You can’t ignore YouTube. In the US, 78% of kids ages two to 12 say they use the video sharing platform, dwarfing the 41% who say they use TikTok. It’s the biggest streaming platform, the number-one platform for podcasts and the top destination for educational and how-to resources. “The only stat that [YouTube] can’t claim is the most-visited website—which goes to Google, its parent company,” joked Kaley Mullin, co-founder of media consultancy Cool Shiny Insights and a former senior manager of consumer insights at YouTube, at a presentation during Kidscreen Summit yesterday. 

The problem with a platform with such massive reach is that it’s also a place of massive competition—there are roughly 60 million channels actively creating on YouTube. So how do you stand out from that sheer volume of content? During her talk, “What You Need to Know: Kids & YouTube,” Mullin shared strategies that top YouTubers employ that creators and producers can replicate to build their own success.

1. Transcend language barriers 

YouTube is a truly global platform, where 80% of watch time comes from outside the US. And many of the top 10 YouTube creators are based outside the US, including Kimpro from Korea and ChuChuTV in India. These top creators post primarily dialogue-free content, or use YouTube’s AI-fueled features that let them dub their audio into different languages. Mullin shared a video from Topper Guild (84.7 million subscribers) “I Built a KPop Demon Hunters Secret Room!,” where she switched audio tracks between English, French, Indonesian and closed captions in Hindu in real time. The key is to make your content accessible to everyone. 

Cool Shiny Insights’ Kaley Mullin speaks about YouTube’s biggest creators at Kidscreen Summit 2026.

2. Tap into a “core human need”

The top creators broadly make three types of content: gaming, edutainment and content about relationships. These three topics aren’t just buzzy—they resonate with kids on a fundamental level, feeding desires for foundational things like play or learning. She shared Zack D. Films’ (25.8 million subscribers) short “An Island of Toenail Clippings?,” where he illustrates what would happen if everyone in the world clipped their nails at the same time. With 131 million views, it’s a scientific take on the sort of hypothetical question a kid might ask—silly and entertaining, while still feeding kids’ deep-rooted need to learn. “Core human needs are more durable than microtrends or chasing the whims of algorithms,” says Mullin.  

3. Don’t just stick to one format

Kids are “omnivorous,” Mullins said; they seek out both short- and long-form content. Producers should take a page from IShowSpeed (51.5 million subscribers), who livestreams for hours, but then makes brief clips that go viral on Shorts, which he can then use to direct fans back toward his long-form videos. “DANCING THE HARDEST DANCE IN THE WORLD,” a 30-second clip cut from a much longer series about his trip to Africa, has more than seven million views. “His content is very energetic, really highly chaotic and kinetic, which makes it engaging enough so that it can catch your attention on Shorts, and then sustain your attention if you’re watching it for hours on live stream.” 

4. Become a YouTube expert 

The biggest creator on YouTube by far, MrBeast, doesn’t just guess about what will be a hit; he is “algorithm and analytics obsessed,” says Mullin. He A/B tests thumbnails, uses shorts to drive discovery and treats long-form content like blockbuster movie releases, scheduling and teasing posts in advance as if they were premieres. “He takes advantage of every feature, format and product update that YouTube offers,” says Mullin. “He edits his videos to maximize audience retention.” 

5. Observe the masters 

Kids producers don’t need to pull the same big stunts as YouTube’s top creators, but they shouldn’t be afraid of employing the same techniques they’ve pioneered. Red Bull, for example, is a brand that emulates the look and feel of creators’ videos with dynamic captions to reach viewers who are second-screening or watching the content on mute. Their short, “The New Ice Skating,” which has 3.2 million views, displays spoken text in different colors prominently displayed in the middle of the screen. 

Kidscreen Summit runs from February 20 to February 25 in San Diego, California. 

Photo by Christian Wiediger via Unsplash.