Elite YouTube creators aren't just passive recipients of ad revenue. They actively buy their own ad inventory from YouTube and then resell it directly to brands, packaging it like traditional TV with guaranteed "adjacency" to specific content. This strategy dramatically increases monetization and business valuation.

The largest advertisers on platforms like Meta launch over 10,000 new creatives a year, equating to more than 40 per workday. This massive scale of experimentation is manually impossible for most companies, creating a clear market need for AI platforms that automate and scale video production.

The true measure of success for short-form video is its shareability in private channels like DMs or Slack. Content created with this goal in mind—focusing on the first three seconds and strong storytelling—will stay in the feed longer and achieve greater impact.

The real economic value of generative video lies in advertising, not filmmaking. Unlike movies with finite consumption, there is unlimited demand for personalized, diverse ad content. This makes advertising a perfect fit for the technology's scalable content creation capabilities.

Contrary to its reputation as a subscription platform, OnlyFans' CEO reveals that one-off, pay-per-view purchases now account for 67% of its revenue. This indicates a significant, under-the-radar shift in consumer behavior toward a la carte content consumption over recurring commitments, even on platforms known for subscriptions.

Marketers chasing trends on 'cool' platforms like TikTok create an imbalance where massive, older platforms have huge audiences consuming features like Facebook Reels but few creators serving them. This supply/demand gap for attention creates a significant, underpriced marketing opportunity.

The $7B microdrama industry validated Quibi's short-form content idea but corrected its flawed business model. Instead of monthly subscriptions, successful apps use a freemium model with addictive cliffhangers that compel users to make small, frequent micropayments to continue watching.

The algorithmic shift on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook towards short-form video has leveled the playing field. New creators can gain massive reach with a single viral video, an opportunity not seen in over a decade, akin to the early days of Facebook.

TikTok's key metric, "play duration," is a combination of watch time and finish rate. This means a 60-second video watched to completion is more valuable to the algorithm than a 5-minute video that viewers abandon halfway through. Aim for high completion percentages, not just length.