Pun intended: we’re all about making shows that show your worth. And here’s what we mean by that. Media production has become an industry that has no gatekeepers, no barrier to entry, and no barrier to publishing. This is unprecedented and has been pointed out by several big wig historians and marketers. It’s really cool! It has also opened the floodgates for billions of media creations to be shared that have little worth. So when clients come to us and pitch a show idea, we put our worth-glasses on and help them think through whether that is the show that will share the best they have to offer.
Here’s a simple questionnaire to vet your own media idea:
- Who am I making this media for? Be super specific.
- What will the audience get from this media? (Which is different than what you will get from making it and sharing it)
- How will it make them feel?
- What will it teach them?
- What kind of an impact will it have on their life/work/relationships/mental health, etc?
- Is it playing to my strengths as a communicator/storyteller/teacher/expert?
- How excited am I to make this?
Once you’ve answered those questions, you’ll have a pretty clear idea of whether or not your show idea is worth making. Next up, it’s important to choose a media format that lets your ideas and yourself shine.
As you likely know already, video content is the easiest for most people to digest, meaning to understand and remember. That’s because they can use their eyes and ears as well as their emotional intelligence to take in your message (picking up on body language, aesthetics, etc). It also lets you add extra features like captions, on screen text, graphics, etc. to further boost your message. This is especially relevant in an age of global reach, where people with many different native languages or levels of accessibility may be watching your media.
However, making great videos is an art unto itself, so it may play to your strengths, and it may not. Here’s a good way to determine whether or not an audio production or a video production would suit your show idea better:
Is this a show that mostly tells stories or does it mostly teach ideas?
Storytelling has a rich history in the oral tradition, so an audio show is especially powerful if you have the talent of storytelling and your show topic is full of narratives. An oldie but goodie adage in the world of marketing is, “Facts tell but stories sell.” As it relates to media production, your most memorable content will always be the stories you tell. Visuals aside, that’s what gets retained.
So what if your show idea mostly teaches ideas, not stories? Unless you are a professional speaker, the skill of teaching concepts through stories may be something you are still working on. You might be an expert or a teacher or a conversationalist or a coach and the ideas most often shared on your show will be abstract or conceptual rather than narrative. This is where video can often give you a huge advantage in communicating effectively to your audience. If you allow yourself to be seen through a camera, you will give your audience much more context for who you are, what you are about, and why you have something valuable to share with them. They’ll be able to understand more of what you are saying, in less time, with greater retention.
While these are general guidelines, and there’s plenty of nuance and customization we get into with our clients, these ideas will hopefully help you make strategic media that is high worth. The main thing we want you to remember is this: you have a unique way of communicating, and media can either highlight or bury that. We want you to be shown at your very best. So choose the show that does that.
More resources on choosing the format of your show:
- EP 32 Choosing Your Ideal Show Format on the Think Like a Producer podcast
- EP 22 Reasons to Make the Show YOU Want
- Contact us if you’re interested in discussing how we can produce your seasonal show with you!
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