Afar | Video
Launching a video program for a travel media brand
Developed the strategy for, process, and production for launching Afar’s video program, including long-form YouTube videos and short-form social media videos.
PROJECT TYPE
Video, content strategy
DATE
2022-2024
RESULT
7M-9M annual video views after launch
LINKS: Afar YouTube | Afar Instagram
BACKGROUND / CHALLENGE
Prior to 2022, Afar had little to no video presence online, and was publishing in a very inconsistent basis. In order to increase revenue from advertisers and grow and engage with our audience on social media platforms, we needed a more consistent and higher quality video product. I led the team to develop a product and content strategy, set editorial guidelines, and create efficient workflows to establish our video program.
01 // Production + Process
To set the foundation for our video program, we focused on these key things:
Process and workflows:
Figuring out production was a big part of our first year. In that time we:
Created an efficient operational system + templates
~3 weeks to produce a YouTube video
Streamlined reviews with frame.io
Established tech and tooling
Created a place to collect editor-submitted videos
Established guidelines for shooting, recording voiceover, and telling stories in a new format.
Design consistency:
Created visual guidelines that align with Afar’s visual brand.
Coordination with editorial calendar
Aligned video strategy with articles for consistency of brand and efficiency of production.
RESULT
Goal: Produce 5 videos per month
Result: ~7.6 per month (29 YouTube videos + 63 IG Reels for 2022)
02 // Distribution
Increase YouTube and on-site views by tying video ideas to the editorial calendar and embedding them as hero videos for a 4x increase in video views.
Integrated a process for publishing all short videos as YouTube Shorts, resulting in 131% MoM increase in YouTube views (Sept. vs. Aug.).
Experimented with content types and measured results, to develop effective and highly-engaging series, such as review videos (gear and airlines), beautiful destinations, and travel intel—identifying that content selection and series have a direct impact on our ability to distribute and reach audiences.
03 // Results
2022 was an R&D year for us, and we got some great results to start:
But the real growth came in 2023, when we were able to put our learnings into effect and truly grow our video program from 1.1M to 7.3M annual views, a 563% YoY growth.
