Over the past 18 months, Crayola has expanded its YouTube subscriber count by 400,000, recently hitting the one million subscriber mark.
The legacy of Crayola, known for its vibrant self-expression, dates back 120 years prior to the advent of YouTube. Nevertheless, the creativity powerhouse’s approach to YouTube centers around translating the allure of its yellow and green crayon boxes into a digital format.
Matthew Liotti, the Brand Content Manager at Crayola, stated, “We enjoy reminding people that we’re a brand that has been around for 120 years yet continues to be youthful and relevant. We love to experiment and discover—particularly with video. YouTube serves as the ultimate platform for video content. It’s where we can take the material that our brand has traditionally produced and create a video-centric, socially-driven interpretation.”
Liotti and his team curate activation content for the esteemed brand across various social networks. However, he emphasizes that YouTube is the sole platform where they focus exclusively on video content—rendering it the ideal space for the experimentation that has spurred significant growth.
We spoke with Liotti to gain insights into building and scaling an effective YouTube content strategy, sharing key insights that may inspire your own approaches.
Importance of a YouTube Content Strategy
First, let’s discuss why establishing a presence on YouTube is crucial for brands. A Q4 2024 Sprout Social Pulse Survey indicates that 72% of consumers have YouTube accounts, with another one-third intending to use the platform more in 2025. The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report highlights that 32% of consumers interact with brands on the platform daily, while 47% engage at least weekly.
Consumers are not just present and engaged on YouTube; they are also inclined to make purchases. According to the same Pulse Survey, 20% of consumers plan to utilize YouTube Shopping to make purchases in 2025. However, that doesn’t imply a hard-sell approach—isn’t necessary, even if your products star in the videos.
Instead, guide your audience on a journey with your brand, helping them envision the potential of your products. The Crayola team excels at this by sparking their audience’s creativity. As Liotti noted, “At Crayola, we prefer to think outside the proverbial crayon box. We don’t need to dictate how to use the product, but instead inspire. Our content caters to both kids and adults and supports our goal of aiding parents and educators in nurturing creatively vibrant children.”
Metrics for Measuring Success on YouTube
When developing your YouTube content strategy, establishing the right key performance indicators leads to more insightful analysis, improved content, and a greater impact.
“At Crayola, we always inquire: ‘How do we assess if it’s worth the effort?’ We utilize key metrics, like viewership trends and subscriber counts, to identify what works and how we can create effective content maps,” Liotti explained. Metrics related to viewership, such as total views and watch time, focus on videos with the highest audience engagement, while the subscriber count provides an overview of the channel’s performance.
The Crayola team also examines secondary metrics, such as audience demographics, to confirm that the right viewers are watching their videos.
Three Tips for Developing a Scalable YouTube Content Strategy
YouTube can seem daunting for many teams. Its video-centric nature necessitates more budget, time, and planning than mixed-media platforms. To establish a consistent channel and a growing subscriber base, take inspiration from Crayola’s coloring book.
Establish Collaborative Planning Practices
At Crayola, numerous teams participate in the YouTube planning process. Social, content, and activation team members lead the execution, while digital, website, and platform marketing teams contribute to the planning efforts.
“We aim to plan as far ahead as possible—typically months in advance—to coordinate with other teams and marketing initiatives, like major product launches,” Liotti shared. He noted that collecting feedback from diverse stakeholders can be time-intensive, but it ultimately leads to a final product that is high impact and authentic to the Crayola brand.
An illustrative example of this is Crayola’s “Campaign for Creativity,” the brand’s initiative that integrates across social, PR, digital, and product marketing efforts, utilizing YouTube as a critical channel.
We were intrigued to find out that their extensive pipeline of YouTube content is mostly produced in-house. Crayola has heavily invested in enhancing their team’s video production capabilities, but they also collaborate with agency partners, some of whom have worked together for over 30 years.
The Crayola team utilizes Sprout’s social media calendar to keep all partners—from agencies to internal teams—informed. The calendar, sortable by channel, simplifies visualizing upcoming YouTube content while providing their team with the necessary tools for execution. Liotti regarded the calendar and its collaborative features as “hugely important” for ensuring alignment.
Experiment with Various Formats and Features
The Content Strategy Report found that more than half of consumers prefer long-form video when engaging with brands on YouTube. Notably, short-form video (31-60 seconds) was the second most favored format.
While the channel is renowned for its long-form content, there’s a growing consumer interest in shorter video clips. This variety presents a welcomed opportunity for marketers already producing short-form content on other platforms and now cross-promoting on YouTube.
Crayola is part of the increasing number of brands experimenting with YouTube Shorts. Their commitment to short-form content on YouTube has garnered accolades from consumers and media, culminating in awards such as Webby, Viddy, Social Creative, and Golden Marcomm.
But they also concentrate on various formats. Liotti explained, “Success on YouTube relies on utilizing all the available content types. We ensure we maintain a diverse portfolio across the YouTube platform—including community posts, long-form, Shorts, 16:9, and vertical formats. It’s vital to explore all functionalities to enhance content visibility.”
Optimize for YouTube’s Audience and Specifics
YouTube is not solely a video-sharing platform; it is also a search engine—the second most popular one for Gen Z, right after TikTok. Search plays a crucial role in discoverability on the platform and influences how individuals engage with content.
It may be tempting to direct users from other networks to your YouTube channel, but the outcomes might be disappointing. Transferring audiences from one platform to another can lead to a confusing user experience. Instead, optimizing your YouTube SEO strategy can help you navigate the algorithm proficiently. As Liotti pointed out, “We don’t actively drive traffic to YouTube through other channels. Instead, we naturally collect a significant amount of traffic.”
Furthermore, aligning your YouTube content with minor content trends can enhance discoverability. Liotti elaborated, “Competitive research and social listening play essential roles in our strategy. We pose inquiries like ‘What approaches are other brands taking?’ and ‘Why has slime become a hot topic?’”
Liotti and his team utilize Sprout’s AI-powered Listening technology to monitor dialogues surrounding key subjects and evaluate Crayola’s market presence. Through the use of social insights, they are better equipped to create engaging, high-performing content.
Unleash Your Creativity on YouTube
Liotti summarized it succinctly: “The more you commit to establishing a YouTube content strategy, the more favorably the algorithm will respond.”
Crayola’s success on YouTube serves as a powerful testament to the impact of creativity, consistency, and strategic thought. By embracing innovation, optimizing for the platform’s unique characteristics, and staying mindful of audience trends, they have transformed their channel into a flourishing center for creative inspiration.
Whether you are a newcomer or seeking to expand, remember to align your content with your brand’s mission, utilize collaborative planning tools, and experiment with the myriad formats YouTube offers. With the right strategy, your brand can create a significant mark—and perhaps even reach that million-subscriber goal.
In search of further insights to shape your content strategy this year? Download The 2025 Sprout Social Index™.
The post Crayola’s YouTube content strategy colors outside the lines appeared first on Sprout Social.
Recent Comments