The Art of Making TV Content Live Forever

Converting a TV show into a viral content machine

YouTube was arguably the birthplace of the modern viral video. A platform where a video’s reach is determined by the viewer’s willingness to share it, rather than a committee, company or executive’s willingness to include it in their show. It is a platform that favors nostalgia, connection and entertainment above all else. Having been an established platform for well over a decade, gaining traction can take longer than other social media platforms, but fortunately, there is a proven formula for growth on YouTube.

Crafting Content Worth Sharing

Understanding viewer expectations

We recently wrote an article on How Gen Z & Millennials use YouTube vs. TikTok , but in short, YouTube is for nostalgia and connection. Being a now “old school” video platform to many in the younger generations, there is an inseparable level of nostalgia to it. Gen Z and Millennials routinely return to the platform to watch old content that feels familiar and comforting to them. Old TV content is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this habit. By converting a show to YouTube content, designed to incite emotion, memories and comfort, that show can remain in the minds of fans forever.

Pacing in crucial

As YouTube is a happy medium between short-form content like TikTok and long-form content like a TV show itself, the pacing of YouTube videos must fit this viewer expectation. Short-form platforms have undoubtedly lowered attention spans, so a slow-burn video will struggle to retain attention. On the flip side, people come to YouTube with the expectation for longer, moderately slower-paced videos, so quick cut TikTok-style videos tend to not incite the emotional attachment that YouTube is often used for.

While there is no set rule for how long a video should be or how quickly it should move, when editing, it is crucial to ask why someone would choose to watch that specific video. Is it to relive an epic moment from a TV show? If so, longer, uninterrupted scenes are going to perform well. Are they watching it to remember the funniest moments or characters from the show? In that case, quicker cuts and less downtime will work better here.

Titles, Caption, Thumbnails

Google is dead, video search is here to stay. Well not exactly, but with every passing day, younger generations are doing more of their searching on video platforms like YouTube and TikTok compared to Google [1]. This means Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is no longer just a Google game. Well thought out titles, captions and thumbnails all play into getting your show’s content at the top of every related YouTube search. If someone is searching for “best TV moments of the 2000’s,” well optimized SEO can put you at the top of that search.

Make the viewer feel something

Storytelling doesn’t end when the TV show is finished; it is just as important in short-form content as it is in its long-form counterpart. This is where most go wrong when converting a TV show into YouTube friendly videos. Simple montages of randomly selected clips or scenes tend to not perform well. Mini stories must be told in every video. People love being the person who sends their friends or family a great video. By crafting a video that brings back memories, fits specific interests, or gets people to laugh, you will have something worth sharing.

Converting old TV content into YouTube gold can be very difficult, but as we noted recently in our article ‘Marketing Meets Revenue – Why YouTube is so important for media owners’, it can be an incredibly lucrative investment. In the entertainment world, storytelling is always critical; for YouTube specifically, adding a touch of nostalgia & connection, good pacing and proper SEO will have fans just as excited as they were in your show’s glory days.

Sources:

axios.com