The news: YouTube creator marketing is most effective with long-term partnerships, with clickthrough rates (CTRs) and conversion rates (CVRs) consistently increasing with repeated exposure, per a new Agentio report.

• CTRs increase about 10% per additional integration with the same creator. Agentio noted the sixth integration with one creator lifted CVRs 1.9 times higher than the first.
• Relative to the first creator integration, median CTRs increase 1.1 times by the third integration and rise to 1.8 times by the eighth.

Why it works: Repeated partnerships with the same YouTube creator are critical for improving the effectiveness of creator marketing. The strategy works for several key reasons.

• On average, consumers need to see a creator promote a product three to four times before they are convinced to make a purchase, per an EMARKETER and impact.com survey. Longer-term partnerships mean brands can build credibility, whereas one-off campaigns struggle to offer enough exposure to drive action.
• With 80% of consumers stating they distrust influencers who they don’t perceive as honest and genuine, repeated partnerships stand out for their ability to signal authentic alignment between creators and brands.

And Agentio’s findings reinforce the effectiveness of YouTube specifically to drive action.

• YouTube separates itself from a traditional social feed because its video content stays indexed and recommended for longer periods than other platforms. Sponsored integrations on YouTube accrue value; 38% of views occur after 30 days from a video’s publish date, while 27% occur after 90 days and 28% occur after 30 days, per the report.