K atie c ouric

Be Service Oriented
From the experience of creating and maintaining one million fans, and
through conversations with the greatest marketing minds and social
influencers, I’ve learned, without a doubt, that the best way to get content to
go viral is by providing service and value to others. You can’t think about
what you want or need from people, you must think about what you can
offer them. Always start by asking yourself how you can touch your
audience on an emotional level that inspires them, that makes them feels
connected, or moves them in some way.
One of the greatest Facebook content geniuses today is Prince Ea. He
approaches content creation with service as the top priority of his strategy.
He admits that even though his ego can (and often does) get involved with
the desire for millions of views, he always tries to pivot back to the main
goal, which is reaching the heart of his viewers. He focuses on making a
true impact on the people who will see his posts and believes that things
really take off if he doesn’t focus on creating content for his own personal
gain. The numbers soar when he figures out how to serve others. He starts
to see exponential growth in his videos. Changing his mind-set from a me-
focused approach to a them-focused approach transformed his video views
from around ten million over an eight-year period to close to two billion
views in just two years. Switching to providing value and having a service-
oriented approach made him a view-gaining magnet.
Prince Ea believes that although the headline of a video, the thumbnail,
the length, and the first few seconds are key areas to have a logical and
practical focus, it won’t go as far if the content isn’t good and doesn’t serve

---

others or touch them emotionally. When creating content Prince Ea starts
with these questions to put himself in a service-oriented state of mind:
• Why am I here?
• How can I provide service and value to others?
• If this were the last video I was ever going to make, what would it
say?
• If this is going to be the best video on this topic, how can I make it
the best video ever? What will present the content in the best way
it’s ever been presented before?
• Why do I share the content that I share?
• What do I like about the content I see?
• How can I have a meaningful impact on the world?
Reflect on these questions for yourself and your brand. If you start your
content creation with these questions, you will be able to redirect your focus
from personal gain to serving others, which in turn will inspire your viewers
to share the love.
Katie Couric takes a similar approach when creating content. She
focuses on building a sense of community by finding topics that affect
viewers on a visceral level and that can improve their lives, which is why
she has done bold and brave things like getting a colonoscopy on national
television. After that show aired, the number of people screened for colon
cancer went up by 20 percent. It took courage and humility to put herself in
a vulnerable position that inspired others to do the same and take care of
themselves. This kind of content has an impact on people’s lives and makes
them want to share the information with others.
Erick Brownstein also takes a service-oriented approach when
designing content. He explains that people don’t like being annoyed with
typical advertisements and marketers must think about and commit to
creating value for potential customers. Shareability knows that advertising
will only become shareable by creating emotional connections, eliciting
strong relational bonds with viewers, and building new relationships.
“When people share they care,” Brownstein said, “and when they care they
buy.”

---