Brainstorming Video Ideas - Fighting Writer's Block
Whenever you watch a super creative viral video it seems so effortless. Like watching people run a marathon and thinking what a leisurely jog, I could do that.... No Problem at all.
We never really understand as viewers what went into creating viral videos, the thought process, the production and resources and financial aspects. We just get a good laugh or sense of wonder and move on with a nice little memory of what someone may have worked on for days or even weeks.
Some people just have the knack for getting it right, others depend on social media management companies. But can a commercial company actually make you viral? Are they even trying?
In most cases, social media managers have limited imaginations and thrive in management, not viral videos. While they might depend on a production company with writers o come up with ideas, for the most mart, they simply follow the pack, put up a few Instagram photos, a couple simple TikTok videos and charge you big bucks for doing what most teens are already doing in their spare time on their phones.
The fact is, if they could do what they say they can, they would be ding it for themselves and making the big bucks they tell you that you can make. Instead, they prey on your money, over charge for basic services and continuously tell you that 500 followers is amazing and this take a long time. A long term commitment from you, meaning big bucks for them and continuous payments.
But if they cannot pop a big one here and there, it will likely never happen. And continuing to pay them for their advice just does not make sense.
The creative process is not hard if you have the right people.
Our team typically starts with something basic, a prop, and idea or something to work around.
In the example of "Urban Water Skiing" we had a shoot scheduled but the skies opened up and dropped a few inches of rain in an hour and flooded our road. So the team was sitting around with nothing to do.
OK, we now have an urban lake, what can we do with it? We have it at least for today, lets make it count.
What props do we have? What actors do we have? What tools do we have?
It was 1:00 in the afternoon and the day was shot, what can we do so the crew and our money is not wasted today?
First what do you commonly do in a lake that would be funny in a flooded road?
We thought about fishing, boating, swimming. had a team on your computers searching for water sports and brainstorming ideas, when the idea of water skiing came up. Lets buy some skis and tow it with a car or truck.
After 30 minutes of trying to find affordable water skis we decided to make them out of some old boards in the props supply shed. Now to match the cheesiness of the skis we decided to tow Fat Cris with the Massey Model 12. Upping the wardrobe we dug for a woman's swim suit we had for another video and made fat Cris look even more ridiculous.
We wrote a few lines, built a set of skis that would slide on the road and Fat Chris could balance on and we were off to the newly formed temporary lake.
Within 5 hours of brainstorming the initial idea, working with the props and supplies we already had, we developed the concept, filmed and edited a video that got over 1 million views on social media.
Would the video we missed out on also get 1 million views? Who knows, but in our case, the best ideas, the biggest hits were made based on existing resources, developing the ideas and some brilliant editing and special effects.
Posting a photo of Fat Chris on Instagram would not have yielded the same results and some of the video we worked very hard on totally flopped. So it is really impossible to know what is going to pop big for you. But we do know, you have to have something and boring will never get you noticed.
If your social media management service is falling flat, same old same old... day after day after day, it is probably time to move on.
Try it yourself, try to make a quick video on your phone and upload it to your account.
Chances are, you will have more fun, likely have better ideas and do it at almost no cost.
Getting dressed up and doing head shots for Instagram is pointless unless you are a model. You need to engage, you need to connect with your audience.
Just being on TikTok is not enough. Doing what everyone else is doing, is not enough. Paying a marketing company to tell you what to do is not enough.
You can plan, spend and plot victory until the sun goes down, but creating magic takes creative thinking, resources and a qualified team to act on every opportunity.
News story pops, you know it is going to be big. The first few people with a video about it make out like bandits getting millions of views while the other millions just show up too late.
Make sure your creative team gets it. That they are responsive and can get you results. If you are not seeing that, move on because today, everyone with a cell phone is a self proclaimed expert social media manager.
But what successes can they point to where they have made anyone famous or generated increased revenue for their clients?
Not that you should not give someone their first shot, but don't pay them as if they are experts until they prove it.
Just because someone can upload a photo on an app from their phone does not make them an expert.
The wont likely have the resources that a company like Mr Dog Poop Studios has and if they did, would they have the knowledge to make it all work?
We come up with ideas, we produce some of the greatest content online and we in now way consider ourselves experts. We are just learning and social media is a changing volatile industry that requires quick thinking and constant adjustments.
If it is not working, you need to make changes, not continue with the same crap day after day expecting something to change.
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