Playlist Live conference strategies, learnings, and more! Shereen shares what she learned at this conference for YouTube and TikTok influencers.

Big shout out to the UK and Zimbabwe where Creative Breakthrough is trending, as is both episodes with Maaza Mengiste! Thank you for listening and sharing!

This week we were supposed to talk to Jeff Friday, the Founder of the American Black Film Festival. However due to travel issues it is postponed until next week. If you have questions for Jeff, email me at [email protected]

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Last weekend, I attended the Playlist Live Conference in Orlando, Florida

What is Playlist Live?

It is an annual convention primarily for YouTube content creators, though this year I feel there were just as many TikTok creators and podcasters. The convention is held annually since 2010.

Playlist Live's programming is divided into three different tracks

The Community Track is best suited for fans of Youtuber creators. The panels on this track consist of creators talking about various lifestyle topics. These topics include mental health, staying motivated and LGBTQ life.

The Insight Track is created for current and aspiring YouTube content creators. The panels are geared toward teaching guests how to make a living from making YouTube videos.

The Industry Track is for guests who currently work in the media industry. This track benefits marketers, managers, agents, producers, etc. This track goes in depth of the technicalities of the business realm.

I checked out all the different tracks as I had an all-access pass.

Observational takeaways of the panelists: (Important if you aspire to be a speaker or panelist in your creative field)

• Be prepared. The questions were provided in advance. You should not be stumped
• Have confidence and presence
• Dress the part

Motivation and the Creative Process

Creators shared tips about what goes into their creative process that keeps them inspired and motivated.

Speakers: SuperMarioLogan, LeeThe4th, and one other guy

Key Takeaways:

1. Set aside time to write down ideas so when you have writer's block you can still create content
2. Aim to make the fans happy and do not chase fame or money
3. Be consistent with putting out content
4. Most ideas have been done before. Look at old videos and see how you can make them better or more relevant
5. Don't do it for the money (Lamborghini)
6. Do what makes you happy
7. Create content that you love
8. If you feel burnt out, try something new in your life, like travel or skydiving for a new perspective
9. Treat it like a job
10. Before you launch, have ideas in your back pocket so you can stay on a schedule

How to Build Your Personal Brand

How do you build a brand that is authentic and resonates with your viewers?

Speakers: Alex Ojeda, Cosette Rinab, Jay Mendoza

Most of the panelists were TikTokers. Formerly known as musical.ly, TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short music videos, think Karaoke for the digital age. However, other than dancing videos which are carefully synchronized, there are skits, travel, fashion, and beauty videos on the platform. The majority of the videos are 15 second long, but can be as long as 1 minute. If you are looking for quick entertainment, this is the platform for you.

Key Takeaways:

1. Make your brand consistent across all your videos. All your videos should have a similar vibe. If you want to be family friendly, then all your content should be family friendly
2. Being family friendly will open more doors with brands and sponsors
3. Be genuine. People want to see the real you. Don't sacrifice your authenticity
4. Create what make you happy and what you believe in. People can tell
5. Don't try to satisfy everyone
6. People don't know you so don't let their negative comments bring you down. Be unapologetically you.
7. Make other people's ideas better. It's not stealing, it's inspiration to grow
8. Don't compare yourself to other people
9. Don't be scared to post. You have nothing to lose.
10. Post consistently; however, remember its quality over quantity. Care about what you put out there

Production 101

I stopped by this panel because JP Lambiase from episode 45 of the Creative Breakthrough podcast was on this panel.

Growing a social media channel or page can seem pretty hard. This panel will discuss what goes into creating content that stands out, what you need in terms of equipment, editing tips, what you should be thinking about, and general best practices for building an audience.

Speakers: JP Lambiase, Julia Goolia, Legendary Shots, Most Amazing, Information Overload, Jonathan Paula, and Ben De Almeida

Key Takeaways:

1. Make your idea unique by bringing in your personality and unique perspective
2. If you have an idea do your due diligence before you start to see who else has done it and how you can make it better. Don't worry if the idea has been done before, put your own spin on it and make it better
3. Highlight your strengths in your content, so that you can continue making quality content and not get stuck. e. if you're not a singer, don't make a singing podcast. You will get stuck real quick.
4. The more you put out there, the more opportunities you will have
5. Don't have high expectations. Remember, everyone started at the bottom and now they're here…meaning on this panel
6. Find something you enjoy, otherwise it becomes work
7. Passion shows through your work, so make sure you enjoy it
8. Soul search – find what you are strong at and what you enjoy doing
9. Remember, it has never been easier to create content and to be seen, so what are you waiting on?
10. You don't need any fancy equipment to get started, your cell phone has a camera, editing tools, and filters. You're ready now.

Finding Your Place

How to carve out a special place for yourself, your content, and your communities in the sea of creators and platforms.

Speakers: Drew Lynch, Fur, Hannah Forcier, Sarah Lugor, Supdaily, syd's vids

1. Find what you do well, hone in on that, repeat it, and refine it
2. Do not follow a formula
3. Develop your own voice and style

Expanding Your Creative Career

These creators started out on one platform but have been able to translate their success onto different platforms, verticals, gigs, jobs, and more

Speakers: Mark Daniel, Brandi Marie King, Shark Puppet, The Ballinger Family, Thomas Hayden sWooZie

1. Find what platform works for you – podcast, YouTube, blogging
2. Make sure your content represents you
3. If you are aiming for an entertainment career, showcase your skills online. For example, one woman wanted to be a TV host so she began making YouTube videos to showcase her skill set. Another person put his magic tricks online and now travels the world doing magic
4. Treat your content as if your grandma is watching or listening if your goal is to acquire sponsors
5. Don't worry about views and numbers
6. Focus on engagement
7. Experiment and try different types of content
8. Don't let bad experiences or comments demotivate you, learn from them
9. Do not be afraid to evolve
10. Understand your priorities, meaning how do you prioritize your content versus your family or how do you prioritize making content you enjoy versus money

Battling Burnout

Coping with feelings that come with content curation challenges

Speakers: Brandon Baldwin, Emzotic, Jonathan Paula, Kati Morton, Rhino

1. Burnout effects everyone. Everyone on the panel agreed they had felt burnout at some point in their career
2. Learn to put yourself first
3. Have patience with the process
4. Don't let others bring you down
5. Do what you love

Pushing Through

Sometimes what you're working on doesn't perform as you wanted it to, or something didn't turn out how you expected. Hear how these creators stay motivated through the ups and downs of life and work.

Speakers:

EnochTrue, Hailey Reese, Mark Daniel, Slice N Rice, Vanessa Nagoya

1. Keep reading about changes in the algorithms on Google, YouTube, Instagram, etc.
2. Remember even influencers videos don't always perform well
3. Keep a running list of ideas for when you have writers' block
4. Find new ideas in the comment sections of your content and other people's content
5. Remember why you started making and putting content out - the joy, the passion, the love

One question that people kept asking the panelist – How do you deal with negative comments?

Key takeaways from the entire conference:

1. Do what you love and do it for love, not for money
2. Stay consistent
3. Have fun!

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