DEI Spotlight: Breaking Up With Bite-Sized Content

Author: David McMillin       

As HP aims to connect with online viewers, the IT company is ditching the standard shorter-is-better mindset and developing programming that feels more like traditional television.

As organizations develop digital-engagement strategies, there’s one commonly accepted belief that seems to guide every decision: Shorter is better. In a world ruled by digital distractions, each audience member is just one swipe or click away from finding something better to read or watch. IT company HP, however, is betting that long-form content can connect with viewers with “Good Game, Well Played.” The series offers an inside look at the top players and performances in competitive gaming, and the first episode trades the typical two-minute online video for an in-depth, 35-minute spotlight of professional gamer Vincent “Biofrost” Wang. Consider some of the initial comments collected in its first month on YouTube.

“Such a nice set and good lighting. Travis (the esports interviewer in the episode) on his A game.”

“Very high production value and two great league personalities.”

“I was skeptical when Travis first mentioned this but it’s actually a really great piece of content. Great job, looking forward to seeing more of these.”

Pause for a moment to recognize that these positive comments exist on YouTube, a platform that attracts a lot of negativity. The first episode captured 27,000 views within four weeks. While those numbers are nowhere close to viral territory, keep in mind that HP is looking to build an engaged community around the content — a community that will eventually purchase its products and services and has plenty of cash to spend. A recent report estimated that gamers will shell out nearly $138 billion in 2018. If the company can manage to motivate a fraction of its YouTube audience to open their wallets for its products, this long-form content will play a major role in HP’s long-term success in the gaming industry.

Why You Should Care About Creating Long Content

You may be tired of hearing about the exploding popularity of esports and wonder what that has to do with your events. However, anyone involved in content creation can take a lesson from HP. As many marketers jump on the 60-second, lo-fi video-production bandwagon, the digital landscape is littered with videos that capture eyeballs but fail to truly connect with viewers and motivate them to learn more, engage more, and spend more. So when you think about capturing content at your next meeting or conference, don’t be afraid to think beyond bite-sized nuggets of information. There’s still an appetite for time-consuming content. It just has to check off a challenging requirement: It has to actually be worth the audience’s time.

Interested in more digital engagement lessons from HP? Click here to learn how the company uses a form of torture — no, it’s not that scary and terrible — to connect with an online audience.

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