The year is 1994. Justin Hall, a college student, wanted to share a journal of his life on the Internet. He goes on to be the first “blogger” known to humankind. This is the moment the creator economy started - as individuals began creating content publicly. Today, almost 30 years later, content creation has evolved in a way nobody could have been able to predict: more than 50 million people define themselves as content creators and over 2 million of them earn 6-figure salaries or higher.
But today’s content landscape also introduces new challenges. Content is created in different media formats (video, audio, text), different lengths (short, long) and aimed for different channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube). The common notation is that creators rise to fame by focusing & dominating one of these formats. Such as long-form video on YouTube or short-form text on Twitter. However, this assumption is now being challenged as we analyze the success of creators who are succeeding through multiple formats. This article will attempt to examine the dominate strategy of content creators on hacking the content game.
The standard creator focuses on one format
In the past, many creators rose to fame by focusing on one format. Nas Daily started off creating one-minute videos on Facebook, Mr. Beast started on YouTube. Others have seen recent success on short-form video formats for TikTok or Instagram Reels. While many creators attempt to build out their “other” channels, data shows us they clearly have a “main” channel.
The new creator = create once, distribute everywhere
Recently progressive creators are challenging the status-quo. They are starting to view social media platforms as commoditized distribution channels. Their content strategy are untethered to any single platform or format. They focus on reaching as wide distribution as possible
How would a creator multi-purpose content?
The story of JellySmack
JellySmack is one of those mysterious and interesting companies who seem to be flying under the radar. Their annual revenue is estimated to be in the $100M range only by working with 100-200 creators. They recently raised $100M from SoftBank, another twist in the plot.
Their approach is simple to understand, yet challenging to execute:
- They approach YouTube creators who focus on long-form content
- They license their videos, convert to short-form clips and publish on secondary channels
- They pay creators a guaranteed monthly fee and then 50% of any amount earned above that
The value proposition for creators is highly compelling:
- Reach more people in the world with their message 🗨️
- Build a following on secondary channels 🫂
- Earn more money without doing any additional work 🤑
Let’s see the magic in action
I’ll examine the same video created and published on three different platforms. Two were done by the NasDaily team (in-house) and the other one by the agency (Jellysmack)
Sources:
- JellySmack FAQ (official website)
- How to Go Multi-Platform Without Losing Your Mind (YouTube)