Creators have vastly different needs — the priorities of someone with 50,000 subs won’t be the same as those of an established superstar with millions of regular viewers. Playback sister publication StreamDaily is asking multi-channel network execs what they can do for influencers at different stages of their careers.

First up is Ali Adab, VP of content and partnerships at BroadbandTV. While the Vancouver-based company provides content-claiming and channel optimization technology services, it’s also a network that ranks among the top 10 YouTube partner channels. According to recent comScore figures, in August, BroadbandTV had over 20 million unique viewers. Adab will speak more about BroadbandTV’s MCN services at a panel on the topic at Buffer Festival Industry Day, taking place next Thursday, Oct. 16 in Toronto.

Q:  How do you work with someone who has 50K – 600K subs? What are some of their biggest concerns, and are they ready for sponsorship deals?

It’s important that you don’t look at the smaller channels in one bucket as they can vary tremendously. Some of them can suddenly spike in views or subs, others can remain fairly stagnant and need ongoing support to encourage steady growth – there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

We have a solid Partner Experience team that helps with specific requests, an excellent education program that helps to grow their knowledge and expertise, and our proprietary tech platform VISO Catalyst to help them to become as successful as possible. To name a few aspects of that: it helps with upfront analytics, allows them to optimize their content and to collaborate with others. We constantly update the platform and expand its offering. The channels receive ongoing updates from the business.

Individually, some of the smaller partners may not be ready for standalone sponsorship, but if they are in a high-growth vertical and show potential, or if they are grouped together, sponsorship certainly isn’t out of the question.

Q: A creator who has 1M – 3M subs is likely on the brink of major success, but they have to keep that momentum going. What kind of deals can you bring to the table? How do you help them with their programming strategy? What are some of the most common concerns you hear?

It totally depends on the vertical. The needs of a gaming channel are obviously very different to a female lifestyle channel, for example. We have a great ad sales team that works closely with our Partner Experience department to ensure that they fully understand the talent in our network and potential opportunities.

In terms of developing programming, analytics plays a huge role in future success. The creator absolutely needs to know what works well for them. They need to look at length of content, genre and style, time of deployment and pay attention to what people say about it. They need to listen to their fans and understand their viewing behavior and move their content to the next level. Our team, and solutions, help with that understanding and also provide context against the wider market.

In terms of concerns, it’s important that they get the opportunities to grow, they also need to differentiate to stand out as the space is becoming increasingly crowded.

Q: How do you ensure superstar creators, with 4M subs or more, make a smooth transition to other platforms? What is the most common concern when it comes to their programming strategy or rollout? 

At that size it’s all about tailored and bespoke services. It’s certainly not unusual for channels of this size to have their own management and we have great relationships with a number of consultancies, we work with them on very tailored offerings and services. Ultimately, we want all of our partners to be as successful as possible.

It’s really about looking at the whole ecosystem and if they are keen to branch out to new platforms – you need to effectively and smoothly take them on the journey and be very clear on expectations upfront. The space is still being defined so there isn’t always a tried-and-tested formula or clear next step. It’s about moving forward together, really adding value and hitting their individual objectives.

– From StreamDaily