Viewing behavior has changed, and everyone is trying to figure the algorithm out. YouTube has made it clear that YouTube is the new television,
but YouTube is also about being at the epicenter
of culture and creating these connected connected experiences.
That makes it very different from Netflix, and it also makes it very different from YouTube in the past,
which is why a lot of creators have seen their views drop because you are playing by the old rules. If your content used to work, but lately it's not,
I'm gonna tell you why. It's not that people are not clicking, it's that they're not binging.
And right now, that is the only thing that the platforms really care about. So in this video, I'm gonna dig into the psychology
of binge watching.
What actually gets your viewers to binge on YouTube,
why it's not happening on your channel yet,
and the storytelling techniques that fixes that.
We have entered the error of the creator led studio.
So that means you need to think about your content strategy
differently.
Social media algorithms are deprioritizing
low effort content.
Therefore, the only way to grow your brand right now is to become a better storyteller.
Hi. I'm Darren. I'm a writer's guild award winning creator and producer,
and welcome to story caffeine
where I break down the storytelling techniques that you need to build a brand that people wanna binge. Most gurus focus on getting the click. Now attention is something that you can engineer,
but session time is not. Right now, the platforms care about retention.
How long you keep someone watching and if you keep them coming back. But getting someone to click and getting someone to keep watching require two completely different psychological
mechanisms,
and that is why most creators are seeing a dip right now. So if your content doesn't lead your viewer to want more content, you stop getting impressions.
Now I know that is frustrating because a lot of advice right now is about hacking attention,
about building obsession,
building cult like audiences,
all of that stuff.
But here's the thing,
that worked ten years ago,
not now. Social media is TV now, which means if you're still thinking like an influencer,
you're optimizing for clicks, not for what actually keeps people watching. And why do I know this? Because I've been making content for over fifteen years, but I am not your typical guru. In fact, I am not a guru. I'm a content producer.
I started right here on YouTube.
I've produced series. I've produced live events and conferences with some of the biggest media brands,
and I have seen all the shifts over the years. I've even heard about them directly from the leaders behind them. So I started talking about this TV shift before it even happened, but that is a new thing for most creators, so I'm gonna break it down. If you wanna build an audience that binge watches your content,
it is not about psychological tricks,
but it is about understanding the difference in psychology between what gets someone to click
and what gets someone to binge. Clicks answer, why should I start watching?
Binges answer, why would I stop watching?
A click is an impulsive decision.
Binge watching
is a commitment. Clicks happen because of tension, but it is fast and shallow tension.
Relevance,
curiosity,
novelty,
or low commitment.
That is why titles and thumbnails are so competitive on YouTube, and that is why old YouTube was about everything being fast and easy.
And you're missing out on this or you're missing out on that. But since YouTube is now TV,
getting the click is only step one. Because the second that they do click, their brain switches to do I keep watching or do I leave? And leaving is very easy on YouTube. That is why there is a whole graph in YouTube studio showing you when you're losing people. So why do people stay?
Why do they watch one video
then another
then another? Is it obsession?
Is it addiction?
Or is it something else? People binge
when there is momentum.
And momentum comes from four things.
A character that they're invested in,
attention that they want resolved,
a reward
that they expect,
and an open loop that pulls them forward. That is it. You can make a TV show now. I mean, that's not completely
everything that a screenwriter has to figure out, but it is a good portion of what writers have to figure out. Think about any show that you've binged.
You care about someone,
something is unfolding,
there is a payoff that you're waiting for,
and there's always a reason right at the very end to hit the next episode.
And that is why you haven't left your couch for six hours.
Same thing on YouTube. There is a character that your viewer invest in,
that is likely you.
There is attention that they want resolved,
and that is your channel narrative.
There is a reward
that they expect,
Maybe that's your framework or your tips.
There is an open loop that pulls them forward.
That is your ending call to action or your playlist or your end cards.
But here's where this falls apart for most creators.
You optimize
for the click,
and then you lose the binge.
You treat videos like one off answers instead of a connected experience,
so they don't build a relationship.
And there's chatbots that can do that for them now. So the viewer thinks,
I got it. I'm done. You answer everything too quickly, so there's no reason to keep watching.
You jump between random topics, so the viewer just gets confused.
Your viewer's brain is constantly asking,
what story am I watching? And then they never get hooked. That emotionally charged thumbnail title and hook you worked on so hard to get that click only got them in the door. But here is the thing. If you don't have narrative tension,
that emotional charge
gets resolved in one video. So they only watch one video. If your content isn't bingeable,
it's because the viewer is not clear what journey they're supposed to be on with you. So you solve one problem for me, but will you solve anything else? I don't really know.
But here is the definition that Google gave me.
Binging acts as an escape from or a way to
manage intense emotions like stress,
depression, or loneliness.
For our purposes,
we mean binge in a positive way that your viewers are motivated
to build a relationship with you through your content
because you solve problems in their life. But the point is,
binges require emotional
connection,
not just keywords and hacks. But what is that unresolved
question
at the center of your channel that is swimming around in your viewer's brain? It can be an internal question.
It can be an external question.
It can be a philosophical question,
but it is what is going to keep your viewer coming back. And here is the other reason you're not getting a binge. You are making yourself the center of the story.
YouTube is different than Netflix
because you are not the center of the story.
Your viewer is. You're a leading character, but you are their guide. A binge worthy creator led show is different
than a traditional television show. The purpose of sharing your story is to build a relationship with the hero, not to give a monologue. And that relationship
builds trust,
and that leads to clients and to sales. But what if you're a vlogger or musician or an author or a filmmaker?
It is the same. With creator led brands, your viewer needs to connect to you just as much as they connect to your work. Think about the princess bride. Who is actually telling the story? The grandfather.
The grandfather is telling the story of Buttercup and Wesley to his grandson to teach him something.
So the character
that's on the hero's journey is actually the grandson.
The story is not about the grandfather. We don't even really know much about the grandfather.
But he is the reason that story matters, and that is your role. You're saying,
we're in this together. YouTube is the new television,
not the old television.
It's not about having obsessed fans. That is not the vibe. It's about building relationships
and creating a world that people feel comfortable enough to hang out in. You cannot hack your way into creating a binge worthy show. It's about building a world that people want to keep visiting, and that
is the future of YouTube. So it's not about how do I get people to click.
It's why would they stay. And that is the difference between click driven content
and binge driven content. Now if you want people to keep watching, you need more than good videos. You need a reason to continue,
and that is why you should click on the video that's popping up on the screen because I have a simple framework for you. And if you wanna work with me, everything is in the video description.
Until next time, keep creating and keep thinking like a showrunner.