In the world of viral content creation, they don’t come much bigger, better, and brighter than Brandon B. With over 10 million followers and boasting collaborations with Tom Holland, Jared Leto and KSI, he’s the UK’s biggest VFX creator.
But what’s his secret to short-form content mastery, and how do you use it to build your social following? Well, each creator has their own formula, and Brandon B is no exception; in fact, you could say he’s perfected it. AWLearn caught up with the CEO of Studio B, who let us in on a few tricks of his trade, including the golden rule.
First, Think Story
It goes without saying that your content needs to tell a great story. It should be unique and take the viewer on a journey. Now, this one’s all on you — time to get creative! Of course, you can take a lot of inspiration from the master:
Know Your Platforms
Where will your content perform best? TikTok is the go-to in the short-form content game, but is that where your content will blow up? You might be surprised. For example, Studio B’s content gets 35 million monthly views on TikTok. Not bad at all. But the same optimized content on YouTube Shorts amasses around 310 million monthly views. Huge reach!
And another tip — learn how to organically post on Snapchat Stories. The much-overlooked platform is on the rise.
So, you know your content and the platform, that’s it, right?! Well, not quite.
It’s a great start, but what’s Brandon’s golden rule to get your content noticed and give it the best chance of going viral? Well, it’s all about the attention grab.
Who Has a Spare Second These Days?
Not so long ago, short-form content creators were obsessed with the first 30 seconds of their videos. Then, around two years ago, the first second was what it was all about. It needed a hook to resonate with the audience and make them want to see more, all in that first moment.
But today, you need to go one step further.
The way people now feverishly scroll through short-form platforms, with some two million content creators vying for their attention, the first frame is where it’s at. If that first frame isn’t engaging, they’re on to the next thing without giving you a second look.
Design your first frame to tell a story and engage the audience. Think of it as an old-school YouTube thumbnail designed to stop the scroll. Design your opening frame with the same intentionality as your content.
Now, this isn’t going to make you an overnight sensation, but it is a great place to start. Brandon’s craft has been honed over years of building and engaging with the content community, learning the formulas successful creators use and perfecting them into his own brand of content creation — time for you to do the same.
Happy creating.
- Stu
