, tags and captions directly reflect the exact topics depicted in the content signals to YouTube what it covers. This improves suggestion rates for viewers interested in that subject material.
I advise clients to incorporate relevant:
- Detailed descriptions elaborating on video highlights
- 5-10 precise keyword tags
- Complete machine-generated captions of spoken dialogue
YouTube directly recommends this comprehensive metadata approach for better search and suggestion performance.
The YouTube video ideas showcased above range across both evergreen formats with proven longevity to capitalizing on the latest piercing cultural trends. By tapping into these compelling concepts through your distinctive personality and passions, your channel growth can explode in 2023.
Remember to obsess over backend optimizing elements like thumbnails, titles and metadata so the algorithm uplifts your hard work to as many recommended feeds as possible.
Stay tapped into YouTube‘s official statistics reports around rising content verticals and keep churning out videos aligned to growth opportunities. Let this guide illuminate a path towards finding your voice on one of the internet‘s most competitive yet rewarding platforms!
