A keen focus on positivity and authenticity can enable individuals or brands to sustain audience interest on social media, delegates were told on the second day of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit in Dubai.

In a talk on shaping ideas into creative social media content, Louis Cole, creator of the FunForLouis travel vlog, shed light on the tactics that have enabled his channel to gain more than 1.2 million followers on YouTube.

Its always been my aim to be positive, said Cole. Im still figuring out how to do this but it is broadly about encouraging people to pursue their passion, to see them step outside their comfort zone and to seek out adventure in their own lives.

Coles social media presence initially started with FoodForLouis, a vlog that focused on his culinary exploits and quickly morphed into its present iteration. Ive always been pretty open with what I can eat, and this evolved into my friends taking videos of me eating bizarre things like spiders. This was fun but this isnt what I wanted to communicate, this isnt what I wanted my legacy to be. I wanted to see positive things on the internet.

YouTube, according to Cole, is the ideal platform to create long- form videos that appeal to his followers. I prefer the YouTube because it allows me to tell a story, explained Cole. With Instagram and Vine, you have to make things shorter and typically, the most popular videos on [these platforms] have the potential to be viral. My content isnt necessarily share-able.

In terms of creating compelling stories, Cole advised that interactive videos have the potential to reach out and start conversations with people from beyond his American or European audience base. I share stories from my perspective and my upbringing and my world. I try to interact with people by asking them is this how they do it in your country? and that starts a conversation with people who are not from my part of the world, he said.

Cole concluded by highlighting that YouTube does have the potential to be a viable career option. YouTube is a monetized social media platform and incentivizes its users by splitting advertising revenue. When I started, I didnt think that I could do this for a living. There is a danger to self-edit in a way that appeals to certain audiences or brands, but you have to be able to find that line that doesnt compromise your values or ethics, advised Cole. Ive built a following of people who see me as a friend And have come to realize that this is just my life I dont want to sell myself as something else. Im just me.

Organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit gathered more than 1500 regional and global social media experts. Over the two day programme, 38 leading speakers and influencers advised young Arabs on how to best use their ideas to serve the Arab community through a whole host of social media platforms including Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.