Content Creation Go to Market Strategy
My humble appraisal of a roadmap of pointers and suggestions on how to begin one's content creation presence.
Prelude: These are my broad heuristics and observations about content creation and specific platforms. There is no correct way to create content or to have an omnichannel presence, but the most important thing is to start, learn, enjoy, and continue to do so. This is a living document as my experiences, the platforms themselves, and consumer trends change.
Core Principles:
Do what you enjoy (gaming, talking, 3D design, etc). Doing what you enjoy makes starting easier, better able to understand what how to adjust and improve, and allows for longevity.
Content creation is top heavy: not all can succeed. (Only 24 hours in a day, competing with entertainment, tech, and basics of life.)
There is no instant proof of concept or gratification, except for TikTok.
Pursue relative consistency. I will not replicate MatPat’s prior work with search engine optimization (SEO). However, a core idea is to optimize where you can, and one of those ways is to be consistent with your upload schedule and content quality.
Have a content lineup at the start. Again referencing MatPat, but he mentioned how when he started his offshoot channels he starts out with five videos from Day 1. People showing interest in your content and by extension your channel is not an infinite occurence, maximizing their interest and locking them in should be maximized when possible.
Intrinsic motivation: From personal experience, you will probably not have high views or engagement at the beginning. Being able to understand why you are doing this is the key to continue creating and learning. An overwhelming percentage of podcasts do not make it past five episodes, so just staying in the game increases your odds dramatically in the content pyramid.
Network effect: As with all things, content creation is easier if you have people around you who you can bounce ideas off of and create content with! There is a reason content creators form content houses and join organizations and have support staff, and where possible building those foundational supports should be pursued!
Platforms:
Twitch:
Arguably should not be your primary platform
Live content is not conducive to organic growth
10 YouTube minutes vs 10 Twitch minutes are fundamentally different in the value proposition for a viewer
Watch (and pay for) established comedian vs a newcomer?
Linear: Twitch is top heavy in who makes it to your front page
MAU & DAU is not the largest addressable market
Content library: harder to have that 24/7 content library given the two week after stream timer
Export to another platform (YouTube) in the first place
YouTube:
Allows for longlasting (free) content library
Wide audience
Integration with Google ecosystem
Proven to have beaten out competition
Forcing Vimeo to pivot to business to business B2B model
Algorithmic: allows for wider exposure
TikTok:
Pioneer of algorithmic content, wider exposure to viewers
Short form content can be easier than long form
Forces you to condense content into highlights (more engaging, less fluff)
Varied creation tools (allows for variety)
Convert users to long form platforms (YouTube, Twitch, Linktree)
Instagram
Engagement
Monetization potential
Authenticity (if one chooses to go down that route)
Twitter
Established platform for broad exposure/official announcements
Professionalization
Diversity of audience
Ability to interact (and potentially collaborate, speak with) wide range of accomplished individuals
Network creation (get retweeted by established creator)
Discord
Intimate engagement
Authenticity
Activity is available
Chatroom feel