Over the past five years, YouTube star Sydney Morgan has become one of Gen Z’s favorite beauty creators. Here, she shares insights on why authentic creator content on the platform is shaping holiday purchases, and how brands can partner with creators to show up in those moments.
Tell us about your journey and how you got started on YouTube.
Sydney Morgan: I’ve been drawing and painting most of my life. And then as I got older, I started volunteering through the art department at my school, doing face painting on children at local fairs and experimenting with makeup and face paint on myself.
In 2018, I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis. So, I was forced to take time away from school, and I was in and out of the hospital. Makeup and art were really the only constants in my life. I had to take a gap year from college, and making videos became a creative outlet for me at that time. And then one year turned to four, and now I’m here.
You have such a massive community on YouTube: 9.7 million subscribers, 5 billion+ views. What do you think is the secret to this success?
I think the word of the day is authenticity because it really works. Building trust is everything with your community. You know, growing up, the beauty content that I watched was always super polished … it had perfect lighting, the makeup experts never made a mistake, they could wing their eyeliner in one take.
So, I try to bring the complete opposite because I find that’s most people’s day-to-day. I post the video even if things don’t work out, and I show them that I make mistakes. And because of that, I’m able to build trust with my audience. Also, consistency. To maintain trust in a relationship, you have to show up and put the effort in. So that’s why I post daily on YouTube.
I wholeheartedly believe that the community on YouTube is so much stronger than other platforms. One reason for that is there’s a higher percentage of recurring viewership. On YouTube, my subscribers are seeing all my videos, whereas on other platforms, it’s kind of a different audience seeing whatever’s on their feed, so they’re not seeing everything, and it’s harder to build a relationship.
My YouTube subscribers trust me—I think of them as close friends, and they feel the same way. When brands come out with a new collection, subscribers will tag me and say, “Sydney, you have to try this, so I know if I can buy it.” So, they lean on me for their purchase decisions. Especially for the more expensive products. They want me to validate it first before they buy it.
That sort of trust and loyal community is so valuable to a brand. How do you build a successful brand partnership to create that “I have to buy this” moment?
I think the difference between a good ad and an “I have to buy this” moment comes down to trust. I’m always honest about the products that I’m reviewing, how I feel about them, do I really like them, do I recommend them. That’s why the best brand partnerships are the ones that give me creative flexibility—I know my audience and how to get them excited.
One of my holiday campaigns was for the toy brand “Cookeez Makery” and that Shorts video got 6.7 million views. One of the comments with 1,500+ likes said: “HOLY CRAP—I need this in my life.” Others added, “You got me convinced to buy it,” and “Omg now I want one.” So it’s not me telling them to buy—it’s them deciding because they felt the genuine excitement and trusted my reaction.
Also, don’t be afraid to expand out of the creators that you would normally work with. Some of my best brand partnerships have been with brands that would be unexpected and a little outside of beauty. My most clicked product on YouTube is a screwdriver. I posted a video using a screwdriver that got 125 million views. So yeah, working with some of those out-of-the-box brands resulted in some of the best, most creative content for me.
We’re in the thick of the holiday season now. What’s your holiday strategy and how do you plan your content?
Every holiday season, my analytics tell the same story—people flood to YouTube when they’re ready to shop. Last year, my channel did 1.2 billion views from June through the holidays, with 200 million in December alone. You can literally watch the energy build.
Last month was all about discovery—people wanted to be surprised, entertained, and inspired. They’re kind of building those mental wish lists. And also, the shelf life of content on YouTube is so much longer. A few weeks ago, my Halloween content from last year was getting almost as many views as it did last year. Whereas on other platforms, you kind of have a week or two maybe to get those video views before the video dies.
By October and November, the vibe totally shifts—suddenly it’s decision and purchase mode. That’s when urgency, limited drops, and clear value really hit. My audience tells me that my opinion matters even more to them during the holidays because they’re overwhelmed by the product choices.
So, I review Advent calendars, I’ll rate Halloween mystery boxes, I make Shorts like “Put THESE items on your wish list,” I do Christmas makeup looks, and I tell them what’s worth their money. Day after day, people love to watch these tried and tested YouTube formats to make their shopping decisions. And because I’ve already built trust with my community, that move from discovery to “add to cart” happens naturally—and fast.
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Célia Salsi is the global director, YouTube Ads Marketing, responsible for driving video and creative thought leadership and orchestrating the launch of our new solutions. In this role, she works closely with both YouTube Ads Product and Solutions teams, as well as global and regional go-to-market and sales teams, to ensure Google’s video solutions are best positioned to help meet partners’ business goals.