This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

YouTubers are the most widely trusted figures for Millennials and Gen Z-ers, according to YPulse data — trusted 2-3X more than news anchors.

Why?

YouTubers’ 3 secret weapons

There are a few key factors that make YouTubers so trustworthy: 

• They’re indie: That makes them “authentic sources of information that aren't following some larger corporate agenda,” said Coltrane Kubo, a Gen Z-er digital advertising specialist at MarketerHire.
• They share longform videos: “TikTok at times feels too short to form an opinion,” said Maziyeh Jehan, talent operations associate at MarketerHire and Gen Z-er. “YouTubers give us an insight into their lives over time and so we learn if we… trust them.”
• They teach us practical skills: Tutorials are less likely to be paid promo, two Millennials at MarketerHire pointed out — and when YouTube instructions work IRL, it builds trust. 

Our takeaway? 

Investing in traditional PR will only get brands so far with the younger generations. 

Don’t overlook influencer marketing with YouTubers, musicians and athletes — all more trusted than news anchors by both generations.