Five things TV networks can learn from Casey Neistat's success
YouTube star Casey Neistat has built an audience (over 650 million views to-date on YouTube alone) the TV world should pay attention to.
Neistat has vlogged every single day for over a year straight. The vlogs are filled with high quality footage, often with the use drones and multiple camera angles. In addition to his daily vlogs, he also has made some pretty amazing short films over the years (snowboarding in the streets of NYC during a blizzard, a waterpark in Germany, to name a few).
Each vlog, or episode as Casey calls them, is like a TV show of its own. He takes on the entire role of a TV crew, and does it all himself. While there aren’t any paid advertisements in his vlogs, Casey often promotes brands that send him products, providing them with great exposure.
The entire TV industry should start taking notes. Here are five major things TV companies should pay attention to:
- Keep your crews small and intimate - Casey takes on the entire role of a TV crew - actor, director, producer, editor - and does it all himself. TV networks should be investing in producers like Casey who can create amazing digital content with very low resources.
- Engage with your viewers - Through the thousands of comments on each of his videos, Casey is able to gain feedback from his viewers. Once a week, he also answers fans questions. He even frequently has giveaways, offering fans some of products he uses in his videos. Make sure your talent goes beyond just live tweeting a show, encourage them to reply with fans directly as themselves, not via a show account.
- Never stop creating content - Casey never takes a break when it comes to creating content. When your shows are off the air, encourage your talent to vlog and still engage with fans.
- On social media, don’t just promote your shows - Casey does a really great job at keeping his various social media accounts different than his YouTube channel. Instead of simply just promoting his videos across his social, he posts different content on each platform (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), giving each its own unique flavor and style. Don't just promote your TV shows on social media. Instead, create unique content on each platform that serves as an extension of your show.
- Keep your ads genuine - While there aren’t any traditional, paid advertisements in his “TV show”, Casey is often sent some pretty cool products (like electric skateboards, 360° cameras, and drones) that he endorses in his videos. Casey provides these brands with great publicity, and serves as their greatest spokesperson. Product placement and ads can often seem dry, especially to younger audiences. Make a greater effort to find out what products the actors in the shows love and that the writers think the characters would use.
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