Dawn of the Planet of the Haters.
Haters are bad influences and will never stop coming. But little do they know, they are the greatest contributors to your success.
Knowing your audience is one of the most vital aspects of conducting yourself within the media industry. With the rise of social media I’ve become more aware that the main objectives of companies and personalities is to be ‘like-able’ by their audiences, and they will turn on the foundations that they’ve built if it means they can restructure it towards a solid allegiance with it’s fandom. Much of the content that I consume has been clearly affected by this. Resulting in me disagreeing with many of the approaches made by media sites and influencers, as the content that they previously produced is now tainted by a bias connotation to ensure they please, instead of informing and boosting their recipients. The worst part is that most of these parties are unaware of the consequences that their untruthful and selfish demeanor can bring, and as a result they damage their reputation in the eyes of potential new consumers and those which value them the most. It is originality and honesty which is currently lacking in opinionated pieces of media nowadays, and even though I despite it. I have been convicted of participating in it as well.
I started a brand back in 2014, which covers football within all communication channels of modern media. From platforms like Instagram and YouTube to blog posts and online magazines. To be completely honest, the recent performance of the BugaLuisFC brand hasn’t been as successful as I wanted it to be. A recipe between a lack of consistency and swerving of topics, spiced with shortage of time. There is no stop in a daily ever-changing industry like media, and needless to say a weekly topic like football. With it, I’ve started to indirectly see this once hobby of mine, as a duty rather than a pleasure. Gratification is something that I’ve lost, even though, I can still feel it from time to time after posting a video. One of the main reasons that I feel this way is that I’ve strayed away somewhat from my own voice. As the rush to publish and move onto the next project is immediate, I’ve realized that most of the time when scripting or recording I much rather rely on ‘giving the audience what they want’ instead of prioritizing the integrity of my content. Could it be because it’s simpler? Maybe, faster to make? or is it because I’m afraid of the response of the audience? How am I supposed to know, the repercussions that this might bring to my brand? It seems that every time a controversy stems, the reaction is always negative and as a return the impact of the sub-sequential project is depleted. Should I be valuing more the voice of those who bring me down or that of the ones who stand by my content from the start, a time in which even I liked it more. A lesson must be learnt, one that clearly I’m yet to consummate.
“Don’t Cling to a Mistake Just Because You Spent a lot of Time Making it.”
— Aubrey De Graf
About a week ago, I shared a post, in the community tab of my YouTube channel, making fun of the club my audience support, and so do I. In an attempt to encourage self-criticism and reflection. This didn’t resonate well with the overwhelming majority of my viewers. Resulting in a spree of negative comments accusing me of fraudulence and incompetence. Needless to say, I believed this was the end, or the start of it. I quickly collected my thoughts and even though I didn’t agree with most of the arguments thrown at me, I set on a mission to write a statement regarding this incident. Kind of like a formal apology. I wrote it, published it and waited for yet another response. And to my surprise the individuals who decided to comment on this new post were completely different to those that did in the previous one. That’s when I knew. That’s when I realized that most people don’t even care, and that of course a disagreement prompts more individuals to engage. Why would someone go out of their way to express sentiment to something they already share? Only those who really show any sign of affection will ever make that effort. Have I been serving the wrong audience? Was I focusing on the wrong group of people?
Knowing your audience is one of the most vital aspects of conducting yourself within the media industry, and with the recent incident I’ve suffered I’ve realized that the only way to speak to an audience is finding the originality that made you motivated in the first place. There is no point in standing out if there is no one beside you. However, this doesn’t mean excluding or being disrespectful to those who don’t agree with you in certain things. Think, produce, create and publish as much as you want. The ones who enjoy it will stick and the ones who hate will hate, but don’t close them the door. There is always room available for them at the other side of the road.
