How to develop a content strategy using a model for YouTubers
The Hero, Hub, Hygiene model formula for success for YouTube creators
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How to develop a content strategy using a model for YouTubers
Artists want their music to be discovered. But what if that doesn’t matter at all, and instead artists have an audience of fans that look forward to new music? Successful YouTubers that work with a regular posting schedule can be a great example.
Why it matters
Music artists easily create content when they’re in a campaign. Promoting an album or being on tour guarantees a large stream of content. However, when they’re off-campaign, many artists struggle with creating content. The Hero, Hub, Hygiene model helps artists program their content consistently for the longer term and create content series about brand associations other than music.
How it works
The Hero, Hub, Hygiene model - also referred to as the Hero, Hub Help model - is a strategy developed by Google as a formula for success for YouTube creators. Instead of pressuring artists to create the next viral hit, the model focuses on community-building in the long term by emphasising consistency and planning. Or better yet: offering the right content at the right time to the right people.
The model differentiates three categories of content, each of which requires a different type of activation.
Hero content refers to large-scale events such as an album release or big moments such as a large festival show. Hero content is designed for audience growth and should be done one or two times a year.
Hub content is content that returns on a regular basis, like episodic and formatted series - ”Welcome to a new episode of..”. This helps to keep fans coming back. For example, this weekly newsletter fits the hub content category. Other examples include a weekly vlog, a recurring topic to discuss on Instagram Stories, and a weekly updated Spotify playlist.
Hygiene content is created around how people find a brand. For YouTube, research frequently used search queries related to the artist's brand and develop videos around that. For artists, the music catalogue on Spotify can be described as hygienic content. It’s a great entry point to give new fans a great first impression and lead them to more content.
Yes, but..
It’s easy to develop hygiene content around what people search for when the product is a solution to a problem. Artists can create these how-to videos or tutorials, but only if it fits the artist's brand.
Take action now
Artists can take two actions to start using the Hero, Hub, Hygiene model today.
Start with hygiene content: Examine how new fans find the brand now. Optimise these channels to give new fans a great first impression.
Next, hub content: Develop a weekly recurring format.
When hygiene and hub strategies are developed, invest in hero content: Identify a large-scale event that’s coming up in the next twelve months, like the release of an album. Identify content that should be created.
Further reading
Schedule your content (Google)
Hero, Hub, Hygiene Model- The Definitive YouTube Strategy for Brands (Brendan Gahan)