Zvezdan Zdravić, founder and CEO of the YouTube channel and publishing home 7clouds
Advertising and marketing luminary Seth Godin as soon as mentioned that advertising and marketing is now not concerning the stuff you make; it is concerning the tales you inform. And there is not any higher solution to inform tales than by means of the magical mix of visuals and audio that’s video content material.
It is no secret that video has change into a robust advertising and marketing instrument. In keeping with a report by Demand Metric and Vidyard, 83% of entrepreneurs say video is extra essential than ever, with 87% of companies utilizing video as a advertising and marketing instrument and 93% saying video converts the identical or higher than different types of content material.
Behind the Scenes: The Making of a YouTube Music Large
Enter the world of 7cloud, a YouTube channel, report label and music curation model that has harnessed the ability of video content material to create an immersive expertise for hundreds of thousands around the globe. Born from the fervour of Zvezdan Zdravić, a music fanatic turned digital entrepreneur, 7clouds has advanced from a private platform for sharing eclectic music mixes to the biggest lyric video channel on the planet and one of the subscribed music channels on YouTube. In keeping with social media analytics platform Social Blade, 7clouds has 21.2 million followers and a whopping 15.9 billion video views – numbers which might be certain to silence a room stuffed with entrepreneurs wanting to be taught the teachings.
Adjusting to the beat: Matching your content material to your viewers
7clouds is the biggest video textual content channel on the planet with greater than 21 million subscribers.
“Our journey with video content material is a story about being versatile and adapting to the viewers,” says Zdravic, explaining how 7clouds was initially an area the place he might share his love of digital dance music (EDM) and sport mixes. However because the model grew, Zdravic shortly expanded to characteristic music with lyrics for artists in quite a lot of genres. This strategic flexibility has paid off, evident within the channel’s spectacular progress. Social Blade’s current statistics present a gentle month-to-month progress of round 200,000 subscribers and greater than 235 million video views.
Orchestrating Range: An Inclusive 7 Cloud Method
One other key to Zdravić’s success was his give attention to range and inclusion. “They are not simply buzzwords,” he says, although video advertisers have been sluggish to behave in any other case. The December 2022 Range in Advert Artistic report discovered that 73% of actors showing in video artistic in 2022 have been white, up from 2020 and 2021.
This reality is shocking. Melinda McLaughlin, CMO of Excessive Attain, mentioned in an article discussing the variety report that 100% of the inhabitants progress in the US over the previous 10 years has come from Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, multiracial and multiethnic segments . “Including selection to 1’s advert artistic ‘is not simply the proper factor to do…it is good enterprise,'” she mentioned. Zdravic agrees. “Our giving voice to numerous, rising artists has helped 7cloud construct a various, loyal group,” he says.
Video Content material Composing Success: The 7 Cloud Blueprint
Comply with the 7cloud plan for video content material success
Whether or not you are a small enterprise proprietor, creator, or entrepreneur, Zvezdan Zdravić’s journey with 7cloud will provide you with some key classes for utilizing video to develop your model.
Know your viewers
Zdravić’s journey started with a ardour for EDM and sport mixes. However what actually makes it stand out is the way it adjusted and adjusted based mostly on the listener’s preferences. He moved by means of genres corresponding to lo-fi hip-hop and electro-swing, touchdown the place 7clouds is at present with a fusion of EDM and pop. His shifts present the significance of staying in tune with what your viewers desires — and being prepared to alter.
To get to know your viewers, have interaction. Monitor buyer suggestions and social channels and keep on high of developments in your business. Then, stay versatile sufficient to regulate what you provide in response to the insights you achieve. In any case, success is not nearly what you provide; it is about how nicely what you provide helps your viewers.
Create and innovate
Zdravic paved his solution to success utilizing the ability of innovation. He experimented with a brand new video format to maintain his content material contemporary and attention-grabbing – a terrific lesson. Final January, it additionally launched seven sub-genre channels, one every for rock, rap, dance, chill, nation, Latin, mixes and TikTok.
Take into consideration how you can innovate in your corporation. Maybe you can use generative synthetic intelligence or augmented actuality. In case your viewers likes newsworthy content material, maybe you can create a live-updating web site that encourages individuals to go to regularly for the newest information or outcomes. It’s also possible to create customized apps and even customized GPT.
As Zdravic did with 7clouds, experimenting with new content material codecs can open up new channels to interact along with your viewers and differentiate your model. The purpose is to face out by providing one thing new, distinctive, and totally different—one thing that may seize the eye of content-weary consumers.
Nurture group
A number of 7clouds playlists that may be seen on the label’s web site.
On the coronary heart of 7clouds beats the center of a profitable group. The model has 179,000 followers on Instagram, 1.1 million followers on TikTok and a thriving Discord channel with greater than 12,000 members. These platforms give Zdravić’s viewers some ways to attach with the model and one another, making a multifaceted group expertise.
“Our inclusive strategy to content material is what has helped us appeal to such a group,” says Zdravic, noting that he focuses on the standard of an artist’s songs and the way nicely they match the model, reasonably than how large a reputation they’re. This strategy attracts followers as a result of it helps them uncover new artists they may not in any other case know. It additionally helps to find and promote new artists. “We prefer to characteristic lesser-known artists,” says Zdravic, crediting his blueprint for achievement.
To convey your group collectively, get on the market. Be seen and recognized. Discuss to your clients on social media. Run buyer appreciation occasions. Arrange a devoted on-line discussion board the place individuals can share experiences and supply suggestions. And hold your listening ear tuned in by frequently sending surveys or posting polls on social media. Asking for suggestions reveals that you just worth opinions and helps you alter your services and products.
Get on the market and take heed to your group!
Educate to empower
Reflecting on his journey, Zdravic envisions 7clouds as a platform the place music meets self-development and innovation. He plans to enter training, providing programs and training to assist individuals generate profits from YouTube and the music business. “I see 7cloud as a hub the place individuals can come for music, data and inspiration,” he says.
You may observe Zdravić’s lead by including an academic arm to your corporation. Whether or not you provide programs, teaching, masterminds, e-books or apps, educating individuals can place you as a thought chief and add one other layer of worth to your model. It’s also possible to share your journey and the insights you’ve got found alongside the way in which. “I am extraordinarily grateful for the place I’m now and the experiences I’ve confronted,” he says. “Sharing how I received right here and the way I managed to face up among the many falling curation channels could be useful for brand spanking new entrepreneurs.”
What’s subsequent? I draw inspiration from the expansion of seven clouds
Zvezdan Zdravić, founder and CEO of the YouTube channel and publishing home 7clouds
Zvezdan Zdravić’s strategy to progress is a roadmap for achievement. “I do not have a look at success simply by way of 7cloud’s numbers,” he says. “For me, success is within the artists we have been capable of assist, the tales we have been capable of inform and the group we have constructed.”
The story of 7clouds is a superb reminder of the ability of video content material, particularly when mixed with understanding your viewers, embracing innovation, constructing group and empowering by means of training. These pillars will information you towards rising your corporation and constructing a model that stands out—and stands the take a look at of time.