Video Tip of the Week – What I Learned at Digital Hollywood, Part 2

Digital Hollywood is the three-day seminar in Los Angeles made for cutting edge creatives and distributors; so, why were ideas from 20 years ago being discussed?

Because old ideas aren’t necessarily BAD ones.

One of the concepts discussed at length has been around for a pretty long time: “Windowing,” defined as releasing content for only a short “window” of time.

Viewers are familiar with the concept, as anyone who has waited desperately for a movie to be released on DVD knows (or in earlier days, prayed it would play on TV). In our binge-watching culture, the anticipation and fear of missing something can be a powerful motivator.

So how does this pertain to you?

If you are planning online video content that is something truly unique, timely, or targeted, use the windowing concept to build anticipation and make an event out of your content.

This idea doesn’t work for serial content or non-event happenings, as that content generally accrues more numbers over time.

But if you are trying to spike numbers for a specific video, consider windowing as a way to motivate viewers to watch before it disappears.

Photo Credit: ntm1909/Flickr