Some Post-VidSummit Thoughts

If you’re a reader of Smoothletter, you’ve probably also seen enough VidSummit recaps on your LinkedIn to have a general idea of what went down this year. But none of those were the Smooth version, so buckle up and let’s have some fun. 

Here’s what Sydney and Josh brought back to Smooth HQ after their trip to Dallas →

There are always more creators to discover. You may feel like you’ve seen it all—you know who’s who, you know what’s what, and you’ve experienced the entire creator economy (been there, this is our whole life after all). But you’re wrong.

There will always be someone you don’t know doing something you’re unfamiliar with, and that’s one of the best parts of working in this industry. VidSummit clued us into tons of new creators. That’s one of the best parts of attending industry events: You get to meet niche creators who have massive followings and are there to learn and meet people for the first time.

Which brings us to the next observation →

This industry craves more places to meet. It’s hard to spend day-to-day on the YouTube analytics page. As the creator economy continues to evolve, we'll need more spaces and places to meet one another, ask questions, and share ideas—a necessity felt acutely in our still relatively new industry. While trade events have been a staple across industries for centuries, we're still in the early innings of carving out our own gathering spaces, making them all the more vital to our growth.

It’s a blast to see the Publish brand so strong at an industry event like VidSummit—lots of Press Publish hats, lots of love for Colin & Samir during their talks, lots of great moments for our writers to meet the people they cover. Certainly makes us think more about what other opportunities lie in bringing creators together—something we’ll explore more with the GM we are hiring 👀 .

Think on that while we move onto the next learning.

Leading creator economy brands are taking a collaborative approach to product development.

• Sydney astutely observed: Instead of simply promoting their products or offerings demo, brands are approaching creators with an inquisitive attitude—wanting to understand the challenges they’re facing and how they can solve them.

• Our friends at TubeBuddy exemplified this by having their product team engage in in-depth conversations with creators to understand their needs in the realm of YouTube analytics.

• By working with creators to build solutions, brands are positioned as true partners in a creator’s journey, setting them up to create long-term relationships and ensure their products evolve with the creator community's needs.

Creator commerce shows no signs of slowing down. Attendees of VidSummit were able to shop at VidMart—an active store selling creator-led products like Mythical’s cookbook and Ryan Trahan’s candy brand, Joyride. As our good friend Jacob McCourt, Creator Partnerships Lead at Shopify put it, “It was cool to see creator commerce at the forefront with the VidMart, front and center at the entrance to the venue.”

See here, here, and here for what that looked like—wow are there a lot of creator brands out there today.