You no doubt you already know that content is king, and video is king of content!
But how do I build content into a series that people are interested in? This is the subject challenging my good friend Andries. I met Andries as a first year student studying in New Zealand. I challenged him to follow Jesus, and soon after we were making films together. These days, Andries is a dentist in Australia. But he still makes films in his spare time that impact people for Christ. Like this…
But how do I keep with the times and make content that is compelling, engaging and of value? How do I get subscriptions and develop an audience? I asked Andries to keep figuring these questions out. Below is Andries’ research on how to build desirable content and house it in a successful youtube channel. It’s our prayer that this information helps position you and prepare you to truly connect with your audience!
Enjoy this research, from Aaron, Andries and Beau.
Length matters:
- Set 1:59 Minute Cap to initial content.
- Prone to click elsewhere if they see it goes for longer than 2 minutes. 43% drop from 1:59 to 2:01
- Average length watched of a single internet video 2.7 minutes
- Start small in series, graduate to longer content with further releases on a topic.
- Staircase your content. Once you have built brand value – you can graduate to longer content and maintain viewership.
Make it interesting
- Do not make or publish boring looking things ever.
- Humor is a must, people are more likely to respond and engage with humour than continuous seriousness. (See the film above)
- Christians are not known for humor, so be different!
- Simple and direct communication wins every time.
Colour matters – Colour is emotion
Keep shades of colours consistent with branding. Simple and clean is key.
- YELLOW Optimism, Clarity, Warmth
- ORANGE Friendly, Cheerful, Coincidence
- RED Excitement, Youthful, Bold
- PURPLE Creative, Imaginative, Wise
- BLUE Trust, Dependable, Strength
- GREEN Peaceful, Growth, Health
- GREY WHITE Balance, Calm
Accurate Personas are key in understanding your audience.
Popular persona profiles reachable with you tube content:
- Broken Families
- Blended Families
- Independent types
- Individualistic types
- Consumeristic types
- Here and Now mentality
- YOLO (You only live once)
- FOMO (Fear of missing out)
Establish your Audience
Here is an example:
- 17yrs – 30yrs old
- Male and Female
- Computer Literate
- Western English Speaking
- Simplified “spirituality”
- Drop the jargon
- Most western people are spiritual but aren’t religious.
- Most people don’t know a Christian
- Most people haven’t been to church or seen a bible
What the viewers need to know about the channel:
- who we are
- what we stand for
- who benefits from what we are giving
- how we propose on making it happen
Rules for content put up on YouTube
STEP 1: Create a catchy Headline
- No more than 140 characters
- Most important message you want the viewer to know
- Make a simple clean introduction
STEP 2: Sell the 3 Major Benefits
- Average only process 3 pieces of information at any one time
- What’s in it for me? Mentality
- Make it clear how it will bring value to them
STEP 3: PROVE IT!
- Reinforce the 3 benefits with short stories, examples or statistics
STEP 4: Love it!
- Be excited about it
- People will relate to fun and energy
- (Workout before???) (pump it) (Be motivated… energy drink)
STEP 5: Call to Action
- Close with a simple but massive call
- What do we want them to do next?
- Make it clear
Some References:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/
https://copyhackers.com/2015/03/how-to-write-a-kickstarter-pitch/
https://go.indiegogo.com/blog/2010/12/6-tips-for-a-good-pitchvideo.html
http://magicmediaforce.com/5-simple-steps-to-make-a-great-videopitch/