TV host Sona Abrahamyan spoke about the new plans of the program “The Other Side of America”
Soon, it will be the second year since the TV host Sona Abrahamyan started her project on YouTube called “The Other Side of America”, which is aimed at providing vivid information on the issues of interest to those who want to move to the USA, as well as to the Armenians living there. After more than 20 years of working in the television, Sona has started a project on the online platform, where the rules are completely different. In a conversation with 365news.am, Sona tells about the advantages of the online platform, whether it is possible to make money there, whether television surrenders its position today, and finally whether the advertiser has confidence in the online platform or not.
Sona, today Instagram is considered one of the most popular online platforms, why did you decide to start the project on YouTube?
When the idea of the project came, I decided that the most suitable option to publish would be YouTube, and frankly, for me, it is the equivalent to television on the digital platform, because each of us finds their favorite project there today. I think, especially the young generation does not turn on the TV and watches their favorite projects on this platform.
Do you follow the dynamics of television or are YouTube trends more important to you now?
I always follow the trends of television, because I have been in that field for more than twenty years, and that world is always interesting to me. I look at any television production with the eyes of a television producer. I don’t agree with the idea that television is “dead”, it’s just that in different periods, different platforms become relevant, and now television can’t adapt to the contemporary demands and can’t be fully modern, interesting, fast-paced, and at the same time professional.
Today, many people are replacing television with YouTube, even the familiar faces, who were on demand on television. Where is the phenomenon of all this?
I think that this phenomenon is explained by an important circumstance, everyone who loves and feels the necessity to make content that can find its audience, understands that it is necessary to step ahead of the requirements of time, consistently trying to step into the digital world. It is the greatest pleasure when you, thanks to the product you make, create a small version of television in a new time format, and most importantly, the information you give is important to your audience.
How much money can you make with a YouTube program, and can it be considered a main source of income?
Nowadays, people earn enough money by creating content on the online platform. Of course, in the case of Armenian language content creators, the issue is a bit complicated, it’s been a long time since the mentioned YouTube content creators have been unable to monetize what they create for the audience watching them from Armenia. For example, my audience are both Armenians living in Armenia and Armenians living in America, many people are from Russia, Europe. Of course, in this case it is possible to earn money, but the best financial source is sponsorship, little by little all businesses and entrepreneurs understand that the online platform is a much better advertising domain. Indeed, today the active flow of sponsorship has shifted to the online platform.
Does the advertiser trust the YouTube platform?
Undoubtedly, advertisers now trust the ads made on the online platform, besides, perhaps the biggest advantage and guarantee of trust is that if it is rather problematic to see how advertising worked on television and what results it yielded, it is more tangible in the case of online advertising.
After which show did you get more YouTube followers? Because I know it’s hard to get followers on that platform.
Before the project, there was some activity on both my Instagram account and Facebook page, but inasmuch as now. When the project happened, I started to pay more attention to these platforms, moreover, I registered on TikTok, which was quite a bold step for me. Slowly, followers on all platforms started to increase. As for YouTube, after the first release, people’s interest was obvious, but after the second one, a big wave of interest started out.
What new topics are you working on now?
Now I am actively trying to increase the usefulness of my YouTube channel for the Armenians who come here and who live here, while trying to work with specialists from local structures. I try to observe what issues arise among Armenians living in California, and according to those topics, I try to find good specialists. Interesting content is coming soon for Armenians living in Armenia, but I don’t want to open the brackets just yet, because it is in the development stage, but the second year will be much more interesting.
