Google YouTube Creator Playbook Guide Version 2 - Manual (Page 29)

Why does Discovery channel have Shark Week every year? Why do a
lot sitcoms have a Halloween themed episode at the end of October?
Why does the Today Show have relationship experts on the week
before Valentine’s Day? The answer to these questions is: Tent-pole
Programming.
Tent-pole events are the cultural events that promotion, sponsors/
advertisers, and viewing trends orbit around throughout the year. Big
movie releases, sports, holidays and niche events should act as guides
for the content you produce. This strategy can apply to all partners. Any
channel can create or participate in tent-poles relevant to their specific
audience.
Program Your Content
•
Create a programming calendar and identify the tent-pole events
that are relevant to your channel and audience.
•
Create videos around these upcoming events to take advantage of
promotional and revenue opportunities, and capitalize on audience
and search trends.
•
Package previous content in new ways for tent-pole events. Reuse
older footage with newly created content to create new videos.
Create playlists to re-organize your videos to be programmed for
upcoming tent-pole events.
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Tent-pole Programming
Get Ahead of the Buzz
•
Release tent-pole related content at least several days prior to the
event. Online video is different than television and film because a
video posted online has a ‘long-tail.’ The weeks leading up to an
event, ‘the pre-buzz,’ is just as important as the date of the actual
event, maybe more important. The video will still be there when the
event arrives and afterward, but it can have more momentum if it
was released early.
•
The right time to release depends on how much sustained interest
there is around any particular event.
Programming & Producing
Titles and tags can help rebrand a video for tent-pole
events. Make use of your archives, where it is relevant