Case study

BKM’s Turkish soap opera: a YouTube success story

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Beşiktaş Kültür Merkezi (BKM) is one of Türkiye’s leading entertainment and production companies, known for its contributions to Turkish cinema and television. Based in Istanbul, BKM has produced a wide range of successful films and TV series. One of them is the Turkish soap opera Gelsin Hayat Bildiği Gibi, the story of a dedicated teacher who changes the lives of his students. Its storytelling and production values won it a large audience at home and made it a success on YouTube, where it passed a million subscribers and a billion views.

Turkish soap opera passes 1.1M subscribers and 1B views in under a year

Gelsin Hayat Bildiği Gibi

Challenge

There are many Turkish soap operas, so it is hard for one to stand out and find an audience. To keep viewers after a season ends, the channel has to keep uploading until the next season begins.

Approach

We uploaded right after each episode, while viewer interest was at its peak, and posted each important scene to YouTube as soon as it aired on TV. We made a Short for every memorable scene, so it was easy to find and to share. Between seasons we kept uploading, including compilation videos, so viewers stayed with the channel after the series had ended.

Insights

Community posts drove engagement and brought new subscribers to the channel. Polls were the most popular format with this audience.

Performance stats

  • 1Msubscribers In less than one year.
  • 1Bviews In less than one year.
  • 1,000+videos Made from only 41 episodes.
  • 166Kvotes On the most popular community poll.

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