Why Online Video Management is a Lot Like Fishing

I have always loved fishing. For me, it’s the perfect blend of art and science. It keeps me engaged and focused on continuous improvement. Whether it’s the bait on my hook, that ideal spot for casting, or the speed with which I reel in, there are so many knobs to turn and levers to pull to increase my likelihood of catching a fish. Just when I think I’ve acknowledged and aligned all of the variables, something changes, something new comes into play, and my analysis and adjustments begin again. Above all, real fishing is deeply rooted in an appreciation and reverence for this process and the fish themselves.*

I have found fishing to be an excellent analogy for online video management. So much so that I easily fall into fishing-speak when giving a talk or explaining to a customer how best to maximize the value of their video investments. Think about it this way: If you are the fisherwoman or fisherman, your bait is your video, and your fish are your intended audience. To take this even further, the body of water you choose to fish in is like your video publishing and distribution strategy. Your video views represent the number of fish caught and the engagement data for each of your destinations. And if you want to go even further, ask yourself: Is your fishing pole, line and reel (or video player, hosting infrastructure, file format, load-time) engineered to keep the fish on your line while you reel it in? Okay, even great analogies start to break down at some point.

Simply speaking, fishing, like successful online video, requires a number of a priori decisions and aligned variables that must be considered carefully on Day 1:

1. Who is your intended audience? (What are you fishing for?)
2. What’s the best place to find them? (Where do they live?)
3. What type of video do you intend to use or create? (What kind of bait do they like best?)

Just about every other question you might ask yourself comes after you make and align these three fundamental decisions. Getting one or even two of these aligned isn’t enough. For example, it doesn’t take a savvy fisher to know that salmon isn’t successfully caught by using earthworms on a hook in salt water.

Having a smart hypothesis about 1-3 is required, but remember, there is no right answer. Like fishing, “perfect” doesn’t exist. You can’t control fish or their environment and you certainly can’t control people or their video consumption habits and surroundings. One day that tried and true set of videos just might not interest your audience as much as it used to. Or perhaps that body of water has been overfished or the competition so great that you need to find a new spot.

Despite how this uncertainty may feel to our inner “control freak” (yes, it’s in all of us somewhere!), this is the reality of online video. It requires constant thinking. It rewards trial and error, intuition and pattern recognition. And most of all, it keeps us focused on the right things. When you choose to embrace the fishing in online video, I think you’ll find it even more enjoyable!

*This post is dedicated to fly fisherman Captain Gregg Arnold, who demonstrates nothing but deep admiration and respect for fish.

Photo Credit: Tri Nguyen | P h o t o g r a p h y