In May of 2022 we set out to create some “inspirational” content that would take daily trending topics, and put a positive twist on them for viewers to share. What happened next was (sort of) a surprise. I say “sort of” because when you marry trending topics with quality video content - it’s usually a win. (if you know what you’re doing)
When creating any sort of video production, whether it’s a high end production with cameras, lights, talent and a crew… or just a quick edit with text treatments - story always comes first. So finding a story or topic that really resonates and will make your viewer feel something, is the key.
You don’t always get to dictate WHAT or HOW your viewer feels, but that’s ok. We’ve recently posted content that I thought was very moving and inspirational, but for some reason the audience seemed to find the negative (which happens more often than not). Ether way - it generated a lot of buzz. So the content has the ability to go viral as long as you're hitting the right nerve. You have to be ok with your content organically finding it’s legs no matter what you might have pre planned.
Ok so how did we do it?
Google Trends is my Bible. Whether it’s the Queen, Crypto, Kardashian, Johnny Depp or who won best actor at the Emmys - Google Trends is a great resource for knowing what’s being searched.
Once you establish the subject and nature of your content - start finding assets that best fit the subject. Ever notice how almost every social media channel starts to share the same thing? When the Queen of England passed away - the internet wanted a piece of the attention (and to pay respects). Remember the Depp Heard trial? The entire world was glued to their phones to see what insane thing would happen next. And every social media account wants to carve out their own piece of the pie, so they can benefit from likes, views, shares and saves.
Like it or not - that’s how this whole thing works.
We decided we wanted to create POSITIVE content that would (hopefully) inspire and motivate the viewer, rather than creating more negative content… which there’s already enough of.
Branding yourself is also extremely important. We chose “Mind Motivation” as the name of our channel, which you can find on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. We didn’t try to be fancy with our title. Find something that, when the viewer sees it, they know exactly what you do in a few seconds.
The hook is also crucial. If you aren’t grabbing the attention of your viewer within 3 to 5 seconds… you’ve already lost. Give the viewer a quick taste of what you’re saying first, and then get into the meat of your story.
By the way, if you haven’t figured it out already, your content can be anything you’re passionate about. Wellness, finance, marriage, sports, film, SEO… literally anything can work. So for us, creating positive twists on trending topics is our MO. Maybe you’re excited about film. Well then, see what’s trending… and use that content to talk about your love of film. Maybe you love wellness - take some trending topics, and talk about how important wellness is and build it around that trending topic. It’s not difficult.
Consistency is huge. When we started out, we posted a few times per day. We also chose to stagger our page with every other post being a positive quote. Like, “don’t give up” or “keep chasing your dreams”. Something quick, easy and positive that gave us more options for content to post.
Hashtags are huge. If you post your content without hashtags (specifically IG, FaceBook or TikTok) no one is going to find your content. For us, what worked was finding the appropriate hashtags that related to the subject, and selecting ones with 20k to 500K posts. If you se too small or too large of hashtag groups - you’ll not get enough clicks, or get lost in the sea of hashtags. SO play with this until you start finding what works for your niche.
I know this might seem like a lot to take in, but I am telling you - the reward has been so worth the hard work. And now - we are coasting. We post maybe a few times per week, and we generate anywhere from 200k to 400k views per month. And on occasion, we have a few viral videos that are crushing it every day.
Some morning we log in to see that a video from last month has generated 6 figures in views overnight. It’s a great feeling. And we’re spreading positivity - which was our goal to begin with.
Bottom line - there’s really no excuse to creating great content that get’s you views. Just find something your passionate about, and start creating content. Don’t let fear of potential failure keep you from a potential life changing opportunity.