must keep it . Still using the guitar unboxing example , Hoeft says if viewers see a guitar being taken out of a case , they ’ ll want to get a good look at it and see what brand it is , what features it has , and of course , see it being played .
“ If we can continue to win in those first three to five seconds , then you ’ re going to go from having dozens of views to hundreds of views to thousands to tens of thousands ,” he says .
Hoeft compares these crucial first seconds of a marketing video to a TV show :
“ It ’ s kind of like how a TV show has its pilot , and if the pilot does well , you get picked up ,” he says . “ That ’ s kind of how this is — every little video is a pilot , and the first five seconds is what ’ s going to determine whether we get picked up and get to be seen by a whole lot of people .”
USE THE ALGORITHM TikTok has changed the landscape of what makes a video gain a lot of views . Hoeft explains that before , it was a content creator ’ s number of followers or subscribers that would guarantee views , but with TikTok ’ s futuristic algorithm for recommended content , it ’ s not just about followers anymore ; it ’ s essential to make videos that will appear on people ’ s feeds . When a user opens TikTok , the first thing they will see is whatever is at the top of their “ For You ” page , and they can then scroll through countless videos tailored specifically to them , based on their previous likes and engagements .
“ If [ consumers ] opt to watch the full thing , it tells the algorithm that this is a good video for this type of person ,” says Hoeft .
Older platforms like Facebook and Instagram are striving to get closer to what TikTok is doing , lest they get left in its dust . So , it ’ s more important than ever to take advantage of how TikTok ’ s algorithm works .
“ On Facebook or Instagram , if you had a lot of followers , the followers are the people who are going to see your content — video , photos , whatever it is ,” Hoeft explains . “ That ’ s who they show it to , so you build the bigger following , you get the most coverage . Well , TikTok is not built on that at all . They don ’ t use the social graph , they use the interest graph , meaning every video you make , they look at that one video , and they try to figure out who will want to see it .”
Hoeft points out that a creator on TikTok might have a video with thousands of views , and their next video might have only a few . This is because TikTok , unlike Facebook and Instagram , doesn ’ t care who made the video — it ’ s the content of the video that matters .
Returning to the guitar unboxing example , Hoeft says those who watch the entire video will tell the algorithm that it ’ s good content , and TikTok will then show the video to other people who have engaged with similar videos that this particular user has , and so on .
In Hoeft ’ s view , this new style is a good thing , as it gives smaller retailers the chance to reach as wide an audience as the big brands .
“ That algorithm change is really important to help people understand , because from a retailer perspective , it should be a positive ,” he says . “ Fender , or Sweetwater , or whoever you want to talk about can have millions of followers , and when it was about how many followers you had that determined whether your content would be seen — that ’ s not good for a smaller retailer . But with this change , it actually levels the playing field .”
SCOPE OUT THE COMPETITION Because algorithms on social platforms will cater content similar to what users have already engaged with , it ’ s important on stay up to date on the trends and pay attention to what effective content other retailers and artists are putting out .
“ That ’ s the best way to a see what is trending that you might be able to be part of ,” says Hoeft . “ Learn from what they do .”
Consumers who have liked or otherwise engaged with a similar retailer or artist ’ s content are more likely to be shown yours , as the algorithm can find several other people with similar viewing engagement habits to you and show them the content you have engaged with , and vice versa . Rather than trying to stick out and do something different , it ’ s crucial to follow the trends so your content can be among that shown to potential customers , especially those that otherwise might not hear about you .
“ Your video is going to be shown to people with similar interests to your competitors , or things of that nature ,” says Hoeft . “ If you ’ re a music retailer , you can look at what the brands are doing and chances are , you can do it better , because the brands are having to protect their brand and be a little bit more polished , which is not to their benefit in this case .”
Another advantage retailers have over brands in cases like this is that they deal with multiple brands and can take what the brands are doing content-wise and expand on it , comparing different brands and products , which provides a prospective the brands can ’ t , Hoeft says .
The idea that smaller retailers can make more effective content than large companies might seem strange , given the budget the bigger names have at their disposal to create professional-quality content , but Hoeft says things like shooting and editing skills and camera quality actually matter relatively little . “ In our industry , it ’ s unique that audio quality probably matters more . It ’ s probably not a great idea for someone who has an audio department to sound terrible ,” he says . “ But aside from that , as far as video quality , video editing , it ’ s what we would call ‘ organic ’ – what looks like everything else you see inside of that platform – that wins .”
What consumers are seeing most often on platforms like TikTok , as well as Instagram and Facebook ’ s answers to TikTok , is most often not shot by professional videographers with expensive equipment and access to things like high-end lighting and advanced editing technology . But to make similar content that users are already watching , none of those things are actually needed .
“ The reality of it is we can ’ t win or lose based on the better camera , or the better lighting ,” says Hoeft . “ We can win or lose based on better content and better hook .”
Manus Hopkins is the Assistant Editor for Canadian Music Trade .
PHOTO : SOLEN FEYISSA FROM PIXABAY
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 31