Hey everyone,
A quick update on the format of this newsletter, followed by some YouTube strategy for you (and hopefully some CDL teams) to steal.
Going forward, my goal is to pump out 2 pieces per week. Sunday's will be in more of a "newsletter" format, with 3 key marketing stories from the week covered, along with my take on them. I'll also be sending you emails like this on Wednesday's that are more of the traditional case study or article format with 1 main focus (i.e. today is YouTube strategy for the CDL).
More content for you, more writing practice for me. Seems like a fair deal, right?
Today at a glance:
For some reason, many teams in the Call of Duty League neglect YouTube as a platform for growth, or are using strategies that just don't work. Today we'l go over why YouTube is such an important platform, along with my take on what lower tier teams in the league may want to focus on to grow their initial following on the platform. Oh, and of course, feel free to steal all this stuff for your own brand.
If you're new around here and you enjoy this type of content, you can subscribe for free here:
Why am I so big on YouTube?
YouTube is a special platform. It has the opportunity for both discovery and longevity.
A platform like TikTok is great for initial discoverability, but not amazing at conversion from viewer to fan to customer. There's a reason why most successful TikTokers attempt to move their audiences off the platform.
A platform like this newsletter is great for longevity and building a deeper relationship with audience members. But, discovery is kinda sh*t. There's no algorithm pushing it out to new people. That work is done manually, via other platforms (like TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube).
As established earlier, YouTube is a sort of unicorn in that it has both. You could post a video and watch your channel go from 180 → 2000+ subscribers nearly overnight (like mine did) after getting scooped up by the algorithm.
[Btw, you can sub to the channel here if you want]
That same video could have a lifecycle of years, consistently raking in new traffic.
YouTube also allows for both short-form and long-form content. I'm a big fan of long form content (in addition to short form, of course) for brands, since it helps to build a deeper relationship with your customer base. Viewers who know, like, and trust you are more likely to stick around, and buy whatever product you’re selling.
All of the teams in the CDL have a Youtube channel — that's good.
But, the majority aren't coming close to maximizing the potential of the platform.
And let me clarify. This isn't an attack or meant to criticize any team. YouTube is a resource-intensive platform, and anyone around esports knows that most teams are understaffed and spread extremely thin. If anything, it should highlight to management that more resources should be allocated in this direction.
Most smaller teams in the CDL should stop trying to be like OpTic and 100 Thieves (for now).
In my opinion, this is why so many of the newer brands in the league struggle to get off the ground on YouTube.
Teams like OpTic and 100 Thieves are often looked at as the poster children for content creation success — as they should be. They're great at what they do.
But, they have something that most other teams don't: years and years of brand building.
Most other teams in the CDL are starting from scratch. And those that are backed by known brands in the esports scene have team names that aren't congruent with the overall branding of the organization, making it more difficult to carry fans over.
My point? Fans watch the documentaries, trivia videos, challenges, etc. from the legacy orgs because they already have a reason to care. These types of videos are great for deepening relationships with existing fans, but not amazing for reaching new ones.
Yet, teams without the several-year head start are trying to emulate this style of posting, in hopes of bringing in new fans.
This type of lifestyle and story-based content does have a place. I'm not saying to get rid of it. Teams should absolutely aspire to get to the point where lifestyle content is something that can attract significant viewership.
But, it shouldn't be the cornerstone of the YouTube strategy early on.
Consider this approach instead.
As I mentioned earlier, YouTube is one of the better platforms for organic discoverability. You don't need to spend money on ads to grow your channel. You just need to create the right content (easier said that done, I know).
The issue with the documentaries and lifestyle videos mentioned in the last section is that they aren't discoverable. Few people, if any, are actively searching for a hot sauce eating challenge video from the Seattle Surge or a Paris Legion documentary when they log on to YouTube.
Even if you include player names in the titles and descriptions, most players in the CDL outside of Scump don't have the search volume to make a huge dent in your traffic needs.
So, that leads us to the question — what type of discoverable YouTube content can CDL teams create that will bring in that initial search traffic?
There is no catch-all solution. If there was I’d be a celebrity YouTuber and probably not writing this newsletter. But, to start, here’s what I’d do.
Create content that adds value outside of entertainment alone. Create content that helps people get better at the game. Tips and tricks, in-depth analysis, class setups, etc.
Do this while leveraging the fanbases of players on your team to drive initial traffic while you’re still figuring out what works for search.
Build the foundation, then add the lifestyle content once viewers have a reason to care.
This works for a few reasons:
1) This type of content is searchable and favorable to the YouTube algorithm.
If you play Call of Duty, or any game, think back to two key points in your gaming career:
When you first started playing the game.
When the new version of the game drops every year.
What type of content were you actively searching on YouTube? Probably "Call of Duty tips and tricks," "Best class setups," "how to get more kills in Call of Duty," etc...
Creating this type of content as an organization can serve as top of funnel for people who are brand new to the game. Esports is just a fraction of the wider gaming audience, many of which play COD casually. If your team is the first CDL touchpoint for casual COD players, it's likely that person will end up as a fan of your organization.
Also, given the yearly release cycle of Call of Duty, there's a big opportunity for growth at the beginning of each year if you can capitalize on this uptick in search traffic.
Right now, individual creators are — but, no professional team is.
2) Your content has built in social proof.
Much of the challenge of creating educational content on Youtube is answering the question — why should viewers trust you?
As a professional team in the COD esport, this possible objection is already taken care of.
The involvement in the CDL creates a reason for new viewers to watch your "Best Class Setup" video over another video. There's a reason why these types of videos do well for pro players like Octane and Attach. Viewers trust them.
On top of that, these pro players that viewers already trust individually are on your teams. With appropriate considerations for player workload and mental health, involving players in this type of content creation regularly would help to drive traffic to the org channel.
This also opens up the opportunity for more in-depth educational content. More dedicated players of the game want to understand what's going through the heads of top players in certain scenarios.
What are the best angles on the map? What are the best hardpoint rotation routes? What are the best Search and Destroy strats? The opportunities for in-depth, unique content from the perspective of pro's is huge.
Not to mention the opportunity to bolster distribution by promoting org videos on individual player accounts (topic for another article 😉).
Real life example: Disrupt Gaming
Disrupt Gaming is an organization known primarily for competing in Rainbow Six Siege. Their YouTube channel is a prime example of this strategy in action.
Not only are they prolific with content output on the platform, they are intentionally putting out searchable content. As a result, they've become a go-to resource for many in the R6 scene when it comes to instructional content. They help players get better at the game.
And in the past year or so, the channel has grown from 78K subscribers to over 200K.
Also, I'd be willing to bet that a good amount of their traffic comes from YouTube itself, and doesn't have to be driven from other platforms like Twitter (though cross platform distribution is crucial as well).
Of course, it's not a magic bullet. There are still ups and downs in viewership, as with any content strategy.
Perhaps the long term solution is an appropriate mix of both value-add, searchable content and lifestyle based content. And the searchable content along with external traffic serves as the initial driver of growth on the platform, and then engagement is sustained through the lifestyle based content that esports fans enjoy.
It’s not a “versus” situation. Rather, both types of content should work together. And many orgs are neglecting an entire category of promising content. That’s the problem.
If you're interested in learning more about DG’s strategy, I interviewed their Director of YouTube (the fact that they have that position is an indicator of how much of a priority the platform is). You can watch the full interview here.
Consistent team YouTube content can also be a launch pad for players' content creation careers.
If you're in marketing and content creation, you likely share a similar opinion as I do:
Players should be maximizing their time as a pro by creating content that will set them up for success in life after the Call of Duty league. This goes for any esport, really.
Take someone like Octane, for example. He started his YouTube channel during the 2020 Modern Warfare season, and has since surpassed 100K subscribers and established himself as one of the key creators in the scene.
He likely won't end up without a roster spot anytime soon. But, if he did, he wouldn't need to worry because of the platform he's built.
Yet, many players just don't get started. Why?
Well, as a professional esports athlete, life involves scrims, VOD review, high stress matches, and the fear of getting dropped at any moment. Content creation can easily become an afterthought if you don't understand how important it is.
Team content can be an effective, low-stakes way to involve players who are hesitant about content creation on their own. It doesn't require daily, or even weekly, content creation from the individual player. It doesn't require the work of editing, programming, and uploading the video. It's just a great way to get reps in front of the camera and some initial exposure to fans.
Done right, this helps both the team and the player. As the player becomes more comfortable on camera, this opens up new opportunities in content creation.
Look at NYSL player, Hydra, for example. He doesn't yet have a personal YouTube channel. But his involvement in NYSL content has made him one of the most lovable players in the entire league. If he decides to undertake content creation on his own, I'm confident he'd be able to build a real platform for himself.
The team also benefits by developing the player's personality by demonstrating to other players that the team is an ideal place to go to grow a valuable personal brand. I talked about this a bit more in the recent case study I wrote on 100 Thieves creator, JHBTeam.
TL;DR
In summary:
YouTube is a great platform to be on because of its potential for discoverability and the longevity of content on the platform.
Most teams in the CDL should stop trying to be the next OpTic or 100T for now, and focus on searchable content that favors the algorithm to generate traffic on YouTube. Supplement this with lifestyle content, but don’t make lifestyle videos the main content pillar. As growth continues and your brand becomes more established, introduce more lifestyle content, since there are more viewers that actually care about it now.
Team-led content creation can also be a great way to introduce newer players to content creation, and set them up for success after their time as players.
What are your thoughts? Would love to hear from you in the replies to this email.
Pull up a seat, stay a while
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Until Sunday at 9am PST,
Tommy