It's all about Attention!
- Leighanne Fernandes
- Sep 3, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 5, 2018
CIU111 - Indie marketing techniques
In the lecture “Indie Marketing techniques” we learnt how the media industry operates as an “attention economy” and how we, as creators, must learn to implement this study into our work (SAE, 2018). We spoke about elevator pitches, YouTube ads and artists who reach their tipping points in their career.
In order to grab and sustain a viewers’ attention, it is vital to create an appealing elevator pitch (SAE, 2018). However, the amount of time and effort that goes into creating a piece is tedious. As a creator myself, I have been struggling endlessly to produce something that will draw reasonable attention. Over a couple of weeks, I have been working tirelessly on an animation project that seems to get nowhere.
Snippet of a rotoscoping video project I am currently working on. Video owned by author.
I realize that with so much competition flooding the internet, it makes it even harder to penetrate into this attention economy, especially at beginner level.
On YouTube, ads can be very difficult to grab a viewer’s attention, primarily because of the “skip” function and a viewer’s need to watch the content of the video instead. This video explains some other possible reasons and provides good solutions to make a great YouTube ad (Video Power Marketing, 2017).
Video Power Marketing (2017, January 12). How To Create Effective YouTube Ads | Video Ad Formula | Video Power Marketing [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiJ6e0VPi5s
Moreover, artists who have reached their tipping point, see their fans grow in large numbers: “they form an army of followers” (SAE, 2018). For example, one of the biggest K-pop boy-groups to exist now – BTS, has a loyal fanbase called A.R.M.Y. themselves, who make dedicated efforts to win them major awards on Billboard and various streaming sites (Blake, 2018, p.1). Whatever they release gains them over a million views instantly so they do not have to worry about the “attention economy” since they almost monopolize the industry. Even a video selfie on their twitter gains them at least 100k retweets and likes @BTS_twt.
Nevertheless, there are a few who manipulate audiences into clicking and viewing their videos. Such click baits exist especially in relation to using a popular trend, thumbnail or hashtag to gain views through fake news, for money or status (Marwick & Lewis, 2016). There might be certain pros but the cons outweigh them (DiSilvestro, 2015, p.1)
To conclude, the media industry is heavily industrialized by “attention economy”. In order to get your work or account even noticed, an immense amount of hardwork needs to be made. Sometimes, however, you can gain attention by fluke or if something goes viral. But using click baits for attention will surely jeopardize your career.
References:
Blake, E. (2018, April 4). The Strength Of K-Pop Fandom, By The Numbers. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyblake1/2018/04/04/k-pop-numbers/#4856c84048ab
방탄소년단 [@BTS_twt]. (2018). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/BTS_twt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
DiSilvestro, A. (2015, September 16). Clickbait Pros, Cons and SEO Considerations [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.seoagency.com/clickbait-pros-cons-and-seo-considerations/
Marwick, A. & Lewis, R. (2016). Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online. Retrieved from Data & Society website: http://www.chinhnghia.com/DataAndSociety_MediaManipulationAndDisinformationOnline.pdf
SAE Creative Institute (2018, August) Week 9 – Indie Marketing Techniques [pptx]. Retrieved from https://moodle-dubai.axis.navitas.com/mod/folder/view.php?id=36742
Video Power Marketing (2017, January 12). How To Create Effective YouTube Ads | Video Ad Formula | Video Power Marketing [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiJ6e0VPi5s
@Mark Abeysinghe yes, I agree with using consistency as a benchmark to promote yourself and sustain your fanbase attention, however, in my opinion I also feel the need to share some personal elements with your fans so that they can resonate with you. It makes you seem real as a person on the internet who is just like most people striving to get recognition out there!
Interesting article. It does need hard work to get recognition in the industry these days. Consistency is a great way to keep your fans enticed and excited for the new content you put out.
Thats a very interesting take on the subject matter. Curious to know what form of hardwork do you think it takes the creator to get noticed in this industry nowadays? I mainly think it's just pure consistency; as long as you produce content for the audience to watch/admire on a regular basis they will keep checking up on you and your fanbase would reach higher within time.
This is pretty interesting, I agree in all of the creative industries their is a very high competition and we just need work harder to get our work noticed one day.