Viral Video Is a Secret Weapon Many Are Still Learning to Use. It Is Highly Engaging. Advertisers Ask Why Are We Paying for Reach when What All We Want Is Engagement? Think Viral!

by on 30 March, 2009 - 01:16

by: Idris Mootee

When most people think about viral videos, they think of a crazy idea (often funny) that is irrelevant to the brand and put it out there to see what happens. The field has gotten much more crowded in the past 12 months but the behavior of sharing video is more common and bloggers help create more space for that. iPhone is another factor.

How to create and measure a good viral campaign? Here's an example of how to look at it. We've built a very sophisticated model and actually adjust and weight each interactions so it can be comparable to 'impressions'.

- 2,000,000+ views on YouTube- 35,000+ informed on Facebook or Linkedin- 10,000+ ratings- 6,000+ favorites- 4,000+ comments- 2,500+ mention in community and forums- 500+ blog post mention- 250+ blog posts linking back to the videos- 10+ newspaper/magazine mention 

What is the best strategic framework for viral marketing strategy? OK I'll share some of our company best kept secrets here (Pls don't share with our competitors).

Creating the brand connection. This is very important; a concept should not be forced because it fits a brand. Rather, a brand should be fit into a great concept. This is where the art comes in. How do you align the positive attributes of the viral videos to the desirable brand attributes to further strengthen them.

Size does and doesn’t matter. People often think that a viral video needs to be short 15-30 seconds, that’s really not the case. It doesn’t matter, as long as it is not 30 mins. So whether it is 30 seconds or 90 seconds, I don’t think it makes a difference. It is the content.

The shock factor myth. Well sure it attracts attention, but the best viral doesn’t need to resort to using this. Having said that, it is always important that a viral video will allow and attract viewers to investigate further. Lots of folks think the shock factor is the key viral component, may be for very small teenage segments. Most people don’t care.

Don't create a mini TV commercial. That’s guaranteed to fail and not getting viral. Don’t make an outright ad: if a video feels like an ad, it reduces the likelihood that viewers would share it unless it’s really amazing in production value.Truly authentic user stories. People are interested in regular people; the cool factor lies in those little things with those everyday folks. Even those they are professionally produced, keep everything as authentic as possible. If you idea involves real life stories, it is even better.

Allow voting. Let the public vote for what they like or whatever makes sense. This will get the bloggers buzzing to their readers. This is the most powerful participation driver. Everyone loves competition.

Be 'good'. People who believe in a cause tend to be more proactive in spreading the word. They can be fiercely vocal about what they believe it. Leverage that behavior and dig deep to find the ‘good’ in your brand.

Encourage ‘remix’. There are lots of creative people out there, and I’m sure many of them would be delighted to add or remix their ideas. Make that easy for them.

Watch this one. It's funny.

Original Post: http://mootee.typepad.com/innovation_playground/2009/03/viral-video-is-a-secret-weapon-many-are-still-learning-to-use-it-is-highly-engaging-advertisier-woul.html