From my interview with Asad, owner of The Urban Turban...
"When I came to the United States and was living in the college dorm or in apartments, I learned a lot cooking for myself and my roommate. Even after we went our separate ways, when we would meet up again, he would ask, 'Can you make that curry chicken again?'" The trend is to broadcast your life online with no filters. Live videos, raw photos, stream-of-consciousness posts.
But I think this omits the valuable activities of thought, planning, and editing. Even just a little can make your message clearer and more interesting. A lot of people think the world of online content is about making a big splash. But to me that is like starting a marathon with a full-twisting flip and thinking you are done. That move was cute, but you still have another 26 miles to cover.
Stamina and consistency are seen as kind of boring traits, but with online content I think they are way more important than that bit of inspiration that shows up once every few years. For a long time it has been trendy for content creators (bands, businesses, etc.) to complain about Facebook and the limitations it places on their organic reach and monetization opportunities. Not that long ago, many people said the answer was to instead move your focus to YouTube.
Now content creators are complaining about YouTube and the limitations it places on their organic reach and monetization opportunities. Most likely this scenario will play out with every social network, so: 1) Use the social networks for promotion and building awareness, but make money elsewhere. 2) Create a plan now that does not rely on social networks remaining simple and fair. 3) Remember that you don’t own any of these properties. You use them at their discretion. Make sure you have a primary property that you own and control, like a website. A couple of years ago Rich Redmond saw a concert by Huey Lewis & The News. Rich mentioned that he loved that they did a sort of full band bow at the end, saying he always thought that was a classy way to end a show.
A lot of good social media or website content is like the end of show bow. It does not have an obvious ROI (return on investment), but it makes a good impression. You often cannot draw a direct line between your content and your balance sheet, but it still has a lot of value. |
AuthorCris Cohen Archives
March 2021
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