Towards the beginning of my career as a magician and entertainer, I was about as social-media averse as they come; not only was the internet a very different place in the early 2000s, but it was not yet advanced enough that it was giving rise to these simultaneous online platforms for advertising and places to post cat videos!
Around the time of the explosion of Facebook, however, it became clear to me (and most other marketing-savvy business owners) that the future of PR and company outreach projects would be in these shared community spaces on the internet. The immense popularity of social media not only created the potential for more paid ads, but in my case, this newfound worldwide network gave me the opportunity to connect with large numbers of my clients and supporters at once. By using a strategy that primarily focused on YouTube and Facebook (with the utilization of Twitter and Instagram to follow), I managed to expand my online presence in a way that expanded the reach of my business significantly.
One of the most notable successes that I have had thus far on social media came in the form of a collaborative video with YouTube giant Dude Perfect. After cooperating two summers ago to create a card-throwing highlight reel (supplemented by clips of some of my favorite magic tricks with cards) with the cast and crew of this viral video network, my YouTube views and subs began to skyrocket; I have worked hard to ensure that I am consistently posting content for the 300k active followers that I currently have on social media, and I am proud to say that my videos have collectively been viewed over 100 million times as a result (with the most popular video gathering over 77 million views). Once the ball got rolling with Dude Perfect, I was lucky enough to catch the attention of a number of other notable YouTube personalities including: The Slow Mo Guys; Josh Horton; Venom Trick Shots; Magic Murray; That’s Amazing; Ross and Grandma Smith; Brian Brushwood; and The Modern Rogue. In the near future I will be working with Devin Supertramp, Mark Rober, Legendary Shots, Brodie Smith, Hole-in-one Trick Shots and The Sharer Brothers, and I could not be more excited to continue expanding my YouTube network!
Working on expanding my social media has done far more than garnered YouTube hits, however. This online explosion has also given me the opportunity to perform my magic show on TV in Japan, Mexico, Amsterdam, Germany, France, and multiple times in the United States (on shows like Masters of Illusion, The Gong Show and The Today Show).
Although this massive effort has taken quite a bit of work on my end, I could never have managed to pull off such a rapid period of growth without the partnership of my YouTube collaborators and the consistent help from my staff – this includes my videographers Max and Myles Rapkin, my editors Grant Woodford and Drew Murray, and my writer Isaac Jacobson.
Since I began working on this social media expansion project, I have learned the importance of consistency and meticulousness in videography, but also that there is an online audience for what I love to do most- never underestimate your ability to interest crowds with your skill, and be sure to check out my YouTube channel for some awesome magic and card-throwing videos!