We all know it’s possible to get social media famous, and many of us want to. The real question: how?
We all know it’s possible to get social media famous, and many of us want to. The real question: how?
USA TODAY College caught up with three YouTube stars: Taylor Reneau (who goes by Yesreneau online), Kostas Garcia and Catherine Goetze (also known as Cath in College), to get their top three tips on how to make it big
1. YOU’RE PAYING FOR THAT EDUCATION. USE IT!
All three YouTubers used skills they learned while in college to their advantage. Goetze says her communication, computer science, management science and engineering classes at Stanford University helped her achieve success.
“I’ve designed my course load such that the classes that I’m taking are focused on this really unique and fast-changing intersection between business and media marketing and digital and content creation,” Goetze says. “So I feel like everything I’m learning in the classroom is actually being applied to my everyday life because, in my free time, I’m actively participated in that space and I’m generating content and I’m engaging with the types of people that I’m learning about in the classes.”
Reneau says she “took things that I learned from Harvard (University) and I applied them to my videos. For example, I took an animation class and I applied like those skills towards my videos.”
Her classes also helped her writing skills.
“The story telling techniques I learned from my Shakespeare class and my Greek mythology classes, I apply those all the time,” she says.
And Garcia says he gained valuable skills while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“There are classes that I take where we’re specifically breaking down film and I’ve taken a couple editing classes. That’s helped me with my YouTube videos,” he says. “Slowly but surely I’ve gotten more into cinematography and producing and all that stuff just from what I’ve studied at school and I’m really interested in it.”
OK, now you know that you can take stuff you’re learning in school to help you. But how do you get started?
2. PICK A NICHE, CAPICHE?
According to Reneau, some of the more common topics on YouTube right now are beauty, gaming and academics. Her tip: “If you can find a niche that hasn’t been tapped, if you can think, ‘What’s the video that I’ve always wanted to see on YouTube and I can’t find it anywhere?’, then use that as a guide to be the one to make that video.”
But if you can’t think of anything along those lines, Reneau says that’s OK too.
“If you can’t think of your own unique concept to follow, then do the tried and true. Because there are lots of views and lots of money to be had in the makeup and beauty industries, et cetera, et cetera.”
But Garcia says it’s important to stay true to yourself along the way: “Make sure you’re making content that’s authentic to yourself. People like authentic and real content.”
In fact, Goetze thinks being authentic is part of the reason her Cath in College series has become so successful.
“I think people like that it’s very real and very down to earth. And it feels very tangible and very relatable,” she says.
Garcia also recommends posting on a consistent schedule. “If you have a favorite TV show, you know it comes out like every week at a certain time. So if you treat your YouTube channel like that, people will be more inclined to keep tuning back in because they have something to look forward to.”
3. GET THAT MONEY, HONEY.
“Between brand sponsorships and monetizing videos, that’s pretty much the bread and butter of how people make a living off of social media,” Garcia says.
If a company has a product that they want to promote, they will find people with a following on social media to promote it. Before this happens, however, Garcia estimates you need a minimum of 10,000 followers.
In addition to brand sponsorships, you can monetize your videos by placing an ad on them. Reneau says YouTube will take about 45% of the profit, leaving you with about one to two dollars for every thousand views.
Because of this, Reneau says diversifying revenue streams can be key to financial success.
“On top of just relying on advertising, (YouTubers) will also sell merchandise, they will do events, they will start their own websites and take a 100% of the ad revenue that comes off of that,” she says.
How do you get those followers? According to Goetze, in addition to posting regularly, it helps to promote your videos on your other social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook.
“The hardest growth occurs at the beginning,” Goetze says. “As long as you just keep consistently generating content, YouTube’s search algorithms will search it and prioritize it and will put you more towards the top and on more people’s feeds.”
She adds, “Your first one hundred subscribers are going to be the hardest ones to get. Your next one thousand are going to be a little easier, your next five thousand slightly easier and each time it just gets easier and easier.”
With a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck, you might just make it to the top of YouTube. Have fun and remember the little people when you’re famous, okay?
Scott Behrens
USA Today
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