Use case: If Quarantine is Driving You Crazy, Watch This
Video link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2732935173501683&extid=H7fUtBLEbfQodGZI
Many people went into 2020 with great optimism, ambition and a desire for change. Little did anyone expect that change to come in the form of a worldwide pandemic. As optimism and ambition dwindled across the globe, we saw an opportunity to reignite the flame in our audience by doing what we do best: empowering people to conquer apathy and get in control of their lives.
We knew the importance of meeting our audience where they were at, which in this case, was unanimously stuck at home and sinking deeper and deeper into a rut with every passing day. We also knew that with the unemployment and work-from-home numbers rising, more and more people were turning to Facebook to distract themselves but were being bombarded with conflicting information, increasing death tolls and fear-driven content. Our objective was to inspire hope in our viewers, motivate them to make the best of their situation and empower them to take control of what was within their control by leveraging our presence on Facebook.
We were uniquely positioned to pivot the mindset of our viewers from one of a victim to that of a victor. We wasted no time in kicking off this initiative and got to work on what would become one of our most shared videos of all time.
We saw Covid stories were trending on Facebook around the world and wanted to change the narrative. Through CrowdTangle, a content discovery and social monitoring platform for publishers and brands, we were able to identify that people were starting to engage with more uplifting COVID-19 content. It was still early and the data was not yet conclusive but it was the fuel we needed to jumpstart production.
Our strategy for this original production was to create a video that mirrored the reality and behaviours of our audience and the world at large. It was important that we both resonated with their mental state at that time and triggered their desired emotional state. We knew it was a delicate situation and if we were going to shift our audience’s perspective, we needed to take baby steps, which informed the direction of the video.
The goal was to show how little daily changes can lead to life changing improvements, and it starts with making our beds. This simple concept was narrated by an all-time top performing Goalcast speech that had 218.2 million views already. The speech was perfectly aligned with the story we wanted to tell and the current climate of the world. We knew it had the power to go viral on Facebook and spark social good by triggering the moment of cathartic transformation that was so desperately craved.
Our distribution strategy focused on reaching a broader audience as the topic was timely and universally relevant. To do this, we sought to push past the boundaries of our own audience with partner collaborations. We reached out to multiple partner publishers to help amplify our reach and views. We also secured a feature slot in a marathon live stream event held by our friends at What.if - LIVE MED AID - a global live stream event in support of Doctors Without Borders. Finally, because this video featured footage from one of our past viral videos, we used the momentum to bring new life to this video as repurposed content and an opportunity to reach a new audience.
Audience impact:
“But this… This is what I needed! I’ve been so depressed lately and want out, but never really saw where to begin. I’ve always been going further into darkness and I see this as the new beginning!” - Iris Field
“I needed this so badly. I’m slipping down deeper and deeper into inertia and depression and doing exactly what was showed at the beginning of this video. It’s 1:50AM here in the UK. I am going to bed now. I am setting my alarm for the morning and I WILL be making my bed. My new beginning stats here and now!” - Ykiv Noshibor
“I have been watching this video every day now for the past week to motivate myself. I was in the Army and I struggle with PTSD and depression. This has really helped me! Thank you!” - Shean Thiel
Engagement:
23M views
172k likes
9k comments
410k shares
