Producing video on social media has been getting easier and more popular, over the past few years. We’ve talked about how short videos are a great way to market for businesses and nonprofits, but another trend that I’ve noticed lately is how “shows” are becoming more popular on social media, too. (I mean, we were fairly on trend with Tech Thursday).
These aren’t quite the same caliber as a good Netflix binge, but it’s still interesting to see the ideas people and brands are coming up with. One recent example I can think of is Kristen Bell’s Momsplaining, which she does through Ellen DeGeneres’ YouTube Channel. Each episode is only between 4-7 minutes long, they’re produced but not with a set the way Law & Order is.
These video series aren’t just on Youtube. On Facebook, there are “shows” like Charlene’s World, which share fairly hilarious videos of a young girl and different personalities she’s invented including Bossy Boss Lady, Classy Jen, and Blaze.
Betches just started a new web series called “Please Advise with Aleen,” which is a guide to corporate life for 20-somethings. They also have other videos that live on their website but get shared on their social media channels.
It seems like from established celebrities and brands to “Joe Schmoe down the road,” the preferred new way to share not just one video but a series of videos is through social media. The fact that Kristen Bell & Ellen are sharing Momsplaining on YouTube instead of trying to make it a full t.v. show might signal that they’re trying to meet their audience where they are- on social media.
In terms of social media that supports very short term video content, this article, which talks about experiments creating a Snapchat-only show and an Instagram show (back when Instagram only supported 15 second videos). Since the article is from 2016, I’m guessing the Snapchat attempt at a series wasn’t very successful (Instagram has since extended it’s video length allowance to 60 seconds). A lot of celebrities will post Snapchat stories, but it doesn’t seem like the “Snapchat series” has made a comeback just yet.
Of course sometimes a web series will eventually air on t.v., like Derek Waters’ Drunk History, but for now, it seems like video series are sticking to social media for the time being.
So when you have some things to say but can’t fit it in one video, consider doing a series on social media. You may be surprised at how large the audience is there… and how many other people are making series too.