Discovering creators’ unmet needs
We’ve just come out of an exciting project with a global video-sharing platform, where we pulled back the curtain on content creators’ lives to reveal what it’s like to pursue this endeavour in 2024. We conducted foundational research to discover creators’ unmet needs and translate these into future opportunities. It was our job to make sure the creators’ stories were heard, so the team behind the platform could step into their shoes, and develop their products with these in mind. We were specifically looking at female and non-binary people, and their relationships with their audiences. Being a public-facing media personality can be exposing, and the challenges that come with this can be difficult to comprehend and plan for, especially for vulnerable users. People pleasing, peer validation, and establishing healthy boundaries, are all difficulties many creators face daily when it comes to maintaining these types of relationships.
Contextual interviews across the UK
Most creators will do all things content in the comfort of their own homes, whether this be to plan, create or interact with their audiences. We conducted contextual interviews in the homes of a diverse group of creators across the UK, varying in size of channels, audience maturity, and topics of interest. To help target the conversation, we used a simple paper mapping exercise, acting as a visual prompt to help stimulate the conversation. This allowed us to unpack their different audience groups, understand how they related to each other, and how the participants felt about them. We also recorded short video clips throughout the interview at key points of the conversation, which provided opportunities for the participants to summarise their experiences succinctly. These were then used as concise video evidence for reporting, highlighting creators’ experiences to our client. These short summary videos, typically between 2-3 minutes, were shot as a closeup of the participants using compact cameras, which allowed them to narrate their experiences directly to the camera, without the degree of separation between them and the interview moderator. This ensured the conversation flowed as naturally and authentically as possible. The way these were captured also meant that there was no need for considerable post-production, which resulted in a quick turnaround in sharing these with the client.
Some photos taken during the interviews, can you guess the content topic of their channel?
Impactful summary videos build empathy
Our client received a library of films, packed with stories about creators’ experiences with their audiences. These were powerful and emotional, told directly by female and non-binary creators. The energy they invested in content creation truly showed, and the emotional impact of these relationships was evident. The POV summary video method used was an impactful way of engaging the client team, as it replicated these conversations in a concise format, allowing them to truly listen and empathise with these people. The design team could step into their user’s shoes and hear the emotional side of being a content creator.