Generating Buzzworthy Videos

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What is it about the videos you watch while scrolling social media, that makes you stop and watch? A better question is: How can you create a video that makes others stop and watch?

Recently, chef, author, mom, and TV host, Nikki Dinki joined me on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to share her secrets on making buzzworthy videos and chat about her newest cookbook, More Veggies Please!

More Veggies Please! is a cookbook targeted towards families, but is for everyone!

“It’s our classic American staples, your mac and cheeses, your chicken nuggets, your chicken tenders, your meatloaf, with a surprising veggie twist. It’s really a way to just get more variety of vegetables in your diet, while still having things like queso,” Nikki explained.

This is Nikki’s second cookbook. Her first was Meat on the Side. So you might say, vegetables are her brand. We first met when I was a senior health producer for Fox News and interviewed her about the first book. I’ve been following her journey ever since and it’s her videos that have kept me engaged. So I wanted to know her strategy.

Which brings us to our first pillar of creating buzzworthy videos for your brand.

1) Know your point of view.

Nikki explained that it’s important to have a strong point of view, “That’s really important for people who are looking to build a platform.”

If you’re for everything, no one can tell who you are or what your brand is. A lot of people struggle to find what they’re going to be known for and talk about. You have to choose one thing.

Once people follow you, they’ll like you for your personality. But to get people to follow you, you have to be very clear on what you’re offering them.

Even Nikki’s brand was a journey. Now Nikki says, “Veggies are my thing.” But she didn’t know that immediately.

“I’m not really a vegetarian,” Nikki explains, “I celebrate veggies. I cook them a little bit uniquely. But I incorporate meat.” Her brand was cemented while competing on Food Network Star.

On the first day, she had to give a spiel about who she was. And she said, “I cook in a way with meat on the side.” Nikki says, “I just felt like everyone lit up and I felt like I’m onto something.”

Which brings us to another good lesson…

2) Test your brand.

“You might think something is brilliant, but you’ve got to put it out in front of people and make sure that they agree,” Nikki said.

Different things hit at different times. And testing things out on your platforms will help you know what your audience is interested in. That’s how Nikki developed More Veggies Please!

She asked herself, “How do I get people to really be invested in this book? How do I make sure that they buy that on day one?”

The answer: Get your audience involved.

Nikki got her Instagram followers really involved by asking for their opinions. She asked questions like,

What do you think is healthier, honey or sugar?

Is it easy for you to find canned lentils?

Would you rather me put one or two squash in this recipe?

She posed questions to her audience about the book as she posted her other food video content regularly. People got to see her process of making the book. Plus, they got to weigh in on the recipe development. When the book came out, her audience was excited to buy it.

3) Highlight your brand, consistently!

The smallest details can make all the difference, even on the book cover.

“I decided to put little arrows that say chickpeas and sweet potatoes to let people know the theme of the book, to highlight and bold the secret veggie ingredient in the recipe,” Nikki said.

This way if someone didn’t know her at all, but picked up the book in a store, they’d immediately understand her brand.

Then, when looking at her social media, they’d see the same kind of content posted regularly. Posting regularly is super important.

And posting regularly doesn’t mean posting all the time. It just means posting on a consistent schedule. So look for ways to cut down your workload to get more content out.

Reuse and repost the content you have. Use tools like Coschedule or Hootsuite to post your content consistently and at the best times. And hire the help when you could use it!

Nikki and I both have behind-the-scenes teams helping us, it might be time to get some assistance so you can really grow your following as well!

Nikki is one of the best examples of how consistently producing social media content and engaging your audience yields great results. But she’s also continued to appear on television and other forms of media to keep her name out there and her skills polished.

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Interested in building a bigger following for your buzzworthy videos? Check out my conversation with Pacific & Court Founder, Kourtney Jason on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop.