VidCon 2022 Recap: Top Takeaways & Highlights

Physically, VidCon may be over. But mentally, I think we speak for everyone when we say we’re still there, reeling from the excitement of the groundbreaking three-day celebration. Top creators, platform partners, and industry execs came together last week in Anaheim, California to talk about what’s next in video and (spoiler alert) there’s a lot to look forward to.

But among the hundreds of panels, countless creator tips, and exclusive insider info, some common themes emerged—and Jellysmack was front and center for them all. In this VidCon 2022 recap, we’ll share our biggest takeaways from the massive creator convention.

The Future is Short-Form

“You need to understand where the audience is going. If consumption is moving towards shorts, you would be unwise to not be looking at that,” said Jellymack President, Sean Atkins, following his announcement of our new short-form creator solutions on the Industry Track stage.

His fireside chat with TechCrunch’s Amanda Silberling covered all the trending topics, from ever-changing algorithms to business-building tips, but somehow kept circling back to short-form content. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels—these are the formats that creators should be focused on expanding to right now.

But as President of the global creator company, Sean knows that adding these to an already-demanding creator workload is challenging. 

“Shorts is very exciting, but it does come with a lot of issues and concerns—yet another algorithm, another format—which is one of the things that we help solve for,” he explains, giving us the perfect segue into another major VidCon theme that every creator knows a little too much about: burnout. 

Creators Are Looking for Ways to Beat Burnout

To some, being a creator may seem like an easy job. But as creators ourselves who work closely with over 500 other leading creators, we know burnout is real. So we brought in creator partners JP and Julia of Hellthy Junk Food, Charlotte Dobre, and Niki DeMartino to chat about how Jellysmack has helped them overcome this all-too-common issue while enabling them to reach their full potential across platforms.

We had so much content that could be repurposed. But we didn’t have the resources or time to do that. That’s where Jellysmack came in.

JP Lambiase of Hellthy Junk Food

JP and Julia took the stage and chatted with industry gurus Colin & Samir about how Jellysmack’s Creator Program found them a whole new audience and revenue stream on Facebook while letting them focus on what they do best.

Panelist Lauren Schnipper, Jellysmack’s VP of Corporate Development and co-host of the Creator Upload podcast, explained further. “What you like doing is creating. You don’t want to have to worry about the algorithms and the formats, it’s exhausting and overwhelming. And is it the best use of your time?” 

The answer is no, and both Niki and Charlotte would agree. “Your time is very valuable. It should be spent making the content itself,” Charlotte told Jellysmack’s Cat Valdes on the panel titled “Don’t Sleep on Going Multiplatform.”

Audiences were all ears for the female-powered panel as they talked insights and answered questions about how they took their content multi-platform with the help of Jellysmack. But when should creators take that leap?

“When you notice yourself starting to get inconsistent,” Niki stated. “Whether that’s because of burnout, you’re overwhelmed, or you don’t have ideas… being consistent is so important on every platform. A partner like Jellysmack just keeps you going.”

Audience First, Algorithm Later

Another Jellysmack creator partner, Jimmy Donaldson a.k.a MrBeast, took the stage on Friday with YouTube’s Director of Product Management, Todd Beaupre, for what was one of VidCon’s most-talked-about panels. The key takeaway? “Replace the word algorithm with audience,” Jimmy shared.

I want to hear more people talk about how they’re going to become a better storyteller and less about how to game the algorithm.

Jimmy Donaldson of MrBeast

Both he and Todd admitted that emerging creators shouldn’t spend too much time focusing on the metrics. However, if you just can’t stay away from analytics, the Audience tab on YouTube is where you should be. “This page will tell you what other videos your audience has watched so you can get an idea of their interests,” said Todd.

At the end of the day, consider what your audience wants. Try to predict the future by looking at what they’re watching, and pivot your content to whatever that is, before you run an old idea into the ground. 

“If you make great videos, you’ll do pretty well,” says Jimmy. And there you have it.

After the Panels? The After Party.

When the sun began to set and attendees emerged from the Anaheim Convention Center, there was only one place to be: Jellysmack’s Featured Creator Lounge at the Hyatt Regency. 

Neon lights, jelly-style lava lamps, and bass-dropping beats filled the room for our nightly happy hours, where we were able to meet some amazing new creators and even catch up with a few of our own. Maynard’s TV, Celina SpookyBoo, Claudipia, Emmymade, and Charles & Alyssa hopped in front of the camera for some fun interviews with Jellysmack’s Director of Communications & Culture, Lenny Pomerantz. Patrick Starrr and MacDoesIt also made head-turning appearances.

Others came to enjoy our eye-catching photo booth and perfectly-on-theme snacks. Sipping on custom cocktails, visitors were also able to design their very own Jelly-themed Crocs. And let’s not forget the ever-popular MrBeast Feastables chocolate bars. 

Beyond the fun, insightful meetings were had and unforgettable connections were made during our three-day stay at the Regency. Creators came to learn more about how Jellysmack could help them Go Bigger, industry professionals stopped by to expand their networks, and brand reps discussed new ways to partner. The conversations and the ‘gramable moments never stopped. 

“Being here made me feel so proud to be a part of the creator industry,” said Jellysmack’s Director of Global Events, Michole Martinez.

Jellysmack showed up in a big way at VidCon. The only question is… how do we top it for the next one?

Michole Martinez, Director of Global Events

If you stopped by the Featured Creator Lounge, shoot us a DM on Instagram to say hi. 👋 We’d love to hear from you!

For more from VidCon, check out the Live from VidCon 2022 post for our full minute-by-minute experience at the creator event of the year. You can also watch our Best of VidCon recap video below to relive all the best moments.

See you all in 2023.