writing for new media

Writing (video) content for new media

I will shortly introduce myself

My name is Dori Adar. I make music and Video content. For the last 4 years I’ve been workingas an editor in chief and manager of Flix.co.il,The biggest UGC video site in Israel.

This is how I look while mingling.

The presentation

This presentation will give you some points to think about while creating content for the “new-media”.

Web video = TV, only shorter and cheaper.

By now, I hope, everybody knows that’s a wrong formula

The same content will come out differently in every medium

What’s the difference between web video and TV?

Network is the content’s source

I Guess There are many, and many

more... High production costs

Many people at production crew

Push content

Linear broadcasting

Crowd is the content’s source

Pull content

Relatively low production costs

VOD

Could be a one man crew

But the major difference is how we consume it:

Why do we watch it?

Mainly, just because it’s there

We probably clicked on something

How do we watch it

Where do we watch it

We consume this content everywhere, anytime

At the office On our way While socializing While watching TV

In school Everywhere else

But we almost never WATCH it

We watch

We read

We scan

And we do a lot of stuff while at it.

We scan a page in less then 3 seconds

We think twice before we click

We’d like everything to be short and summarized

Click for “summly” intro

We produce content – All the time

What kind of content?

All kinds

Where can we find it?

All over the place

A quick summery:

• The web is full of content, like never before.

• Most of the content is coming of people, not networks

• We watch/scan this content everywhere, all of the time

Hence, here are some things to think about due to this situation…

#1 – Nobody gives a #$%& about your content.

This should be your key assumption.Curiosity will not bring people to watch your content.

Be clear, and use the social relevance rank

Let’s take a look at the social relevancy rank

Alex iskold wrote the “social relevancy rank” in 2009

Friends and following Taste neighbours InfluencersFriends of friends The crowd

1 2 3 4 5

But the most relevant content is..

Yours. The new message you got, how many likes did you receive, who offered you

friendship and how does he/she looks like, etc’.

My social rank looks like this

The crowdFriends and following

2 Taste neighbours

3 Friends of friends

5Influencers

4 6

You are HERE

How do you get here?

Your content

1

make your content – their content

I’ll try to show you how in the next four rules.

But never forget your key assumption.

#2 – distribution is A PART of your content

The ways of distributing your content are an INTEGRAL PART of the content itself

Because spammers tend to fill our distribution line with trash (mails, events), we have to find new and creative ways to

distribute.

Use guerilla methods

This will enforce you to summarize your story and combine it with a bright distribution idea that can be done cheaply.

Use guerilla methods

InfluencersDone right, this should get you here

“If I die” story

Is an “after death” application where you can leave your last words to spread after your final exit.

Agency chose “Death can find you anywhere” to be this app slogan. And how would Death find us in 2011?

Using Forsquere check ins, Mizbala located real time locations of some social media influencers. They called the venues and asked for them. Guess who answered when they picked up the phone?

A recorded message from death, telling them to hurry up and write their last words. And by this, giving them a creepy story to tell their crowd. One of them, Adam Ostrow, even told it here:

Use guerilla methods

This is a very good example how a story was created out of it’s distribution method

Influencers And made the content –their content

#3 : Use platforms as a part of your story

Use and abuse your audience’s platform to tell your story

Use platform in a creative way

It’s a common thing to give a character of a TV series a social profile.But the character has to act by the rules of the platform.

Ari gold would fit perfectly in Twitter Where as Dexter is much more of an instagram dude..

It wouldn’t work vice versa….

Just remember

You have to know how the platform work to use it

Stay focused

Bring the right audience Posting a classified ad linking to your content can be a good idea, but be careful not to mislead people

Good content is not ONLY video

#4 – Write dynamically!

Use users reaction to your content to make more content. I hate to use Oldspice example again but it’s the best there is...

Use current events and hot viral video to your advantage. How would you tell a story this way, for example?

Giving one of your characters/writers a twiter/forsquare account, would make it easier. In general, text/photos are the best tools for this rule

#5 : Don’t force engagement

Act natural

3 ways to engage with your content

Make itShare itLike it

Where as is a quite a reachable target,

and are more complicated

Assuming you followed some of the rules above, this might be easier to achieve

If your content is video, remember the different ways of consuming it

A good, shareable video would be one you could watch over and over again.Make this your test standard.

If it’s a meming the community could do you good. Just don’t do lg15, god forbid

Is harder to achieve. If your content is good, it might happen on it’s own

But if you want to encourage your audience to create, PHRASING is the key.Of these 4 CTA’s (calls to action), which 1 is the best?

1. What’s the first gadget you fell in love with?2. Tell us about your favorite gadget3. What gadget you will never buy?4. Tell us how your “dream gadget” would be like

1. What’s the first gadget you fell in love with?

This question is a good CTA because : 1. it’s accurate.2. It makes you think.3. Gives enough room for creativity and personal touch (unlike “choose a gadget”).4. Alas, not-so-creative-people could answer it easily too.5. Barrier to entry is very low (unlike producing a video).6. The content that this question will lead to is fun, scannable content.

#6 : persistence

It might take some time until your content catches fire.Don’t give up, but also don’t go wild on too many platforms.Use only what you can maintain.

All together now!

Be persistent.

1 Nobody gives a #$&! About your content.

2 Distribution is a part of your content.

3 Abuse different platforms to tell your story.

4 Write dynamically.

5 Don’t force engagement.

6

And of course..

Tell a good story