An insiders look at the first research into the impact of advertising and brand engagement on YouTube.

Suzie Reider, chief marketing officer of YouTube, was joined by Brian Monahan of IPG's Emerging Media lab in lively discussion about the impact of such YouTube hits as "History of Dance," "Lazy Sunday" and LonelyGirl15."

But what makes a hit and how does one measure lightning in a bottle? This session described the first real industry study that was designed to measure the impact of YouTube's culture. We have had viral sound bites and video for sometime, but seemingly overnight YouTube became the destination for everyone to view content.

Over 2,000 YouTube users were recruited for a survey on advertising on the YouTube site. The audience was largely under 25 years old, 57 percent male and entirely American (though much of YouTube's audience is international). The study attempted to measure YouTube hits from August to October, 2006. Other videos included in the research were "Mentos and Pepsi,"  "Ask a Gay Man" and "Free Hugs," along with paid content like the movie trailer for "SAW 3."

How do the hits happen? Video placed on the site appears to have a short life (less than 30 days), and the data suggests that when a hit occurs viewership spikes enormously in a matter of days-- and disappears just as quickly. Episodic content is bookmarked or marked as a favorite and shows steady viewership spikes as new episodes are posted.

Some additional data points from the study should be alarming for traditional marketers. Of those surveyed, 75 percent would rather watch YouTube than television, and 63 percent felt they were part of a community when visiting YouTube. 

The dominant portion of users arrived with a specific topic in mind. Just shy of 30 percent came to the site and searched for a specific topic. Less than 10 percent came to the site to sift through content to find something interesting.

The top five navigation methods on YouTube are:

1. Searching for topics
2. Watching videos on the homepage
3. Subscribing to specific channels
4. Begin with one and watch related
5. Look for specific recommendations

Not surprisingly, most of the YouTube audience was looking for funny or humorous content. Of the respondents, 90 percent said they found internet ads annoying. However, 46 percent of respondents said they would watch advertising-related content if they thought it was entertaining or interesting.

Big conclusions from the study serve as a best practices guide for marketers seeking to reach out to the YouTube audience:

1. Viewers will watch brand videos on YouTube.
2. People coming to YouTube are looking for content that has been seeded elsewhere.
3. Tagging videos for search is critical so they can be found easily.
4. Videos should be funny spoofs and should not appear to be commercial.
5. Episodes represent repeat visitors, while hits represent big spikes followed by abysmal drop-offs in viewership.

Clearly, brands seeking to reach this audience should try to find an engagement dialogue with episodic content. Though the audience and delivery methods are young, video and viral content are here to stay, and strategies for getting inside the minds of generation YouTube are moving beyond theory and into money making practice.

Kevin Ryan is the chief executive officer of Kinetic Results. Read full bio.