***How To Create A Successful Viral Video Campaign*** By Daya Baran at February 18, 2009 4 Comments
Gone are the days when you could upload a video on to YouTube and end up with a major international success. When Judson Laipply posted his six-minute “Evolution of Dance” video on YouTube in April of 2006 it was a sensational hit garnering 100 million views. His follow-up “Evolution of Dance 2″ is hovering at about 4 million views after about six weeks – a metric that the first video hit within a few days. This despite investing tens of thousands of dollars in marketing the video.
As amount of online video explodes the task only gets harder. Viral video marketing experts say that there are three key points to keep in mind when creating a viral video campaign.
1) Great Content – everyone loves to be entertained. They love to hear a great story but keep it short – under three minutes. Blender manufacturer Blendtec, has reached new audiences by creating a series of short videos about its products. “We’re not creating advertising,” says Blendtec Vice President George Wright. “We’re creating something people want to watch.” He says that Blendtec’s videos have been viewed more than 200 million times.
2) Build a Fan Base – Blendtec built a following around “Will it Blend?” video series. They company put the video on its website and integrated other social media tools to build a user base and communicate with them. It could be as simple as a subscribe link that notifies users of new videos or comments or updates.