TIP Effect – Murat Sönmez Interview
TIP Effect Influencer Marketing Agency is starting interviews with Turkey’s talented influencers. We will learn together how they started this business, how they became popular, what kind of path they followed and what their advice on becoming an influencer is. Our first guest is Murat Sönmez, who has many fans of different ages from 7 to 70. We talked to Murat Sönmez about his past works, future plans and the Console Base. Without further ado, we leave you with this pleasant conversation.
TIP: Hello Mr. Murat, welcome to Tip Effect pages. Although you have many fans, can you tell us about yourself for those who will meet you for the first time on these pages? Who is Murat Sönmez, how did he become interested in the game industry, how did the events develop?
Murat Sönmez: My acquaintance with games goes back to the age of dinosaurs, but I won’t go that far. I started to write about games in the press even before the game industry was around. At the end of the 90s, I wrote articles about both technology and games in the Radikal newspaper and the weekly PC! magazine. Later, this magazine was closed, so I took a long break from producing content about games. Then I started to write on the site called Consolemaster, from which Konsol Üssü was born.
TIP: Murat, when did you shoot your first video? How was the reaction? What advice would you give to people who want to go on this path?
Murat Sönmez: We shot our first video at the end of 2009. At that time, we were doing podcasts with Onur Kaya, with whom we shot videos together at the Konsol Üssü. We also videotaped the podcast we made one day and sent it to Televidyon, which was a popular formation at the time. So only us and those on TV watched the first video we shot. Then it was published in January 2010 in our public video. We didn’t get such a huge response, the number of viewers increased over time. I have two suggestions for those who want to shoot videos, firstly, be yourself, which brings sincerity, and secondly, do original works, which will make you stand out.
TIP: How did you meet Onur Kaya? How was Konsol Üssü born?
Murat Sönmez: We met Onur Kaya in the mid-2000s on Endem.net, which was a popular gaming forum at the time. We were writing articles together in Konsolmaster. Then came the idea of making podcasts. We made a postcast for 5-6 months. Meanwhile, we were watching the TV initiative with interest. We thought we’d try our luck too, so we shot a trial video. They said come on, let’s talk. We went and talked and agreed. A month later, our first video was published. Then, 6 months later, Televidyon went through a change within itself, Serdar Kuzuloğlu, who founded the initiative, left, and then we moved to our own website, which was towards the end of 2010.
TIP: Mr. Murat, how do you choose the content of your videos? Do you have a landmark video for you, what is the story behind it?
Murat Sönmez: We find the subject of the videos together with Onur. There are videos on the agenda as well as videos on wider topics. Sometimes when we feel like we’re repeating ourselves, we sit down and brainstorm and try to do things we haven’t done before. We don’t have a video with a period point. In other words, there has never been a video that suddenly exploded us, we have always grown at a certain rate.
TIP: Where do you shoot, what equipment or programs do you use while preparing your video? On average, how many days does it take for a video to be ready?
Murat Sönmez: We are currently shooting in our own studio, but we shot at home for a long time. I don’t care much about equipment, now I would be shaking if I said that I shoot with this model of this camera at these settings. In the old Console Base we used a blogger’s camera made from a cell phone, now we’re using a DSRL camera from Phanasonic. The preparation time of the videos varies a lot depending on the video. For example, we do not prepare for decision videos, it takes a short time, but the preparation, shooting and assembly of the content of a video on the newly opened Orta Dünya channel takes 1 day, sometimes 1.5 days.
TIP: What do you think about the interest in consoles in Turkey? Can this interest increase in the next generation or will there be a shift to PC gaming?
Murat Sönmez: Consoles in Turkey are the devices of players who have started to earn their own money. The player, who hugged against the PC for many years, says after a while why am I torturing myself. By then, he has already bought a large-screen TV for his home. He has brownies on his neck all day at work, and wants to let himself go when he comes home. Young people, on the other hand, do not feel uncomfortable if they sit at the desk for 24 hours because their blood boils. Therefore, I do not think there will be a shift to PC gaming. The console’s unique culture will always attract players.
TIP: While Sony is very active in Turkey, is it a mistake for Microsoft to remain so passive in the Turkish market? While exclusive games are perhaps the most important factor in purchasing consoles, is it the right decision for Microsoft to release many Xbox exclusive games to PC?
Murat Sönmez: Microsoft has made a decision on exclusive games. He also made a decision for the Xbox brand. Time will tell if this decision is the right one. But right now, at a time when console exclusive games are still important, it seems like it will be a little difficult for players to get used to this decision. Microsoft seems to be caught between having Windows as its own platform and having a console like Xbox on the one hand. I am also watching with interest. The fact that the Turkish market is this low and that the market in Turkey is quite small compared to the rest of the world is a big factor. It means that Microsoft has seen enough to sell Windows and Office for years.
TIP: There are many channels on Youtube, but there is an idea that channels with real value cannot be discovered, and they are noticed more with this movement, “Youtube’un Dibi Hareketi”. How did this idea develop, how is it progressing?
Murat Sönmez: In fact, the idea of this movement has existed before. We had a format called “Yerli Malı” from the old Konsol Üssü. We used to show who did what there and try to direct people to those beautiful places. Because we have always believed that solidarity is stronger than tripping. We saw this when we started making content about games with Konsolmaster in 2008. No one is praising the work of others. We said, let’s praise. Those who follow us because we praise someone else will not leave us. Youtube’un Dibi Hareketi came out with the same logic. Let’s highlight valuable people so that valuable people can be talked about. It also created a ripple. At the moment, it has calmed down a bit, we are talking among ourselves about what can be done, but we could not reach a consensus at the moment. Let’s see, we’ll see.
TIP: How does the collaboration process with brands work? How do you sift through when choosing the brands you work with? Also, what kind of audience do you have in general?
Murat Sönmez: Collaboration with brands is going badly. Because brands don’t know about the event. They have completely surrendered to PR companies. Worst of all, PR companies don’t know either. They also only look at the number of Instagram followers and Youtube subscribers. Because we are all numbers written in the relevant cells in an excel document. The bigger the Pr company writes there, the more it helps the brand, the brand says, wow, what a great job we have done, we have reached so many million people. Not many are interested in whether the million reached is really a million. Therefore, it is much more difficult for small channels like us to survive. We appeal to the age group of 17-45, 95% of our audience is older. We don’t have slime in short 🙂
TIP: Yeni youtuberlara tavsiyeleriniz neler? Kalıcı başarının sırrı nedir sizce?
Murat Sönmez: Be yourself, be original. Don’t get into a job that doesn’t fit your mold. Refresh yourself, especially on a medium like Youtube, which I can add to these. How much we can achieve this is debatable, but it is important to be constantly renewed. Because trends change, tastes change. You have to adapt to them.
TIP: Mr. Murat, we believe that it is a pleasant conversation full of your past experiences and suggestions and examples you give to new people who want to open a channel on Youtube. We wish you success in Konsol Üssü and your future projects :).
Murat Sönmez: Thank you. I hope it was good. We are following you closely. Hope the good work continues.