Feb 5
A new way to deliver a larger audience to creatives
COVID-19 created a new normal for society at large. Why not create a new normal for distribution of captivating video content?
If you are a millennial, or recently come of age, then you would probably agree with the notion that words are boring and dreary.
Ever heard the cliché "the numbers don’t lie"?
Regardless of your thoughts on this timeless literary gimmick, it stands true. Of late, a quick armchair analysis of content traffic suggests that there has been a steady rise in viewership in relation to readership of allied, or similar content. This would act as a great justification of any system that integrates the power of visual content creation into distribution methods of content.
Worldwide restrictions of large gatherings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, were in some way taken as a declaration of war on creatives. In Zimbabwe, COVID-19 restrictions nearly obliterated the audience needed to sustain the creativity industry. Put into context, the local entertainment ecosystem heavily relies on live shows and stage performance revenue from complementary activities within these shows.
Creatives who had already embraced social media as a market for their creative works gained more exposure and traction while becoming more popular as the consumption of their content increased. Online content consumption increased and the midpoint between the content creator and content consumer became social media platforms. Those without good social were left without a market to sell their products.
Concerning the video storytelling industry, I noted that a surge in video content creation led to a relative jump in demand thus necessitating optimization of content for all social platforms. This would allow creatives to more efficiently distribute their content through monetized platforms such as YouTube, Instagram Reels and Facebook Live/stories. Just as the law of the jungle rewards the fittest and the strongest, a lot of talented artists unable to adapt to the ebb and flow of audience generation would find themselves with no audience as they were not in a position to adapt and adopt online content distribution and marketing.
The term "no man can survive as an island" is rendered true. The degree to collaborative work between videographers, artists and distribution systems would then determine the growth of all these related parties. It is in this light that under the inaugural Entrepreneurial Journalism Program (EJP), I have been privileged with the much needed resources and exposure to learn more about the media spaces while building strategies for distributing my vlogs to larger audiences.
Often, quality video content creation does not come cheap, especially when quality is the utmost objective. Creativity would demand anyone to stand out and hindrances often draw down to lack of resources for production. My venture seeks to offer a service that utilizes mobile Videography and Cinematography to produce high quality content for selected artists/creatives, exposing them to methods and techniques they can use to produce, publish and market their work with a minimal budget. In the coming months and weeks, I will he refining this idea as an inaugural member of the EJP. If you’d like to give me feedback get in touch on email via alportndebele@gmail.com.
