EP 16: Supporting Content

NARRATOR: Making a show can be a big investment. And getting people to watch it or listen to it is pretty important. So you've got to start getting your audience's attention before you launch your series. MYKIM DANG: Today, making promo assets to support your series and your content is a non-negotiable. DAN MILLS: There's so many ways to re-edit and repackage this content and you have to take advantage of that. ADAM DAY: It's all about pulling out those bit-sized little bits of goodness that you can share with your audience. They are the things you can drop to get people excited. CHRIS SAVAGE: Your audiences are already out there on LinkedIn, on Facebook, on Instagram. And now what you need to do is connect with them there and bring them back to your show. It's that easy. NARRATOR: That's right. Making supporting content and promotional assets is like turning on runway lights to your show. It's an essential part of launching your series. DAN MILLS: Making a show is a huge undertaking, and you're working so hard just to get to that finish line, by the time you're there you're usually so excited to throw it out in the world. But news flash. Nobody's going to care unless you actually promote the hell out of it. You need tons of assets. And that's something that's easy to make given the amount of footage you have, but it is hard to plan for. NARRATOR: There's the head of Wistia Studios, Dan Mills. DAN MILLS: When you're producing a long form show you're going to notice there are certain elements or segments or moments that just work and they're catchy and they're snappy. Don't be afraid to lean into those moments when you start promoting your show out in the wild. Bring people in with those moments. You're also going to be left with tons of footage, tons of audio clips that you're not even going to use in your show. But get your money's worth here, people. There's always ways to repackage that behind-the-scenes stuff to make even more promo assets to attract an audience. NARRATOR: Let's talk to Mykim Dang, who has helped America's Test Kitchen earn more than one million subscribers. Now Mykim, how many promo assets is too many? MYKIM DANG: You can never have too many promotional assets. NARRATOR: Wait, never? MYKIM DANG: Never. [LAUGHS] The days of one-and-done around video content are over. When you are going to put in the time and resources and creative energy into producing this content, why not extend that shelf life? Why not think about all the different ways that the footage that you capture can be used and have a new life and reach new audiences across all of these different platforms? Everything is an opportunity to tell the story over and over again. That can be anything from behind-the-scenes content to B roll that didn't make it into the final cut, but using those as excerpts to support the story is going to ensure that the show has an audience. DAN MILLS: We all listen and watch content on social media platforms and we know that feeling when you're scrolling through the feed and suddenly something speaks to you. As a creator, it's your job to package up an asset that creates that moment for your audience. But furthermore, you want it to also be driving them back to your website to watch the full episode. It's a challenge. NARRATOR: Just like you would with any other content you create, you need to consider where the supporting content is going to live. You want to meet your audience where they are and keep that context in mind. MYKIM DANG: Think about your own behaviors when you're looking at content. For example, on Facebook and In-Feed we know that a lot of people don't watch your videos with sound on. So that means if you're going to create a promo asset it needs to be punchy, quick, and probably have captions built into it. On Instagram the behavior is very different. Someone might be scrolling through an Instagram story and there the product experience is much faster. You have even less time to actually think about how that story is going to come across. So something that we're really passionate about is understanding the nuances of where the content is ultimately going to fit and backwards engineering how we think about our promotional assets from that point of view. NARRATOR: Here's Patrick Campbell from ProfitWell. PATRICK CAMPBELL: You need to make sure that that content leans into the strengths of each social media channel. So for something like Twitter which has a very, very large meme culture, you have to think about, is there something about our content that is meme-worthy? On Facebook, news travels fairly quickly and fairly widely. So is there something about your content that is newsworthy that your family, friends, and colleagues would share? NARRATOR: But let's face it, there are a ton of social media networks out there. So it helps to be picky when you're creating your content campaigns. Here's Rand Fishkin to tell you where to get started. RAND FISHKIN: It is really hard to do audience development in a totally new channel. And so, when you are trying to build your audience for your content launches, you want to use channels that have already sent you great traffic. Those are going to be more sustainable. You're familiar with them, your audience is familiar with them. Show those people, who are subscribed, the early access to that content before everyone else. Great way to build hype, great way to double down on a channel that's already working for you. NARRATOR: Wherever you are in your show making journey, there are some assets you should make for every show. Or heck, maybe even every episode. Creating these assets will give you some great supporting content to work with. Here are some experts from Wistia to tell us more. CHRIS LAVIGNE: Regardless of what supporting content you make, there are some assets that are just table stakes you've got to make before you launch a show. And one of those assets is a trailer. You know it, I know it, vegetable lasagna knows it, trailers are exciting. And episodic shows our trailer worthy. So, if you're only going to make one piece of supporting content-- which would be foolish-- it's got to be that trailer. Your serious trailer should contain all of the best moments from your entire show, but don't stop there. Every episode could have its own trailer. You know, sometimes I like to make trailers for trailers. I'm not kidding. KRISTEN BRYANT: Next step? Pull quotes. Pull quotes are a great way to just share a little nugget of information from your episode without having to share the entire thing. So you'll want to highlight a memorable moment, a really thoughtful insight, that gives a sense of what the show is all about. The quote you choose should inspire people to go watch or listen to your episode. JENNY COPPOLA: And finally, sharing behind-the-scenes content is a great way to engage with your audience. People are curious about this stuff, so build a deeper connection with them by letting them in on the process. We've been doing stuff like this at Wistia for years and it's been a really great way to engage with our audience. PHIL NOTTINGHAM: If you need ideas of which clips to pull or what kind of supporting content to create, have a look at what people are already searching for on YouTube. This will give you an idea of the kind of demand that's already out there and that can help you pick the right quotes or the right topics for your shareable assets. ADAM DAY: On your production days and definitely in post-production, you should always be thinking, what can I get to share on social media? NARRATOR: There's Adam Day from Wistia Studios. ADAM DAY: Usually, you're going to know when this moment is. You're going to just have an eye for it. So keep your antenna up and keep it on your radar and look for those moments that just stand out. On Brandwagon, we made a segment called "Racing Lauren Fleshman." Lauren was an amazing interview guest on Brandwagon, but she's also an elite athlete. So while she was in town we decided to do a segment where Chris would race her fastest mile time. The second we shot the segment we knew this thing was gold. Chris was racing around the track, Lauren was coaching from the sidelines, and the crew was laughing hysterically. And we couldn't wait to look at the footage and put the edit together once the day was done. So "Racing Lauren Fleshman" turned out to be this hilarious, awesome piece of content that would just work on its own, even if Brandwagon wasn't a thing. So that's the exact moment and the exact type of content that you want to pull out and use to support your show. CHRIS SAVAGE: The goal here is to think like a media company. Don't just put out an episode and move on. You want to look at each episode or each piece of content and figure out what are those interesting moments. What are those things that I can take and translate that into incredible brand experience for wherever my audience is? NARRATOR: Boom. There you have it. Supporting content helps you reach your audience and lead them to your show. Watch the next episode to see how these assets will help you build the hype before you launch.