Beyond Virality: Crafting Content That Resonates for Years

Viral today, forgotten tomorrow? Not always. Join me in unravelling the journey of a video that shows enduring content creates fans who stay long after the trending stops.

I don’t understand how people can ignore the red circle notifications on their iPhone.  It makes me itch to see more than a couple, and how on earth do people allow their inboxes to get to hundreds of unread mails??!  When Youtube tells me it has a notification, I dutifully click through expecting it to be a new upload from my guilty pleasure of watching Minecraft and Hermitcraft videos. Instead I was greeted with this really lovely comment on a video I shared well over three years ago;

It was never a viral vid. That was over dramatic use of a word in a headline to hook in a few extra readers. I’ve had other comments on this particular video that make me smile a lot, but I had expected them to fade away more quickly than they have.  The way this one was worded really struck a chord, especially in the context of what I am trying to explore here.  Does this have the hallmarks of content that inspires true fans? The use of the word KIND really makes me happy, being asked to never take it down and being wished well, that works for me. As long as YouTube exists and I’m still able to read notifications, well I will keep that video there and still acknowledge and thank the beautiful people it resonates with.

I bet you are dying to see this super polished and awesome video aren’t you? I’m being facetious as I am sure dear reader you can tell *grin*. Well here it is, you don’t have to watch all the way through (not least because it’s nearly 20 minutes, I did it without a script or any ability to edit a video beyond joining together the separate sections I filmed while cutting my own hair) >>

A lot of the point of me writing this piece is to give you confidence to dive in and try, whether that’s writing or indeed creating a video.  I’m not claiming I wouldn’t love it if one of my articles or videos ends up going viral, generating enough subs to monetise.  However if that were my sole motivation I would be doing things differently. Putting my morals aside and more cynically developing short form content, YouTube Shorts and TikTok videos.  I don’t like those personally though, and I hugely worry about the effect they are having on our concentration levels and ability to put phones down and connect with the humans around us.  What harms are we inflicting on our young people when their minds and emotions haven’t finished developing?

So it was two months into lockdown, May 2020, and I was messing around with something known as the ‘curly girl method’ and none of us were able to go to the hairdressers.  Something about the normal world being suspended made me more reflective and open to doing things differently.  I decided to give myself a haircut, lots of people were talking about the unicorn cut on YouTube, which then became the double and even triple unicorn cut.

There were so many gorgeous, young and polished influencers doing videos on this theme.  None of them looked or sounded like me.  I decided to document my triple unicorn haircut. I wondered genuinely if it might help or inspire or warn off a few people.  So I did it and uploaded.  I knew nothing about titles, hooks, thumbnails, scripts or how to grow a channel.  No ulterior motive and no notion of any kind of social media campaign.

As of today this single video has 35,326 views, 1.4k likes and 152 lovely people who took the time to leave me a comment.  The impressions were a mind blowing 419.2k.  That was the last video I posted to my personal channel, which was previously only there as a home for my vids of gigs or my kitties or me having a play.  There wasn’t any concerted effort to build up authority or any notion of a personal monopoly or niche.

With just one accidentally valued video I can now tangibly see how, with a tiny bit more intention and knowledge, I could build up a bank of resources learning as I go along, and grow the number of people who that resonates with.

Let’s deconstruct this video and why I think it continues to work so well;

1. Sharing to help others by showing, not telling.  I hadn’t read any how-to's and I certainly hadn’t watched any of the very many polished men on YouTube I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit to watching this year, at that point.  I just thought that sharing me going through something new and scary, might help others decide whether they too wanted to do the thing.  Reminds me to stay humble and focussed on the real reason for doing any of this.  No matter how shiny my dimes become, or how good I get at YouTube edits, never ever forget the people you are trying to help and why that matters to you.

2. It was very obviously authentic. When you aren’t trying to game the system, when you have something you think will be helpful to others and when you produce it without worrying about the polish.  That is authentic, the very essence of it.  I’d forgotten all this when I decided just a couple of months ago that I wanted to find something to write and video about.  I spent hours watching content and reading advice.  There are so so many people advocating for doing X to achieve Y. The hustle and the bro culture, easy to get swept up in.  I know most of them started out real too, but perhaps they evolved too far and too high to still be relatable to those of us down here.  They strike me as knowing how the algorithms work, exactly what colour to make their thumbnails and what words to use for their titles to make YOU click.  What all that misses though, is the heart and spirit, the deeper understanding of WHO is watching or reading, who cares about what you are saying and WHY you are saying it and the fact that matters.  You cannot be everything to everyone.  At some point, the way you actually are, will resonate more than the bells and whistles that people try to teach you matters more, but it really really doesn’t.

3. Unscripted but with genuine jeopardy.  I hadn’t done it before, I articulated that in the title and description.  As the video went on I had a decision point, did I keep going or stop.  In hindsight as I read the comments that said people had held their breath, well I realise that it looked like a perilous next step.  If it hadn’t worked, I think I was in the frame of mind to have still posted, and hopefully laughed, or maybe cried about how horribly it went.  I think it was apparent that was my thinking, there was a raw sense of not being sure how things would end up.  If I ever tried to fake that, well I don't think that I could ever better that genuineness.

4. Categorisation. I titled my post, and my description as accurately as I knew how. Clearly that meant that it kept being found by others with wavy hair who wanted to save money and cut their own hair.

What does that teach me about content creation moving forward?

Whether it is as a creative outlet, part of learning to do something new, or a way to entertain yourself or even to seek out connection and community as your motivation, well there is intrinsic value in creating articles and videos.  There just is.

No matter what else you put around it, at least one other human being will find benefit in it.

If you commit to trying to do more, get a little better, post consistently, well then you will see better results.  That will compound quickly.  Think about the success I had with a single well received video, how that would be amplified hugely if I had kept it up.  I never wanted to be a hair influencer, just not what I care about or am good at.  However it did teach me to think about others out there like me, what they care about, how they prefer to consume content, to connect, to learn.

What else should we be thinking about on this journey?

Really understanding who you are talking to and why is probably the biggest angle to consider in niche building/personal monopoly/personal brand thinking.

When I look at the demographics of that unintended experiment, well I wasn't entirely surprised that 100% of my views were FEMALE.  The biggest age demographic was a decade or more older than I actually am, that’s cool with me, although I need to think through why I am not also resonating with people in their 40s as they are now in my thoughts as a target.  A big surprise, though in hindsight shouldn’t have been, was that it was people from the US who loved my video the most.  Comments saying how adorable they found my accent or my words or looks, definitely something I should think about whether I can capitalise on!

Where do middle aged plus USA and European women consume most of their content?  Those are the sorts of questions you should consider when applying proper product management thinking to where you want to take your nascent ideas to.

INTERLUDE: THE “MAKING OF” THIS ARTICLE;

Yes, I asked ChatGPT to help me come up with titles and hooks.  Could you tell? Or do we expect everything to be super shiny and clickbaity these days and actually the way to get people to read on is to sound confusing or rambly or dare I say it, humbly human?  I’m experimenting.  Perhaps my next essay I don’t do this, I just use my gut instinct title and see which does better?

I don’t feel like this is cheating as I had the essay inspiration and points I wanted to convey in my head, but as I also want people to actually click on them I asked the following;

Me

I want to write about an aspect of product management and audience or market fit, concentrating on finding my people and linking it also to the concept of 1000 true fans.  I was inspired the other day when I received a lovely comment on a youtube video I uploaded over 3 years ago begging me to not take it down.  A simple video I uploaded with no bells or whistles because I wanted to share learning and outcomes of cutting my own hair.  Can you give me 5 suggested titles that are compelling, and for each a hook to get people to read on?

ChatGPT

Certainly, Sarah, the intersection of product management and audience connection is a fertile ground for exploration, especially when considering the concept of cultivating a dedicated following. Here are five suggested titles with hooks that might resonate with readers looking for authenticity and connection in the digital age:

• "The Organic Growth Blueprint: Nurturing Your First 1,000 Fans"

  • Hook: Discover how a simple haircut taught me the essence of organic growth, revealing the secret to building an authentic following that doesn't just consume, but cherishes your content.

• "Authenticity in the Age of Algorithms: Finding Your Tribe Online"

  • Hook: In a digital landscape ruled by algorithms, learn how genuine connections triumph in the quest to find your tribe, all sparked by an unexpected comment on a long-forgotten video.

• "Beyond Virality: Crafting Content That Resonates for Years"

  • Hook: Viral today, forgotten tomorrow? Not always. Join me in unravelling the journey of a video that proved enduring content creates fans who stay long after the trending stops.

• "The Accidental Community Builder: Lessons from a DIY Haircut"

  • Hook: Sometimes, the best lessons in community building come from the most unexpected places. Let's delve into how a DIY haircut video turned into a masterclass in audience engagement.

• "From Views to Value: The Art of Cultivating Loyal Online Fans"

  • Hook: Transform passive viewers into active participants. I'll share how an unassuming video became a cornerstone for understanding the true value of a loyal online fanbase.

Each of these titles and hooks aims to encapsulate the essence of creating content with staying power, the kind that forges deep connections with an audience. The hook not only serves to grab attention but also to frame the narrative of personal experience leading to broader insights, tapping into the universal quest for meaningful engagement in a crowded digital ecosystem.

So if you (or I for that matter) take nothing more away from this article than my biggest point, well that is; post the video and/or write the article, if you have a clear desire to help others, just do it without stressing too much and it is sure to help at least one other person.

Much love, Sarah Seeking Ikigai and wondering if you’ve had experience of an accidentally good piece of content?  Share your thoughts about why you think it worked, help us help each other xxx