Kiwoom, Mirae Asset, Samsung Securities, etc.
Surpassed 1 Million Subscribers Last Month
Kiwoom Ranks 1st, Samsung and Mirae Compete for 2nd
Subscriber Inflation Overheated
Views Less Than 1% for the Three Companies
Focus on Content, Not Just Numbers
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] The competition among securities firms to secure YouTube subscribers is intensifying day by day. Kiwoom Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and Samsung Securities all surpassed 1 million subscribers last month, with Mirae Asset and Samsung fiercely competing for the second place position.
According to the financial investment industry on the 19th, Kiwoom Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and Samsung Securities each exceeded 1 million YouTube channel subscribers last month. Having 1 million subscribers places them in the top 1% of YouTube channels. At the beginning of this year, these securities firms had around 100,000 subscribers, but they showed rapid growth to 500,000 in February and 1 million in March.
Kiwoom Securities was the first securities firm to surpass 1 million subscribers on the 19th of last month, followed by Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities joining the 1 million club by the end of the month.
Currently, the YouTube channel with the most subscribers in the industry is Kiwoom Securities’ Channel K, with about 1.2 million subscribers. Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities follow with 1.07 million subscribers each. KB Securities’ Marble TV has 130,000 subscribers, Ebest Investment & Securities’ Irion Studio has 107,000, Korea Investment & Securities’ Bankis has 101,000, and Hana Financial Investment’s Hana TV has 95,100 subscribers.
The competition for second place is particularly fierce. Samsung Securities, which had the lead in subscriber numbers from the beginning of the year until mid-last month, lost the record for the industry’s second 1 million subscriber milestone to Mirae Asset Securities, which rapidly increased its subscribers at the end of last month. Recently, Mirae Asset Securities has again allowed Samsung to closely chase it. According to the data platform NoxInfluencer, Mirae Asset Securities, which had increased its subscribers to 1.08 million earlier this month, lost over 10,000 subscribers in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, Samsung Securities gained 40,000 subscribers during the same period.
The increase in securities firms’ YouTube subscribers is due to the surge in individual investors seeking investment information amid the stock market boom that began last year. The industry also expanded stock investment content aimed at beginner investors. Securities firms have provided various investment information such as how to use MTS (Mobile Trading System) and how to invest in overseas stocks, as well as enabling real-time communication between customers and experts through live streaming.
However, there are criticisms that the industry is focusing too much on increasing subscriber numbers between YouTube channels. The view rate per subscriber for these three firms is only 0.25% for Mirae Asset Securities, 0.22% for Kiwoom Securities, and 0.17% for Samsung Securities. The average number of views is also low, with Kiwoom Securities at 2,235 views, Samsung Securities at 2,204 views, and Mirae Asset Securities at 2,055 views. This contrasts with stock and finance-focused YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers such as “Sampro TV - With the God of Economy” and “Sinsa Imdang,” which have view rates per subscriber of 6.61% and 8.45%, respectively. Considering these channels’ average views of 27,000 and 123,400, it means that very few subscribers of securities firms’ YouTube channels actually watch the videos.
An industry insider pointed out, "Rather than focusing on increasing channel subscribers, it seems necessary to consider ways to keep customers on the channel longer."
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