You’ve probably heard of Colin and Samir, two YouTubers who analyze what’s trending on social media. They have 1.1 million subscribers and consistently average from 250K to 500K views per video. They’ve even had some huge standouts drawing 3-5 million views.
Colin and Samir interview celebrities, analyze top creators like Mark Rober and Mr. Beast, and discuss everything related to the world of YouTube. In this video, they explain why David Dobrick gives away Teslas to his friends:
Obviously, this video should draw huge attention, right?
Wrong.
Although it has what you would think are the right ingredients for viral content (celebrity influencer, luxury cars, exciting giveaways), the video only received 76K views, far below Colin and Samir’s baseline performance number.
What happened?
Let’s start with the positives:
- It sets up tension well by asking a brand partner what they could get paid for a sponsorship, and then interrupting the answer with “we’ll get back to that later.” A great hook sets up an expectation to be resolved later.
- The video uses strong dynamics, or changes of scenes to keep the pace moving along and draw in the audience even further.
- Obviously, the topic seems interesting…influencers, money, nice cars.
But something doesn’t work. Does the language (“if you’re a creator or a brand…”) apply to a small subset of the audience and alienate too many viewers from the start?
Is David Dobrik too niche? He’s well-known in YouTube circles, but does he have universal name recognition?
Or, should Colin and Samir have asked “How David Dobrick gives away Teslas” instead of why?
Because most people already know why, don’t they? But we’re curious about how he does it–does he spend his own money? Does Elon Musk donate a few extra cars to help a friend out? The process behind big money giveaways isn’t obvious, and we’re curious to look behind the curtain to see how it’s done.
Beginning with unusual hooks, big numbers, startling statistics, and amazing facts is a great way to grab attention and appeal to a wide audience; however, don’t stop there. The unique hook is a question that you need to answer, building suspense for the viewers to find out the details behind that dramatic statistic.
Why David Dobrick gives away Teslas doesn’t require an audience to stick around to learn the answer because they already know it.
How David Dobrick gives away Teslas creates an unspoken promise that the viewer will learn something valuable, will gain some insider knowledge, and that their investment of time will be rewarded.
As you develop hooks for your content, consider the question you’re raising in the viewer’s mind. Do they need to watch your content to get the answer?
Want help with your social media strategy? Connect 1-on-1 with Brendan’s team here to see if we are the right fit to work together.
