Eric Tabach is a former Buzzfeed employee. That should say it all. He even has a video on his YouTube channel titled “Why I Left Buzzfeed” in the iconic former Buzzfeed employee style. But, his greatest accomplishment doesn’t come from his ability to work at Buzzfeed, and subsequently, quit. But rather what he’s been doing since.

Eric Tabach is an actor and content creator, his recent endeavor saw him starring in a film that became a #1 box office movie with a non-existent budget. The project was his idea, and the method of accomplishing this feat was truly ingenious. Eric was able to accomplish this by producing a movie during the pandemic when many mainstream films were postponing their releases.

He was then able to rent out a theater and purchase $10,000 in tickets to become the #1 box office movie. 

Ingenious Ways To Use New Media

But to understand Eric Tabach, you need to understand new media. New media is digital mass communication, whereas traditional media – new media’s predecessor – is mass communication that was in existence before digital media.

Possibly, like many other content creators’ success, Eric Tabach’s success is based on his use of new media. However, unlike other popular content creators, Eric’s journey as a content creator isn’t common.

When Eric Tabach left Buzzfeed, he did so for a job at Kyra TV. Kyra TV is a youth entertainment company that’s entirely digital. But during the pandemic, they had to stop production, rendering Tabach – and other creators on their roster – unemployed. 

Another distinct difference between Eric Tabach and popular content creators is that he is yet to go viral – as of this writing. However, this isn’t impossible for his style of content, humor, and decidedly different video ideas.

But, his lack of virality enables us to explore a content creator in their ‘awkward’ phase: where they’re well known amongst their audience but haven’t acquired widespread success yet. 

It’s during this phase that we can decipher what Eric Tabach is doing to accelerate his success as well as the areas where he can improve.

Successful Aspects

Eric has three elements that are the catalyst to his expanding audience.

Identifiable Persona

Eric Tabach is developing an online persona and brand that’s unique to him. These elements include involving his family – especially his mother – in his videos, his obsession with the dark web, his ship bed, and his fan’s favorite element: his IMDB page.

Uncommon Content

Tabach’s content is original. Plenty of his video titles and ideas are a spin on other trends but with such a unique twist that they seem like an entirely new video or series. One such example is his series messaging the most famous person in any given country. Which is a take on a series created by YouTuber Ryan Trahan, where he messages 100 celebrities on Instagram to see who responds. 

Diversifying

Eric doesn’t only adapt viral trends he creates entirely new ones using his skills as an actor. Nowhere is this more evident than in his short film Unsubscribe and subsequent YouTube video announcing it’s release. Here, Eric Tabach diversified away from new media to release a movie within American theaters. It’s his use of traditional media that earned him his bluetick on Instagram and gained recognition from the world’s most popular websites, which is critical to the YouTube recommendation algorithm.

But you can see his passion for film in his desire to mentor other aspiring actors like TikToker Tyler Brash.

Improvements

However, as a smaller creator, there are some areas where Eric can enhance his content, so he reaches that ever-elusive viral video.

Consistency

Having an upload schedule enables subscribers who aren’t receiving notifications to know when you’ll upload. But another benefit of an upload schedule is that it helps you maintain relevance with your audience. The goal is to make your channel binge-able. This way when a new subscriber joins and is waiting for new content you have about 3 hours of content for them to consume. As a new channel, the best way to create a binge-able channel is to upload consistently. 

Style of Content

Eric Tabach doesn’t have a definitive style of content. Every popular content creator has a definitive style of content that if you were to ask their audience what it is, they’d be able to tell you. Although a common thread in Eric’s videos is his entertaining persona, he switches between tame challenges to his take on viral videos. You can expect this from a new channel like his. However, clearly defining your style helps the YouTube algorithm determine who they should recommend your videos. That’s why people who enjoy a specific type of content will usually subscribe to many YouTubers within that genre. For Eric and others to tap into their viral potential, it helps to find a genre that you – and your audience – enjoys.

Trends and Keywords

Eric only recently started using keywords in his titles. But before that, his video ideas were truly unique. That strategy is fine if you’ve already established an audience. But if you’re trying to reach new viewers that’s not going to be an effective strategy. Keywords enable you to appear in search results. Also, if your audience shares similar demographic features to the trend you’re mimicking, your video will likely appear in recommendations of the more popular video.

What Creators Can Take Away From Eric Tabach

Eric Tabach may not be your typical YouTuber. He is still actively pursuing his acting career full time. However, even in his short ten months on YouTube, Eric has managed to grow his audience to 260k subscribers and become verified on Instagram.

Eric’s success is dependent on two aspects: his uncommon ideas and his use of traditional media.

What many new media creators can learn from Eric is that it pays to develop a traditional media strategy. Because there are plenty of prospective viewers that are more engaged with traditional media than new media. Additionally, new media is very fleeting. That’s why by having a strategy that includes both new and traditional media you’ll achieve the most long-term success. 

But Eric is also proof that you can use new media to further your career as an actor and start building connections with others in the industry.

Photo courtesy of Eric Tabach