Discover the secret of these sound-based videos that have been trending over the last few years
We associate YouTube with visually-oriented content, but sound-oriented videos have been growing exponentially within the platform. ASMR videos, in particular, have increased viewers’ numbers by an average of 200% per year over the last five years. ASMR videos aim to induce relaxing, and at times sedating sensations on the listeners. They achieve this using a series of unusual and surprising means, that it is no exaggeration to define this as one of the most experimental and creative categories on the web.
Read on as we show you some of the most successful examples of this genre and explain why they create such a fuss.
The brain and ASMR sounds
The acronym ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. According to the definition published by the University of Seville’s scientific magazine ESAMEC, this automatic response is caused by regular stimulation or triggers. These triggers produce tingles in the scalp, followed by a pleasant sense of relaxation that can also bring you to sleep.
At present, the ASMR phenomenon and its huge success are being studied by scientists looking to treat mental disorders and better understand issues linked with cognitive processing connected with concentration and motivation. Nonetheless, ASMR’s positive effect on many people is not universal, making the phenomenon even more peculiar.
ASMR Magic is the author of the following video. With more than 86 million views, it is one of the most-watched on YouTube of its kind.
Where does the pleasure of ASMR come from?
One of the most surprising data about ASMR is that, according to studies carried out on the brain, the sounds stimulate an area related to social experiences. This means that part of the pleasure could be rooted in the fact that they create the illusion of being with someone and even being protected and spoilt by someone who does not represent a risk.
This information was gathered through a scientific study published by the University Dartmouth College in the United States, in which the brains of one hundred ASMR fans were tested through MRI to record what went on when met with pleasure triggers. The experts discovered activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, an evolutionarily advanced area of the brain associated with contact and affection. There was also activity in areas of the brain associated with gratification and emotional excitement. The researchers speculate that this pattern reflects how ASMR mimics the pleasure given by social engagement and relations.
In enjoying listening to people eating, the pleasure is caused by the human ability to empathize, which allows us to experience the pleasure or pain that someone else is feeling, whether we have any connection with them or not.
The first-ever ASMR video uploaded on YouTube is called Whispering Life and was recorded in March 2009. The phenomenon did not exist at the time. It consists of a girl saying that she enjoys listening to people whispering and was sharing the video in case others did too.
ASMR categories
ASMR is not a standardized genre. This universe is open to creativity. ASMR artists can experiment freely, in front of highly sensitive microphones, using various objects, narrations, and settings, finding millions of fans of the genre.
Objects’ noises
The most conventional sound is the noise made by objects: the sound of a hairbrush being used, the tapping of fingernails on a table, opening a can of pop, or lighting a match. In the universe of tapping and scratching, the users look for amplified mundane sounds.
The following video by sound artist ASMR Bakery has had over 14 million views.
Simulations of affection
The narrations that simulate affection are also very popular. In these instances, a whispered speech that expresses tender loving care is mixed with very human sounds that reinforce this illusion of connection: smacking of lips, guttural sounds, breathing, and the slight brushing with the microphone simulate caressing. These sounds are created solely to induce a sense of well-being similar to what we get when we are in contact with another. There are sounds, for example, that give us a tickling sensation.
The following sleep-inducing video by Spaniard Ana Muñoz has had 13 million views. She is one of the most famous Spanish-speaking ASMR artists.
People eating
Videos of people licking or eating food are some of the most pleasure-inducing of the ASMR universe. One of the leaders in this category is SouthKorean-American artist Zach Choi. As his viewing numbers demonstrate, he combines Mukbang videos—videos of people eating—with sound, mixing two highly popular pleasures.
This video shows Zach eating honey, aloe vera, and macarons with over 75 million views.
Unintentional ASMR
Unintentional ASMR, many people claim, is the original ASMR. These videos offer real stories and interesting sounds and are extracts of daily life, with no intention to create ASMR responses. The narrative is not forced, there are many quiet periods, and the sequence of noises is logical, natural, and not pre-planned.
The gentleman interviewed in the video was unaware of creating ASMR content over 8 million people would enjoy.
Do you want to record stories and sounds in your own home? You can start to learn about the technical world of sound in the course Podcast Creation for Beginners.
You may also like:
- Meet Prize-Winning Author and Podcaster Chico Felitti, in this Domestika Diary
- The Best Free Sound and Music Libraries for Editing Your Podcast
- Essential Equipment for Creating Podcasts
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Though YouTube is most commonly associated with visual content, sound-oriented videos are resonating with millions of users. Learn how some brands are raising their online profiles by lowering the volume.
Alerts, notifications, pings—the sounds send an anxious shiver down our spines. But many consumers are actually using technology, especially video, as a way to relax. There's an entire universe of sound creation on YouTube designed to make you feel good. Sound a bit niche? It's not. ASMR is the biggest trend you've never heard of.
What's in a name?
ASMR is a massive and growing trend. In fact, there's more search interest on YouTube for ASMR than for "candy" or "chocolate."1 Odds are, however, you've never heard of it. In fact, the top-searched question about ASMR on Google is, "What is ASMR?"2
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Autonomous sensory meridian response
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Candy
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Chocolate
Coined in 2010, ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is a relaxing, often sedative sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the body. Also known as "brain massage," it's triggered by placid sights and sounds such as whispers, accents, and crackles.
"Basically, it feels like the amazing chills you get when someone plays with your hair or traces your back with their fingertips," says Heather Feather, a popular "ASMRtist" with nearly 400,000 YouTube subscribers. The dulcet tones of famed soft-spoken painter Bob Ross are among the most common ASMR triggers. Indeed, "Bob Ross" is among the terms most frequently associated with ASMR—and so are "Heather Feather" and "GentleWhispering," another top ASMRtist on YouTube.
Creators like Heather Feather are making videos that create the tingly ASMR effect. In fact, there are currently about 5.2 million ASMR videos on YouTube, and there is interest coming from all corners of the globe (see chart below). YouTube searches for ASMR grew over 200% YoY in 2015 and are consistently growing.3 On its own, a top ASMR video can garner over 16 million views.
Well over half of searches are on mobile as people seek out this content in I-want-to-relax moments.4 Indeed, searches on Google tend to peak around 10:30 p.m., regardless of time zone, when people are winding down for the evening.5 "ASMR sleep" is one of the top related terms.6
At Google BrandLab, we help brands tap into the full potential of YouTube. Many sounds can trigger the calming sensation of ASMR, and brands should listen up. We are not just talking about an enormous engaged audience to tap; we are talking about an enormous engaged audience that is already using your brand. ASMRtists often employ objects, especially food products, to create the tingly effect: crinkling wrappers, chewing candy, cracking open cans. (A search for "beer ASMR" on YouTube returns over 81,000 video results.) Tic Tac, Swedish Fish, and Taco Bell are all brands that make cameos in YouTube creator videos.
KFC has embraced the trend. In this recent YouTube video, the actor George Hamilton, portraying Colonel Sanders, whispers sweet nothings about pocket squares and enjoys the sounds of KFC's new crispy fried chicken. "This is a community that is absolutely infatuated and enthusiastic about the sensorial experience of sound," KFC CMO Kevin Hochman said in The Washington Post. "There's a lot of comfort that's associated with ASMR, and that's what our food delivers."
In 2015, BBDO created ASMR video ads in China for Dove chocolates that were designed to evoke the "tingling of silky smooth pleasure" consumers felt when eating the confections. The films were even put to scientific testing, and the results are being studied by neuroscientists.
Brands don't have to create their own ASMR videos to capitalize on the trend; interested audiences can still be reached. Who in particular? Both men and women are interested in ASMR content, with viewers skewing young—18- to 24-year-olds comprise around half of the interested audience. Most (77%) are also looking at beauty and fitness content.7
Beauty products, in fact, play a starring role in the trend. Makeup tutorials have long been popular on YouTube, but after viewers realized how relaxing they were, many tutorials now double as ASMR videos. Some creators take the role-play approach, simulating the feeling of being in a makeup artist's chair, while others use makeup brushes to create soothing noises. Search for "ASMR nails," and you'll see many creators showing off their manicures as they make tapping and scratching sounds. Even Michelle Phan—the queen of beauty herself, with 8.6 million subscribers and counting—has created an ASMR video.
Perhaps less obvious, a large majority of the ASMR audience also skews technophile and gamer. People interested in ASMR across the web are more than twice as likely to be in the market for consumer tech products like laptops, mobile phones, and game consoles.8 There's even an ASMR gamer YouTube channel. ASMR may be an antidote to fast-paced video games; research has shown that your brain on video games can heighten your senses.
Regardless of how ASMR works, there is clearly a huge, engaged, and growing audience that responds to it. And as a brand, you don't have to "get it" to benefit from it. You just have to engage this unique and largely untapped community in any number of creative ways. Now how does that sound?