With YouTube videos like the recently popular St. Paul Wedding Entrance (over 9 million views!) exploding into VIRAL status, it's no wonder communications clients are clamoring to create their own viral videos. Nine million views? That's a HUGE measure. In digital content such as social media it can sometimes be hard to measure the return on investment, which is why viral videos are so appealing to communications clients.
Viral videos can't be created out of thin air, however. Local video expert Jake Nyberg states in WCCO's recent Good Question segment, "I often tell people who want to go viral: viral is not a strategy, it's an outcome. Can you make a good attempt? Certainly." Nyberg is a partner at Three Volts, a Minneapolis video production and marketing firm, and has been enlisted to create many of these attempts in his career.
Nyberg makes a great point, viral isn't a strategy. Often, people assume slapping a branded video together and uploading it to YouTube makes it "viral." In fact, viral can't be promised to any client. Libby Issendorf put it this way: "I still use the word viral, but I'm careful to say it 'could have viral potential'"
That's not to say we in the communications biz should stop trying. "You have to do something authentic that you had no intention of going viral," Nyberg said in his WCCO interview, and it's good advice. Online video can be great exposure to a brand, even without the viral status. And every so often, a viral attempt succeeds.
But we have to realize that in the end, we might get outshined by videos that are very real and human, and tug at the heartstrings ever so slightly.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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4 comments:
John Eighmey (who we LOVE LOVE LOVE) actually commented on the "V" word today as well: http://eighmey.blogspot.com/2009/07/propensity-to-share.html
The locality of the recent video must have us all thinking. WCCO's Good Question is actually a great read, with quotes from both Jake Nyberg and OLSON's Paul Ratzky.
Exactly. Clients do still want to hear the word viral, but you have to stress that videos, tweets, contests, etc could spread virally, not "This will go viral!"
"But we have to realize that in the end, we might get outshined by videos that are very real and human, and tug at the heartstrings ever so slightly"
Relevant and engaging (overused, I know) content that appeals to your target would seem to be a good place to start. How much content out there seems to be more of a product sell sheet than an experience that reinforces their company's brand?
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