VidSummit 2024 Recap: Inside the Dallas Creator Conference

This past week, Dallas played host to one of the most anticipated creator conferences of the year: VidSummit 2024. A record-breaking 3,500 attendees descended on the Irving Convention Center from September 3-5, making this year’s event the biggest in VidSummit history. 

Since its founding in 2014, VidSummit has grown into the go-to conference for creators, marketers, and brands looking to dive deep into the creator economy. This wasn’t a fan meet-and-greet—VidSummit 2024 was where the top 1% of influencers came together to share the real secrets behind audience growth, brand building, and making millions from their content.

The action kicked off on Tuesday night with a high-energy happy hour. Thousands of attendees gathered around the convention center to mix, mingle and share in their excitement. It was the perfect way to set the tone for a jam-packed few days filled with expert keynotes, multi-creator panels, and hands-on workshops. The aspirational vibe was palpable–everyone was there to learn how to think big and scale their creator businesses to new heights.

The Panels: Big Names, Big Insights

On Wednesday morning, the panels began, and who better to start it all off than Jellysmack’s own creator partner, Hope Allen, a.k.a. HopeScope. She took the stage for her keynote, “The Eras: How to Successfully Pivot Your Channel”, shortly after 9:00 am to a packed audience.

HopeScope shared her journey of evolving her content, offering up valuable strategies for creators looking to adapt, pivot, and keep their audience engaged during transitions. Her insights on identifying the right time to shift and maintaining relevance on a fast-moving platform like YouTube left the audience buzzing with ideas. “All I needed was permission from somebody that it was ok to try something new. But I was very strategic about it.”

She also shared the key to successfully pivoting, and who you should look to for inspiration and direction.

“I want you to find that one core person that you’re making videos for, and I promise this is going to unlock everything.”

Creator HopeScope

Another VidSummit 2024 panel of note? MatPat, creator and former host of The Theorist Channels, and his partner, Stephanie, took the stage to talk about scaling a creator business while maintaining a work/life balance. This keynote was one of the most anticipated of VidSummit, especially since MatPat stepped away from being on-camera this year to focus on the behind-the-scenes side of their growing operation. 

Their talk centered around the idea that creators are essentially businesses now, and they emphasized that their main focus is people. Two impressive stats stood out: they’ve had fewer than five employees leave their company over the years, and their training process for on-screen talent takes a full year, covering every aspect of video production and creator life.

Finally, a surprise standout panel was EYstreem’s, who shared his unique approach to launching faceless channels. His focus on creating streamlined systems and scaling quickly without needing on-screen talent left a lasting impression, offering a fresh perspective on content creation.

Our Top 3 Takeaways: Format, Algorithm and AI

While our team left VidSummit 2024 filled with ideas and inspiration, there were three main takeaways that Filup Molina, Jellysmack’s Vice President of YouTube Creative, thinks that creators should note:

• Format Content Like a TV Show: Todd Beaupré, head of YouTube’s algorithm, pointed out that nearly half of YouTube viewers are now watching on their televisions. This shift is bringing back TV-style content formats—longer videos, episodic storytelling, and curated playlists are becoming more important. Make sure each video can stand on its own, but also fits into a larger series to keep viewers engaged.
• The Algorithm Pulls, It Doesn’t Push: Beaupré and Derral Eves clarified that YouTube’s algorithm doesn’t push videos to users. Instead, it pulls the most relevant content based on viewer habits. Most creators think the algorithm kicks in as soon as they upload, but the truth is, the algorithm activates the moment viewers sign on, pulling content that best matches their behavior. With that in mind, creators should focus on creating videos that fulfill the potential viewer’s content desires, rather than their own.
• Embrace AI, Don’t Fear It: AI was a major focus at VidSummit 2024, with panels discussing how it can be a game-changer for creators. AI tools were widely featured, and speakers stressed that AI can help streamline production and scale operations—something creators should leverage rather than shy away from.

“The vibe was aspirational—all about thinking big, maximizing potential. Outside of AI, the recurring trend in so many of the talks was about scaling. It seems like everyone was teaching how exactly they leveled up to the next stage of creator business growth, how they hired their teams, how they diversified their revenue streams. Creators have graduated.”

– Filup Molina, Vice President of YouTube Creative at Jellysmack

From expert advice to actionable insights, VidSummit 2024 proved once again why it’s the creator conference to watch. Until next year!