Thread by @jappleby

So @MrBeast’s new video hit 47 million views in 1 day—the 2nd highest 24 hour view count in YouTube history.

I analyzed the video minute-by-minute, detailing 25 storytelling tactics he uses to pull you in + keep you engaged for a full 14 minutes.

A content breakdown 🧵:

@MrBeast 0:00—The Thumbnail

@MrBeast famously stated he spends up to $10,000 just on thumbnail design + testing. "The thumbnail makes the difference between 50 million views and 200 million."

For the new video? He makes YouTube face next to a gold yacht. Very clickable. 1/

@MrBeast 0:00—The Title

@MrBeast shows yachts at different price points in the video, but you need a concise, catchy hook to pull views, so he only lists 2 yachts in the title.

"vs" language is a great emotional motivator, plus who doesn't wanna see a $1 yacht and a $1 billion yacht? 2/

@MrBeast 0:00-0:02—The 2 second hook

He doesn't introduce himself or give a long-winded preamble. The instant the video begins, he yells "this is a 1 billion dollar super yacht," with a drone camera zooming out + graphics to make the yacht look gold. You're immediately in the video. 3/

@MrBeast 0:02-0:09—teasing the payoff content

In just 7 seconds, @MrBeast gives us an extremely quick preview of the $1 billion yacht—enough to make us go wow and wanna wait around to see the big payoff. 4/

@MrBeast 0:09-0:17—the 2nd hook + transition into content

The 1st hook makes you wanna see the $1 billion yacht, but the 14 minute video builds up to it. So, this second hook frames more "vs" content for audiences to evaluate different yachts by teasing them all up front. 5/

@MrBeast 0:18-0:55—An immediate video payoff.

The title promised a $1 yacht, which is certainly a headscratcher. We get to that $1 yacht just 17 seconds into the video. @MrBeast immediate addresses the important question: why is it $1?

And uh... you can see why. 6/

@MrBeast Throughout video—on-screen progress tracker

Look at the upper left corner of this screenshot from the video. See the little yacht and the $1 sign? That helps remind the audience where they're at in the video + how to compare the various yachts. 7/

@MrBeast While you're here, hello! I'm Jack Appleby.

I write social strategy🧵 breakdowns every weekday, teaching you how the best brands + creators make amazing content.

I'd love if you followed @jappleby + retweeted the thread. I'm a full-time writer, so every follower counts! 8/

@MrBeast 0:53—Big, bold, loud subtitles

Huuuuge font, big black stroke + shadow, and used to make shots without a ton of action more dynamic. It's there for accessibility AND to make a big point. 9/

@MrBeast 0:56-1:02—The re-hook

The $1 yacht story lasted 58 seconds, and as a completed story, could've caused viewers to bounce. That's why at :056, @MrBeast reintroduces the premise with "later in this video we have" with the same 6-second breakdown as before, listing the yachts. 10/

@MrBeast 1:06—an opinion

"This is the $1 million yacht which is a little smaller than I thought it would be" immediately sets us audiences to judge this yacht for size, paid off by Jimmy ducking later in the story. The up-front opinion gives audience context to watch for. 11/

@MrBeast 1:13—graphic treatments

As Jimmy describes the yacht, graphics are added to contextualize the area he's talking about, like the living room. Not just helpful for context, but adds yet another visual element to the video. 12/

@MrBeast 1:21—character building

Now 90 seconds into the video, we start to get a lottt more of Jimmy + his friends (partly because the yachts are getting bigger with more to explore). The audience's parasocial relationship with these people is a strong reason many keep coming back. 13/

@MrBeast 1:48—bold transition cards

When the video moves from yacht to yacht, err, story to story, these huge transition "cards" come up to introduce the next boat, err, character. You really can't underestimate the value in step-by-step storytelling. 14/

@MrBeast 2:35—story transition contextualizing the whole video

As we go to the next yacht, we zoom back out to see the full fleet again, reminding us what we've seen and what's to come. It's one of many "stay tuned" moves in the video. 15/

@MrBeast 2:39—new characters

The $25 million yacht is huge, so Jimmy introduces even more of his friends to explore. We'll follow them all around as they search every room of the ship. 16/

@MrBeast Okay, one more quick break.

I write a free newsletter called Future Social, teaching 44,000 marketers about brand + creator social media strategy.

I write full breakdowns + lessons every Wednesday —you can subscribe here! futuresocial.beehiiv.com

Now, back to Beast. 17/

@MrBeast 2:49—timelapse thru the slow parts

He wants to show us the boat, but it's a big boat and there's more boats to see, so timelapses are used to get from room to room more quickly, only stopping for interesting things (like an amazing bedroom) 18/

@MrBeast 3:51—a surprise spectacle

The yacht literally has a private chef, but @MrBeast uses Uber Helicopter (which is apparently a thing?) to order pizza... from a helicopter.

These sort of surprises keep a singular topic (yacht tours) fresh and exciting and tasty. 19/

@MrBeast 4:30—more character content

It can't JUST be boat tours for 14 minutes! So now they're riding jetskis and trying to catch pizza thrown off the boat. And it's fun! And silly! And keeps you engaged! 20/

@MrBeast 5:00—A celebrity guest

@MrBeast is enough of a celeb as is—guy's the #1 YouTuber. But hey, bring in Pete Davidson at about the 1/2 mark as a surprise character in the story—easy win + promo opps for new viewers. 21/

@MrBeast 5:43—the B Plotline

Nolan overslept! And he hasn't been in the video so far! Because he apparently overslept call time. So now we have a background story that'll—you guessed it—keep us engaged & allow change ups in the video, like a movie. 22/

@MrBeast 9:40—audience CTA

Jimmy asks his friends if they'd rather have 300 $1 million ships or one $300 million dollar ship, then points to the camera and asks the audience. Great way to give fans a reason to debate in the comments. 23/

@MrBeast 9:57—celebrity guest #2

Because Pete wasn't enough, now we've got Brady. You know how this works—big celeb, now we follow him through the tour of the boat. Of course you wanna see that, he's a huge deal. 24/

@MrBeast 11:39—funny context

Now we're at the $1 billion yacht, which is huge—apparently 3 statues of liberty huge. So that's how you show the length of the boat. 25/

@MrBeast 13:22—audience participation

A big hook for @MrBeast's videos—fans and everyday humans are almost always involved. By bringing 400 subscribers onto the boat, YOU want to become a subscriber for that chance to participate in a video. 26/

@MrBeast 14:15—the Oprah Moment

Not only did 400 people get to visit the yacht—@MrBeast also gave every single one of them a 3-night stay on a cruise. Yet another reason to subscribe + watch the next video 27/

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I kept it to storytelling, hook, & retention tactics, but there's so much you can dig into here, like his Feastables promotions, gated content for purchases, and more.

Thanks for reading, y'all!

The most common replies:
- "it worked because he's Mr.Beast"
- "easy with money"
- "this doesn't work for beginners"

Suit yourself! I believe anyone can use these at any budget to make better content. You might not go viral, but clicks + retention will absolutely improve! 29/