Research

- [Narrator] Okay, I can hear you rolling your eyes, and I can even hear some of you having third grade book report flashbacks, but research is actually a super important step before attempting to build a following online in order to set yourself up for success. You have to know what's already out there, so you can stand out. So let's go over some tips on how you can research and apply your findings. First and foremost, you need to not only know your competition, but you also need to know your biggest competition. Do some research and familiarize yourself with the biggest industry leaders or influencers in your space. Also, make sure you familiarize yourself with their audience and see what they like and don't like. After all, if they're your competition, there's most likely going to be a large overlap of their audience that could be your audience too. Next, take inspiration from what your competitors are doing. By looking at their posts, you can spot trends, get ideas for post topics, and more. Next, evaluate your competitors' content and see what works and what doesn't work for them. What content has the most likes? What has the least likes? Use this information to plan out your own content. Also, how are they engaging their audience? Are they asking them a question or even doing polls? Are they responding to comments quickly, or are they even doing contests to encourage people to follow them? Observe what methods of engagement are working for them and find ways to use those yourself, and finally, find ways to make your content similar, but with your own unique spin. You don't want to do exactly the same thing someone else is already doing successfully, because they already have the market on that. Instead, find a fresh perspective on the topic that stands out. This could be providing a different cultural point of view or catering to a niche that isn't already represented. For example, when I planned out my filmmaking channel, Film It Yourself, I knew there were already several successful filmmaking channels out there. However, most of them are male filmmakers who mainly focus on cinematography and gear, so I wanted to set myself apart with a female filmmaker perspective, while also providing humor in my videos. This makes my channel unique and different, while also educational and entertaining. So make sure you spend plenty of time researching your competition, so you can stand out while still taking your cues from the best. Oh, and speaking of research, I got to go do some lunch research, if you know what I mean.