This is Part 7 in a 10 part series discussing Social Media and video. For some, this will be remedial. For others, a good refresher. For others still, a whole new world.  If you missed Part 1, start here.

A few years ago I was listening to the always impressive ‘This American Life’ with Ira Glass about a guy who wanted to start a TV channel that showed nothing but puppy dogs. Puppy dogs eating. Puppy dogs running. Puppy dogs wrestling. Puppy dogs being puppy dogs. The idea so obsessed this poor guy that he wrote business plan after business plan, made pitch after pitch, but with no luck. The studio execs, the gatekeepers, the pencil pushers, just didn’t think an idea like this would sell. Puppy dogs 24/7? You’ve got to be kidding me.

That poor guy was ahead of his time. Here’s a cute puppy dog video that’s received over 10 million hits. Not a bad place to promote a pet store. Or dog toys. And keyboard cats? Now there’s something that really connects.

You don’t have to get permission anymore. You can start your own TV show about anything you want. Distribution platforms like YouTube are waiting for you and so are millions of people. So if you’re engineering the next revolution in footwear, like one of our clients, then why not start a TV show on healthy feet? Why not become the veritable Walter Cronkite about posture, podiatry, and happiness from the ground up?

Here’s 5 ideas on how might start your own TV Network:

1. Start a YouTube account: YouTube is a great hub for your video content, especially since its the second largest search engine in the world. Here’s a good article about starting a YouTube Channel from Duct Tape Marketing. (Always a good resource.)
   
2. Define the Goal: Think about your video objectives in the context of your overall brand strategy. Do you want to attract customers, provide customer support, or build your network? It helps to have a plan in place before you hit the ‘upload’ button. Create content that matches goal.
3. Build the Schedule: Create an editorial calendar. This is one of the great secrets to creating content:  planning the next week, month, and quarter of content to meet your objectives. Maybe you want to do a video a week or a video a month – you still need to know where you want to go and what you want to say. So write down 50 topics you’d like to talk about and drop them into a calendar.
4. Be Social: Do you know what people want? If you haven’t been listening to your customers, reading Twitter, and making comments on blogs in your space, then chances are you don’t know what the topic of the day is. Do the research, engage with people, and then create content based on what you learn. Be relevant.
5. Embed, Embed, Embed. Both Max and I are going to be talking a lot about this in the next few weeks. But think about creating video content that you can share/embed across all your channels, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and your site. If you want to know more about this today, email me.
6. Bonus Tip – Shake the Test Tube: Be suspect of anyone who calls themselves a ‘Social Media Expert’. There are a few out there for sure (and I’ve got my favorites). Instead, don’t be afraid to take chances, experiment, and throw things out there to see what works. You’ll soon become the expert at what works for you and what doesn’t, regardless of what the ‘gurus’ say.

We get it: doing all this takes a lot of work. We know you’re time starved. So find other people to help lighten the load. Most of all, make it fun – an extension of the passion and joy of why you’re doing the work in the first place. That way, you can create great content that fulfills your audience, makes a connection, and improves business. And make every good studio executive jealous of your success.