EDUCATIONAL MARKETING - "WHERE THE GLOVES COME OFF"

EDUCATION IS A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS
Since the launch of PBS some 40+ years ago to cable's more recent educational powerhouses like NOVA, TLC, The History Channel (among many others), media and its community of advertisers are more than aware of the gold mine in multimedia teaching.

If modern video has evolved with its audience, so has its content and its presenters. Today's star producers of modern education have replaced the puritanical and pedantic snore-worthy teaching approach with brilliant, topical and quick-witted characters who are (themselves) ambassadors of the web community of quick learners and short attention spans.  They know their audience and they're aware of what it takes to earn every one of them.

NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL MARKETING

For all the reasons why YouTube is the internet's educational library, many have chosen to re-invent their public image creatively by hybridizing genres- like Entertaining Educational videos (see samples below) to bring new light and style to public awareness.   Combining styles is fairly common and is much a trend in "YouTubing"; by fusing only the best facets of multiple genres and styles makes for brand new innovation to break out of the stale formats of broadcast- capturing the podcast community by their new storms.  Out of this concept, celebrities are born and audiences are generated in droves under what we call "the people's channel".

INNOVATION online is about being remembered and being shared.  Be weird. Be different. Be shameless (if you feel that works).  But whatever you do- don't be boring!   Samples of high-ranking educational video channels and candidates of our OSSUMVID AWARDS 2014

1) FroKnowsFoto: "BEST MEMORABLE PERSONALITY AWARD" - Learning can be light and fun, depending on who's teaching.  Veteran shooter Jared Polin is one of the web's most trusted resources for what to buy and how to use them in terms of DSLR equipment.  Jared keeps things interesting with simple low-tech presentation techniques under a weekly or bi-weekly subscriber-driven show. With a brand like FRO KNOWS FOTO (touting that apparent ever-expanding "doo") and his all-around sparkling personality, Jared is one of my favorite influences and how2 teachers online.

2) The SnapChick:  "SEXY TEACHER AWARD" - Pro photographer Brittany Leigh is as beautiful as she is knowledgeable and successful in the world of commercial photography.  Above all, her somewhat twisted sense of humor and her understanding of the YouTube audience brings her over 400,000 hits on most of her videos for a spin on editorial-style commentaries about products and process.  Knowing that her audience regards visuals above all else, the SnapChick challenges the no-censorship policy of YouTube by turning up the heat on such a cold and dry topic as photography with her sexy-humor style of teaching- including high-ranking bloopers (staged) that you know are silly but you can't help but "like" anyway.  

(FOR MORE WINNERS OF THE OSSUMVIDS AWARDS, STAY TUNED TO OUR NEXT HOW2 REALLY USE YOUTUBE BLOG ISSUE!)

 

Many of these producers are well underway celebrity status in mainstream media. They are regarded for their enjoyable content, their amusing performance and pro-quality output.  YouTube allows them the stage to build a name and a market for peripheral business (ie. selling books, instructional videos, promotional speaking engagements, tv appearances, newspaper/magazine feature interviews and more.)   Some heavy hitters have moved into the broadcast world and beyond, while others prefer to stay on the web continuing to monetize their videos and driving viewers to their respective websites. Either way, YouTube is a self-promoting dream for many of us who have taken the reigns through self-producers, self-publicists or product launchers.