HOW I LEARNED TO STOP GUESSING AND LOVE THE ALGORITHM
Launching a new piece of content can be pretty nerve-wracking.
After the pitch meetings and brainstorms; the script revisions, the castings, the shoot; the hours staring at the same four frames, in an edit suite that smells of pizza crusts and over-caffeinated brains… you’ve got a final cut. It’s time to hit ‘post’, and fire it out into the world.
What’s next? Likes and shares, a roar of positive mentions, a whole-team trip to the Cannes Lions… or just a barely-audible meh?
At this point, with your objectivity long gone - it can be pretty hard to know. You could always light some scented candles and ask the office Ouija board (what, you don’t have one?). But it might be easier to plan your next piece of work to harness the immense power of modern social platforms to reach the audience you need.
How?
Know where you’re reaching your audience (in their day and your marketing funnel).
People don’t seek out online video, they stumble across it. So your first few seconds need to stand out like a shiny coin in the dusty digital rubble. Surprise them. Provoke curiosity. Do both. Do both again. The longer they spend looking, the more the platform will reward you.
You’ll already have asked yourself what your objective is with this piece of content, based on where it sits in your marketing funnel. Awareness? Engagement? A good creative agency (hi 👋) will think about this with every decision they make. And with that, you know what success looks like.
Trust the algorithm
Content algorithms can come across like toddlers at teatime. Today, they only want cheese. Tomorrow, they’ll throw it in your face and scream for Cheerios. It takes work and patience to stay on top of their preferences - but it’s worth it.
Why? Because the algorithm is a finely honed machine for understanding people. So if your content fits your audience, however niche that group might be, it will reach them.
Not everything is for a mass audience. You just need to speak to the people who might care about your brand. Platforms really do make that easier.
Tell a good story
Well, duh. But what does that actually mean?
Film-makers make it their job to understand how storytelling works, in all kinds of contexts: from a multiplex epic to a 30-second Reel. We’ve got the chops to fit your story into each of them, using concrete techniques, and tailor it for every platform.
Online video brings its own challenges. You need to keep re-engaging people, for starters (see 1., above). But the better we understand fundamental story architecture, the more we can adapt to every change in format that comes along, and still intrigue, move, entertain… and drive action.
Because stories are fundamental to how people understand the world. And our audience, whatever platform they’re on - are just that. People.