With over 300,000 subscribers, filmmaker and prominent YouTuber Darious Britt knows how to build a brand in an online world.
“Twitter and Instagram, I use them more like fishing nets where, you know, I catch the majority of fish, but then I can further edify and offer value on those other platforms,” Britt said.
Britt graduated from the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television in 2012 and toured his first short film, “Seafood Tester.” His first feature film, “Unsound,” won seven awards at the Pan African Film Festival in 2015.
In 2013, Britt created his YouTube channel, D4Darious, to build a platform through which to share his creations and teach his craft. Since its inception, the channel has gained 379,000 subscribers.
“YouTube is relevant in that it’s my platform of choice,” Britt said. “It lent itself most to what I do.”
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In his upcoming Day For Night: Conversations on Film and Television talk, “Personal Branding: Thriving in the Era of Social Media,” Britt will return to his alma mater to give his best advice for building a name for oneself in an online world.
“Social media as a whole has allowed me to distribute my work, and to reach people and learn how a marketplace works and how to brand myself in order to build community around what I do,” Britt said. “Had it not been for social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, how do you get your voice out there? We’re back to the stone ages basically, where you had to pay somebody to have a platform. I think it’s democratized distribution for everyone. Had it not been for [social media], I wouldn’t be where I am today, really.”
“Personal Branding: Thriving in the Era of Social Media” will take place this Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in Environmental and Natural Resources 2 building, Room S107. To see his work and learn his process, visit Britt’s YouTube channel, D4Darious. Admission will be free and seats can be reserved at d4darious.bpt.me. The talk will be followed by a reception.
”I think when starting off, we have this tendency to put all of our eggs in one basket and think … that this one thing will be my flagship to open up all doors. And everyone will think how amazing I am,” Britt said. ”What you are going to realize is it’s not the big things you do that open the doors — it’s the small ones, it’s the details … Small tweaks make big peaks, it’s the small things. It’s the most basic stuff that people overlook all the time and that is where the magic is — the basics.”
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