📈 What my YouTube analytics taught me about AI, attention, and community
A behind-the-scenes look at what I'm learning from my Summer Series and why retention matters more than views.
What’s in this issue:
The easier content becomes to create, the harder it becomes to stand out.
Getting attention and keeping attention require different skills.
Community is becoming even more valuable as AI becomes more accessible.
Sooo... I made my way back to YouTube. 😂
I am not sure yet how long I will stick around but I definitely gave my visionary self a timeline. That said, I am starting with a Summer Series, where I plan to post at least 2x a week.
I’ll be chatting about what it’s like to be a visionary, entrepreneurship, building with AI, and of course, community.
It’s only been like a week or so lol but two videos in, and I found myself doing what every creator eventually does (and what I usually tell my clients not to do) and looked at the analytics.
Anddd this is where things got interesting…
Both videos are under 5 minutes and both average a minute and a half of watch time. 👀
The numbers themselves weren’t particularly groundbreaking, but they got me thinking about something I’ve been noticing across the internet for a while now.
We’re living through a fascinating moment where creating content has never been easier, yet holding someone’s attention feels harder than ever.
I was laughing about this with a friend recently because I can sit down with an idea today and move from concept to draft significantly faster than I could even two years ago.
Even as a VISIONARY!!!
And that’s exactly why attention is becoming so valuable.
For years, the challenge was getting your content out into the world. Most people never made it past the idea stage. They had something to say but lacked the time, confidence, tools, or consistency to say it. Today, many of those barriers are disappearing. The result is that more people are publishing, creating, sharing, and experimenting than ever before.
IDK about you, but I actually think that’s a good thing.
The downside, of course, is that we’re all now competing in a much noisier environment. Every platform is flooded with content. Every scroll introduces another opinion, another hot take, another video, another newsletter, another creator asking for a few minutes of your attention.
When I looked at my own retention numbers, I realized the question wasn’t really, “How do I get more people to click?” The more interesting question was, “What makes someone stay?”
The more I sat with that question, the more it reminded me of community.
One of the reasons I’ve spent so much of my career focused on community building is because community has never really been about content. Content can:
Get someone in the door
Introduce people to your world
Help someone discover your ideas for the first time
BUT community is what gives them a reason to stay AND return.
That’s why I don’t buy into the narrative that AI is somehow making community less important. If anything, I think the opposite is happening. As content becomes easier to create, the human elements become more valuable.
It’s funny because I started this Summer Series thinking I would learn more about YouTube. Instead, I can’t stop thinking about people and community.
What makes people pay attention?
What makes them trust?
What makes them stay connected?
What makes them come back?
Whether we’re talking about YouTube subscribers, newsletter readers, community members, customers, or friends, the underlying question is the same.
My biggest takeaway from this week’s YouTube rabbit hole is that attention might be one of the most valuable currencies in business right now, but attention alone isn’t enough. Getting someone to click is great. Getting someone to stay is better. BUT giving them a reason to come back again and again is where the magic happens.
🌱Ingrid
𓆝 ⋆.This week’s challenge
Take a look at the last piece of content you created and ask yourself: Would someone have a reason to come back for more? If not, what can I do to change that.
Quote of the week
°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
“Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether our social, political, and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it.” — Dario Amodei
What I am celebrating
Supporting my client, Deb Boulanger, in hosting her first-ever retreat in NYC for her community, Life After Corporate.
Kicking off a community build project for a new client where I’ll get to co-service with my biz bestie Fatima Teos 🎉🎉🎉
An awesome 1:1 Community Strategy session with Gloria Ogbemudia. It was one of those conversations that reminds me why I love this work. Watching someone move from "I have so many ideas and I'm not sure where to start" to "I can see the path forward" never gets old.
SUMMER! I can’t wait to enjoy this season with the fam, go to the beach, and be present. 💕
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