Tag Archive for: video

How Did Courageous, Body Positivity TikTok Song Go Viral & Become a Hit?

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Video Mojo doesn’t happen by accident. It combines creative chutzpah, human connection, and perseverance.

That’s what gets me excited about singer-songwriter & TikTok star Jax’s latest breakout hit, “Victoria’s Secret.” The human connection component is magnificently present in the song’s powerful body positivity message, and it has clearly struck a chord with women in particular.

As a response to some real world body shaming, Jax first presented this song to her young friend Chelsea, TikTok-style, in the front seat of her car:

@jaxwritessongs

I wrote a song for The Kid I Babysit. It’s called Victoria’s Secret 🤫 ❤️ 👙 @TheLascherFamily #victoriassecret #fyp #bodypositivity #originalmusic

♬ original sound – Jax

More Like a Movement Than a Song​

Beyond its “traditional” success—including the song’s massive view counts measured in the 10’s of millions and the fact that it’s climbing the Billboard charts—what makes “Victoria’s Secret” more like a movement than a song is the 21,000 individual TikTok creators who have produced their own videos with this song as the soundtrack. And, currently, this number is growing rapidly every day.

What Can We Learn From This Success Story?

​Beyond celebrating the positive impact of this clever and creative song, I’m writing to emphasize the lesson illustrated by the fact Jax’s video mojo journey took a commitment that she has sustained for years. Like most “overnight” success stories, it took a long time.

The idea that a viral hit happens in a random flash, like winning the lottery, is misleading and bogus. If you’re lucky, viral hits are a fringe benefit of committing to a creative process. As I learned from her February 2021 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jax first tried to get on that show when she was 11 years old! (She’s now 26.)

What Does It Take to Be a Success on TikTok?

There’s one section of that Ellen interview that tells us pretty much everything we need to know about TikTok and social media success. I’ve edited that excerpt for you and embedded it here:

You can watch the entire Ellen interview here. Remember this was a year and a half ago when Jax had her first viral hit on TikTok.

Here’s what I think we all can learn from what Jax told Ellen:
​Jax writes every day. That’s major. Jax posts often. Also important. AND, Jax went a full year with very low view counts!

That’s a kind of perseverance that’s rare. I know from personal experience. It can be daunting. But, if you’re having fun, it’s sustainable; and it’s what it takes.

Dare to Suck & Enjoy the Journey

As the Zen saying goes, “The journey is the reward.” It’s crucial to enjoy the process otherwise, seriously, don’t bother.

That’s why I call it “Video Mojo.” It takes a kind of courage. I also call that creative hutzpah (one of my favorite phrases). This also means, as I heard recently from The Brothers Koren, “dare to suck.” And that triggers another commonly heard concept (that’s easier to say than to do), “keep going.”

And There’s More!

From moving, mother-daughter co-productions like this one to Jax’s own flash mob “music video,” and many more, “Victoria’s Secret” shows why I think TikTok is unique and different. Beyond its world-class algorithm, TikTok sparks remarkable creativity AND communities of human beings who actually care about each other. More are being created every day.

Yes, in order to benefit from consuming and/or creating on TikTok, you will need to weed out some superfluous nonsense. To me, the rewards, including hope, inspiration, and new creative connections, are well worth it.

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What You Need to Know About The Power of Programs, Podcasts & WebShows™ with Jay Acunzo

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This episode of Video Mojo was something special, especially if you aspire to create original web content or are already in that game.

I don’t want you to miss out on the power of original series, specifically online video and audio programs like WebShows™ and podcasts, because they have a profound impact that surpasses all other forms of content. These new media formats enable a depth of connection that goes beyond even the most dynamic qualities of video and audio alone.

In this episode, of our Video Mojo WebShow™, the true value of this kind of exploration comes to life through my Collaborative Conversation with Jay Acunzo, founder of MarketingShowRunners and author of “Break the Wheel.” Please check it out below.

Among other insights, they discuss:

  • Why Resonance, Not Reach is a more meaningful marketing goal
  • The Value of Being An Explorer, Rather than an Expert, if your intention is to make a difference
  • A Call to Action to pay more attention NOT to Who Arrives, but to Who Stays because those people offer you the greatest and most accessible returns

This week’s Tee It Up talks about the Web’s “good guys” and the Luscious Links offer a valuable app for downloading streaming content including YouTube videos so that you can reuse them in your own video productions.

Video Mojo welcomes your questions and comments in real time during Video Mojo LIVE! which streams every Friday at 10am PT / 1pm ET on our YouTube channel:
​https://www.youtube.com/jonleland and via our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/combridges.fb/live​.

Please join us.

ABOUT VIDEO MOJO

ComBridges’ mission is to help you have a more engaging video and social media presence. Our WebShow™, Video Mojo, combines timeless marketing principles with a playful exploration on the “bleeding edge” of digital video & social media. Producer/host, Jon Leland, focuses on the human side of social media and offers decades of video experience as well as his visionary and up-to-the-minute insights as a media wizard and digital marketing strategist who currently leads his own social media marketing agency, ComBridges, https://www.combridges.com.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Tee It Up: The “Good Guys” – 1:51
  • Collaborative Conversation: Jay Acunzo – 3:46
  • Community Campfire: Q&A – 18:37
  • Luscious Links: Utility for downloading videos – 29:34

RESOURCE LINKS:

LUSCIOUS LINKS

Please join us and/or post a review or comment. It REALLY helps Video Mojo to be more visible when you like, review, or comment. All of the links are here:
​https://play.combridges.com/links​

Thanks!

Video Mojo’s Fresh Take: In Changing Times, Reimagine Your Work. Discover What’s Possible Now.

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When the pandemic caused his business to dry up overnight, executive coach and keynote speaker, Shawn Shepheard took a step back and reimagined his business with great success. In this lively Collaborative Conversation with Video Mojo’s Jon Leland, Shawn shares the specific actions that he took and how he used video to make his business more vibrant than ever.

Don’t miss the specific strategies and actionable take-aways, all designed for authentic relationship-building, that are at the heart of this episode. Also, during the Luscious Links segment, Jon shares some impressive new video apps that can help you up-level your social media video presence.

In addition this “Collaborative Conversation,” every Video Mojo episode includes a quick commentary called “Tee It Up” and “Luscious Links” resource recommendations, as shown below.

Video Mojo welcomes your questions and comments in real time during Video Mojo LIVE! which streams every Friday at 10am PT / 1pm ET on our YouTube channel:
​https://www.youtube.com/jonleland and via our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/combridges.fb/live​.

Please join us.

ABOUT VIDEO MOJO

ComBridges’ mission is to help you have a more engaging video and social media presence. Our WebShow™, Video Mojo, combines timeless marketing principles with a playful exploration on the “bleeding edge” of digital video & social media. Producer/host, Jon Leland, focuses on the human side of social media and offers decades of video experience as well as his visionary and up-to-the-minute insights as a media wizard and digital marketing strategist who currently leads his own social media marketing agency, ComBridges, https://www.combridges.com.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Tee It Up: Two Firsts! CancerTalks and Contest – 2:13
  • Collaborative Conversation: Shawn Shepheard – 3:58
  • Community Campfire: Q&A – 18:56
  • Luscious Links: Video Apps for Social Media – 29:08

RESOURCE LINKS:

LUSCIOUS LINKS:

3 PILLARS OF A VIBRANT VIDEO PRESENCE ​

Please join us and/or post a review or comment. It REALLY helps Video Mojo to be more visible when you like, review, or comment. All of the links are here:
​https://play.combridges.com/links​

Thanks!

How to Tell Difficult Stories that NEED to Be Told Using Vulnerability, Storytelling, & Engagement

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It has been said that “what’s in the way is the way.” For this reason, telling your most difficult and vulnerable stories can have healing and engaging effects beyond anything you might imagine.

In this episode of Video Mojo, I got to interview master coach & author, Andrea J. Lee and we had an intimate conversation about authenticity and vulnerability, including real life examples of what can happen when you tell the stories that NEED to be told. One example of this phenomenon is a 2-minute video that Andrea did for UpWorthy that got over 2 million views… without trying!

If you are interested in going deeper with your storytelling in order to make a more human connection with your audiences, don’t miss this.

In addition this “Collaborative Conversation,” every Video Mojo episode includes a quick commentary called “Tee It Up” and “Luscious Links” resource recommendations, as shown below.

Video Mojo welcomes your questions and comments in real time during Video Mojo LIVE! which streams every Friday at 10am PT / 1pm ET on our YouTube channel:
​https://www.youtube.com/jonleland and via our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/combridges.fb/live​. Please join us.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Tee It Up: Authentic Relationships – 2:14
  • Collaborative Conversation: Andrea J. Lee – 4:24
  • Community Campfire: Q&A – 20:15
  • Luscious Links: My Octopus Teacher – 28:43

RESOURCE LINKS:

LUSCIOUS LINKS:​

3 PILLARS OF A VIBRANT VIDEO PRESENCE ​

Please join us and/or post a review or comment. It REALLY helps Video Mojo to be more visible when you like, review, or comment. All of the links are here:
​https://play.combridges.com/links​

Thanks!

[Rant] How Social Media Playfulness Leads to Meaningful Connections

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Social media often gets a bad rap, and it often deserves it. 

On the other hand, social media may well be the biggest, most fun playground ever. 🙂  

And, I’m not just talking about frivolous fun. I’m talking about an AWESOME playground with creative superpowers and unprecedented opportunities to develop meaningful connections.

Amongst social media’s creative superpowers, my favorite (as you may well know) is video. Social media is constantly reinventing video in a morphing media form that most currently spans a spectrum from TikTok and IGTV (and, yes, Reels) to Facebook Live, YouTube, Zoom, and Loom, just to name a few. 

Has there ever been a video playground so abundant with creative opportunities to experiment and try new things? And, when you try new things, there’s no telling what will happen. That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!

One of those things that might happen, perhaps serendipitously, is that you might make some meaningful connections with like minds who resonate with your creations.

It’s in making these kinds of authentic connections that you can, if you are willing to play and experiment, make social media meaningful. And, I hope you know that I’m not talking about my thousands of Facebook “friends.” 

I’m talking about authentic long-term relationships that are sustained through an Engaging Social Media Presence (my new acronym is ESMP). Because nothing meaningful is ever built with a single click, these kinds of social media connections require nurturing through the values that I champion, specifically, consistency and authenticity, as well as (and I know I’m getting a bit circular here) playfulness and video.

So, when someone makes you aware of how truly evil Facebook (and others) can be, please don’t forget that there’s a flip side that is also true. 

When you use social media with a spirit of playfulness and experimentation it leads to expanded creativity and connections.

And, oh yeah, this quote (that’s on the social media graphic that’s attached to this post) came out of my recent webinar, “Beyond the Hype: Social Media Marketing That Really Works!” 

If you’re interested, you can check out that webinar for free, no registration required, here: https://www.combridges.com/free-social-media-marketing-webinar/

Thanks for reading!

“It’s a Wonderful Web” 2013!

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cb-ipadThe first edition of our “It’s a Wonderful Web” e-newsletter for 2013 is out. It includes the following articles:

  • 2013: The Year of Anything is Possible
  • Special Offers!
  • Free 1-Hour Audio: Web Radio Interview
  • Luscious Links

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here to read it online.

TokBox Online Video Platform Looks Interesting…

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Tokbox LogoNext Wednesday, I’ll be blogging and tweeting from GigaOM’s Net:Work 2010 conference. And while browsing their site, I noticed an honorable mention of TokBox and started exploring. Their online video platform supports group video chat and much more.

This afternoon I was able to have an instant video chat hooking up to a friend via Facebook (whose API along with Twitter’s and others has apparently been integrated). We also easily and seamlessly shared a YouTube video. Pretty cool right out of the freebie level “box.”

I also watched a video message from a member of the TokBox team and will be investigating their Video Conferencing platform for NewMarU, our New Marketing University project about which you’ll be hearing more soon.

Meanwhile, here’s an embedded Tokbox window (I thought I was going to leave you a Holiday Greeting, but that didn’t work out). I’d love to hear your feedback and you can even send me a video message at – jon -at- combridges -dot- com-. If any of you have any experience with TokBox or comparable platforms that support multiple video presenters et. al. for webinars I’d be especially interested. Thanks!

TokBox – Free Video Chat and Video Messaging

Why Video is the Web’s New Mission Critical Next Level: Do Not Miss

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As many of you know, I’ve been writing and producing videos about “The Video Web” and the digital video revolution for many years. But, it’s another day; and, I’ve taken another step.

The video embedded below, “Why Online Video is a ‘Must Have’ for Internet Marketing” describes what I believe is the next mission critical level of Internet communications as the importance of video has emerged in broad new ways.

And while you’re while you’re visiting this blog post, please don’t miss the second video embedded below from TED’s curator, Chris Anderson about the global implications of this trend (scroll down).

By way of text summary, the five reasons why video is a “must have” that are illuminated in the short four-minute video above are:

  1. The Medium of the Web is Morphing Dramatically and Rapidly
  2. Video is Now the Web’s Leading Media Type
    (even though in some ways “The Web is Dead”)
  3. Video Has Become a Viable & Powerful SEO Strategy
  4. Business is Basically About Relationship Building and
    What Better Way to Build Relationships Online Than Via Video?
  5. Video is the Web’s Future. (“Be in it to win it.”)

In addition, if I had my way, I would love to make this second video, from TED conference curator Chris Anderson, “How Web Video Powers Global Innovation” required viewing for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world.

That’s how important I think video is becoming as a communication medium. Anderson explains dramatic increases in the power, reach and accessibility of online video from a higher level perspective, even comparing online video to the paradigm shift in communications that happened when Gutenberg invented the printing press!

Yes, Chris and I agree, The Coming of The Video Web is THAT important. 😉

Bottom line, there has never been a more powerful or mobile way to communicate either your ideas or the benefits of your products or services. This is combined, of course, with the convergence of broadband internet connection speeds and the proliferation of digital cameras and mobile phones with video capabilities. The cost of doing video has become radically more affordable and accessible.

Call it “The Age of YouTube” if you like. But, more importantly in my opinion, it is time for everybody to recognize that video is now a ‘must have.’ It is no longer an option.

Mission Critical Data Points
If you’re not convinced, you may also want to consider the following:

  • One-Third of US Adults Skip Live TV: Report
    56 million Americans have begun skipping live TV in favor of time-shifted viewing and online content. Traditional TV advertising is rapidly losing any remaining effectiveness, thus undermining whatever financial stability still exists in everything but the biggest ticket broadcasts. Much more to come!
  • Netflix CEO: We’re a Streaming Company
    66% of Netflix subscribers are using their streaming services vs only 41% a year ago. Even premium entertainment is finding massive acceptance via non-cable, non-broadcast, non-satellite distribution. This ‘toothpaste’ is out of the tube. There’s no putting it back. This trend will only accelerate. Broadcasters beware. Online video producers rev your engines… Stay tuned.

Online Video is Rockin’ with Measurable Momentum, Increased Ad Spending & More

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This week’s New Media New Marketing TheTVNews.tv report (Wednesday, not Tuesday, due to technical issues) covers four recent research reports that underscore the powerful, measurable growth and increasing impact of online video.

First, the video report (I’m at the top of this show). Then, all four referenced pieces of research on online video are linked below.

1. Eighty Percent of Net Users Watch Video as Global Consumption Explodes, comScore
Beet.tv’s interview with Tania Yuki, comScore’s VP product manager for online video research products has lots of insights, including her perception that worldwide, 80% of Internet users are watching video. Wow, that’s huge. And as a researcher, her observation of double-digit growth in time spent viewing as well as viewers are also impressive. Part 1 of the interview can be viewed right here:

2. Online Video Goes Mainstream
eMarketer’s report puts 18 to 34 year olds at the forefront and underscores that 29% of Internet users under 25 say they watch all or most of their TV online. Clearly there is a gravitation of TV viewers to the online realm and this trend is certain to continue if not accelerate.

3. Ad Agencies Shift Spend to Video
Another eMarketer report reveals that most ad agencies already saw online video as a place they need to be a year ago, with 87% in Q1, 2009 saying that they plan to devote more budget to online video. But the trend is towards “pretty much everyone” with 94% of ad agencies saying the same thing during Q1 of this year.

4. Online Video Ads More Effective Than TV Among U.S. Viewers
At the end of the day, the bottom line is effectiveness. No wonder the momentum to online video is accelerating. When the research tells you that the same TV ad presented online delivers more recall, more brand linkage, more likeability and more, how could you not make it a priority?

Have you produced your online video today?

Watch for more to come on my YouTube channel, for sure! 😉

Thanks for reading and, as always, I welcome your feedback, comments and YouTube ratings. Much appreciated.