Transcription
YouTube just declared itself TV. And now every creator is asking the same [music] question. Am I ready for this?
Being TV ready is not about better production. [music] It is about emotional depth. The creators who will thrive in YouTube's TV era won't be the most polished, but they will be the most memorable. So, what actually makes a brand memorable? Stick around because that is what we're building today.
Hi, I'm Darren. I'm a Writer Guild Award-winning creator and producer. and welcome to Story Caffeine, where I break down the storytelling techniques that you need to build a brand that people want to binge.
Here is the thing. Everybody is freaking out that YouTube is going to suddenly be over the low-fi authenticity that made it YouTube. People think that being bingeworthy comes from novelty, curiosity, or polished, perfect production. No, that is what gets someone to click on the video, not necessarily remember it. That content was successful at scratching an itch or a disruption, but the creator might have disappeared from your memory immediately afterwards.
Think about the TV characters that you remember most. People like flawed characters. They like real characters. And perfect is not memorable, but great TV characters do have something that you may not have developed yet. Great TV characters are memorable because they have identifiable patterns that you can easily recall, but with a unique twist that you empathize with. Super interesting, don't you think? Because that kind of seems like a contradiction. Characters are memorable because they fit into formulas that you can process in your brain, but they have their own signature. And that is the difference between using formulas and being formulaic. We want to use formulas. Formulas are familiar. We don't want to be formulaic.
People remember a recognizable perspective, a recognizable emotional tone, a recognizable tension, a recognizable personality. Audiences often don't remember that bizarre shock value video that popped up in their feed. Yes, that is probably AI slop. But why is it AI slop? Because it's not memorable. AI slop may try to simulate emotional tone and tension, but it can't simulate perspective and character.
Like me, I talk a lot about what makes people binge. I'm kind of self-deprecating. My hair is usually kind of a mess. Today is no different. I really tried. In fact, I've recorded this video multiple times because my hair looks so bad. I mean, I don't even want to go there. And I focus on resilient content strategies, not fear. I tell creators to think like showrunners instead of influencers. Nobody is telling you that.
One of the most interesting aspects of my return to YouTube is seeing the repeating shifts in conformity. It's kind of like the culture constantly wants to reset itself to be similar. Something's working, everybody wants to adopt it. Creators and business owners are always looking for the next big hack, the next AI workflow, the next editing style, the next outlier format, but that is hivemind content creation. And hivemind content may get clicks, but it rarely gets binges. And every platform right now wants you to get people to binge. They want you to keep people watching. People binge creators because every video feels like it came from the same mind, not a hive mind. You're not trying to be Hollywood. You're trying to be you.
Here's an example of how two very different voices can talk about similar topics but be very memorable in very different ways. And that is Alex Cooper and Mel Robin. Kind of the same niche. Both focus on relationships and personal growth. Both have long form podcast. Both heavily rely on power social connection. But their identities are very very different. In fact, you may have strong feelings about either one of them. Both have become polished personal brands at this point. Yes. But their production isn't the reason they're successful. They bring something that you can bring as well.
Mel Robbins, her whole vibe is more of a grounded authority, very emotionally stabilizing. She kind of gives off a trusted coach mentor energy and her audience feels guided. Alex Cooper on the other hand is very provocative. She's very confessional. She feels very emotionally impulsive and the energy that she gives off is more of an unfiltered friend and her audiences feel more entertained and emotionally invested. Each has an uncopyable brand even if they are in the same niche.
And I just want to chime in if you need help with any of this. I have a bunch of ways that we can work together. You can join my storytelling community or you can check out one-on-one consulting and you can get all of that information in my description.
Brands also become memorable because your viewers feel connected to the culture of your world, which is something that AI can't really simulate. This is why live streams and communities have become very, very, very popular right now. AI can analyze cultural patterns which you can then use to build your world, but it can't build the culture and it can't build the world. For instance, AI can give you the recipe for dinner, but it can't create the dinner table environment in your house.
I read a book recently from a marketing expert that actually spoke at an event that I produced. His name is Dr. Marcus Collins and he ran digital strategy for Beyonce. So, you know, he kind of knows his stuff. The book is called For the Culture. It's a great book and he defines the three elements of culture as this. How we see the world, our shared way of life and how we express ourselves.
Now, I found this interesting because earlier in my career, I led digital strategy for a brand called makers. What I was able to see was that the growth of the YouTube channel and the video platform depended on building conversation on Twitter because that was where people convened at the time when they watched TV broadcasts and we actually had a lot of leverage there because the people that were in the series were people like Oprah and Gloria Steinum and they would tweet for us. So, I centered the strategy around this Twitter experience, this Twitter chat. And it wasn't just iconic figures tweeting. It was tens of thousands of women. And it launched the whole brand. 40 million video views, millions of dollars worth of revenue centered on women who wanted to lift other women. So, I did not reinvent the formula. We delivered their unique brand message within a familiar formula.
Now, I want you to keep that in mind as I lay out a diagnostic that is going to tell you if you're creating a memorable brand. A blue ocean is a business term for an untapped market where there is little to no competition. A blue ocean brand narrative is one you own. It's what makes personal brands unique and memorable. I want you to create your blue ocean brand narrative. Now, I call that your leading character story because we all need to bring a little main character energy. And if you need help with that, I do have a storytelling kit and you can get more information on that in my video description.
But you say, Darren, how am I supposed to know if I have a blue ocean brand narrative? Well, I've got you because here is a quick test that you can use to see whether your brand is actually memorable.
Your unique lens, is there something that you consistently notice that others miss?
Your emotional signature. Does your content consistently make viewers feel the same way? And do you show up as the same character in every single video? And that includes your values. That includes your sense of humor. That includes your integrity. That may include your bad hair. [laughter] Maybe it's just me.
Tension. Is there an unresolved question or a contradiction that you and your viewer are searching for an answer for in every single video? And that can be an internal tension. It can be external tension. It can be philosophical tension. But that tension is what keeps people coming back.
A repeatable format. Do your videos feel like they belong to the same show visually, tonally, and structurally. You do not build a memorable brand by reinventing yourself every video or shocking people with some bold claim. You build a memorable brand by being the same character in every video, questioning the same questions, the same unresolved tension that puts your viewer on a clear journey.
So, how did you do the answers to those questions? Actually connect to a framework of mind for finding your personal voice. It is called the uncopyable brand formula. But there is one critical signal of a memorable brand that this diagnostic did not cover and it is the reason some creators become impossible to replace while others stay interchangeable. So check out this video that's popping up on the screen for my uncopyable brand formula. Until next time, keep creating and keep thinking like a showrunner.