Digitizing Iraqi Religious Destinations: The Strategic Role of Performance Metrics on YouTube

Abstract

In recent years, YouTube has become an essential channel for religious organizations to build strong online identities, but empirical studies on how they perform, in terms of communication, are still scarce. To this end, the present study aims to study the longitudinal performance of official Iraqi Holy Shrine videos, along with their engagement dynamics and predicting their growth trajectories on YouTube. The study uses descriptive, comparative, and predictive designs in analyzing the channel of the Imam Hussain, Imam Ali, and AlKafeel (Al-Abbas) shrines that was carried out over a baseline of a continuous period of 36 months (2023-2026) using Social Blade. Results show that there are also substantial seasonal variations in the liturgy as well as statistically significant differences across channels (p < .001). Holt's linear exponential smoothing models continued to predict secular growth until 2031, with the Imam Hussain Shrine seeing the most growth. Most importantly, a disconnect between reach and interaction means that meaningful engagement isn't about numbers, it's about audience loyalty. Faith-based organizations therefore need to adopt content architectures informed by data to make it easier for them to build sustainable participatory communities.

Keywords: Digital Performance, Religious YouTube Channels, Religious Destinations, Digital Engagement, Subscriber Growth.