- Venezuelan YouTube star Mariale Marrero has 11 million subscribers across three channels, and produces videos in both English and Spanish.
- She grows her social-media presence across many platforms, but has abandoned Snapchat in favor of Instagram Stories.
- While Marrero loves her YouTube fans, she thinks that YouTube needs to do a much better job of content moderation, and said the tech giant just doesn't seem to care.
When Venezuelan YouTube star Mariale Marrero — who has over 11 million subscribers across her three channels — made the decision to pack up and move to the United States in the summer of 2014, boosting her social-media career had nothing to do with it.
“It was not related to my channels or anything like that at all,” the 26 year old told Business Insider in a recent interview. “I moved because I felt I would have a better future,” she continued, mentioning the political tumult in her native country.
In fact, Marrero didn't move to Los Angeles, or New York, or any media capital in the US. She moved to Pittsburgh, where her husband was attending graduate school. And though she didn’t plan on it, being in Pittsburg opened up a whole new avenue for her YouTube life.
“There is nothing to do in Pittsburgh,” Marrero laughed, declaring it cold and rainy and a bit boring (though she misses it now that she actually does live in Los Angeles). She felt far away from her Latin roots and needed a way to connect with the place she was now living, she said. So she started an English-language channel, which has since grown to 1.6 million subscribers.
That channel led Marrero to an entirely different subscriber base, which she personified with an anecdote about blonde and redhead girls showing up at her US meet-and-greets.
"What, me?” Marrero laughed when recounting them telling her they were big fans.
A different channel for a different audience
Marrero’s three YouTube channels allow her to explore different kinds of videos, she explained.
“All my three channels have completely different audiences,” she said. Her original Spanish-language channel that started out focused on beauty is bubbly, happy, and trends toward a younger audience.
Her “vlog” channel is her everyday self, “not always super happy,” and trends toward 20-something year olds, similar to her own age.
Her English-language channel attracted a lot of Latinos in the United States, but has since gone wider as well.
Instagram over Snapchat, no question
That diversification in Marrero's business extends to other social-media platforms as well, where she has amassed 18 million total followers.
“I am all platforms and I love it,” she said, adding that she posts different content for each.
Here’s how she broke down the current social-media landscape:
- Facebook: A lot of funny stuff to share with friends.
- Instagram:“Look at me I’m so fabulous,” she laughed. She added that it’s amusing because her fans follow her vlog channel, so they know her life isn’t that glamourous, but still, “Oh my God Gucci.” And brands love working with Instagram, she said.
- Snapchat:“I abandoned that for Insta stories,” she said, “a long time ago.” Instagram stories are so much bigger than Snapchat, especially because she could get sponsor deals because of the superior analytics, she said. That is backed up by recent research by Cowen, which said that 96% of ad buyers preferred Instagram Stories over Snap Ads.
- Twitter: Really dangerous. “Share your thoughts but not too much,” she said.
YouTube needs to get better and have more humans
As to YouTube, it’s where Marrero got her start and she’s proud of being a star on the platform.
“You must want to be an actress,” Marrero said people think of YouTube stars. “I completely disagree. I love what I do. I’m kind of a control freak. I do my own editing, have such a quick turnaround.”
But she is also critical of the platform. She said that YouTube often flags the wrong videos, punishing legitimate content while letting inappropriate videos through.
“YouTube just doesn't really care,” she said. “I feel like they just need to get better and have more humans,” she said of content moderation. “Get some real eyes, they can afford it.”
But YouTube was still the main place that allowed her to build a community of fans, and she credits a big chunk of her success to her interactions with them.
“I make it a point to reply,” she said. “I make sure to interact with them. I feel like I owe them so much ... It takes a lot of time. 24 hours a day.” Sometimes she said she’s up at 3 a.m. responding to comments, which she admitted can be a tad trying for her husband.
“It doesn't get tiring to me,” however, she said. “I don't know how.”
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