Most so called 'viral videos' online are pretty much stuffed before they start.
One thing that is stressed at The Population is that with clients we do not like to be brought on after production of an idea. We are not a seeding company. The success of any content online relies 90% on the content; whether it has been built for an online audience in mind and whether it is remarkable.
However there is that other 10%, where alot of Ad Agencies/Marketers fall over. Once video content has been released online, people just expect it to go viral because it is good. However I feel alot of companies either dont know or do not 'drive' content hard enough in this initial stage.
For me one of the key performance indicators I always look at is the Youtube Honour Board. This accounts for the most viewed clips for the (day/week/year). Being on the Honour Board works two ways, it proves you have driven enough eyeballs but it then helps to spotlight your video and helps it get to a wider audience.
6 things about the Youtube Honour Board that are vital to creating a viral success.
1. You have really got 24 hours to hit it, from the minute you publish your video you have 24-48 hours to get it on the Daily Honour Board. No slow burn approach for Youtube.
2. Remember that the Australian Honour board will only take into account Australian views, concentrate on getting to an Australian Audience to begin with.
3. Australian online news sources (news.com.au, smh.com.au, etc.) can seriously help generate traffic, think about a strong media release strategy.
4. StumbleUpon can help offer social advertising, which point relevant traffic towards your video.
5. Approx 10,000 views will get you in the Top 5 most viewed for a Daily and 10,000 for the Top 20 for Weekly.
6. How does your video sound in 100 characters? because that is all you have to help it hit on Twitter.
Have you got any other solutions to helping getting a video into the honour board?
3 comments:
Hi Julian,
I think the concept of your post is bigger than the tactical question.
Being part of the initial thought process is much more important than the process itself.
Remember Youtube is popular, hugely popular. The idea that anyone can become some sort of memestar by uploading a simple video is great but is false.
You dont make a viral you become a viral.
As Seth Godin says "For an idea to spread, it needs to be sent and received"
Online ideas spread so fast because they're often shallow. Nietzsche is hard to understand and risky to spread, so it moves slowly among people willing to invest the time. Numa Numa, on the other hand, spread like a toxic waste spill because it was so transparent, reasonably funny and easy to share.
Notice that ideas never spread because they are important to the originator but because they are easy or they are convenient
Hey Lucio,
I agree that the idea is important it needs to be remarkable. I believe that can make up to 90% of why a clip will go viral but the other 10% is the push that you need to give it to get it into the right hands to go viral.
To use an example, the tactical 10% that I am talking about here is kind of like fertiliser on a plant. The plant (content) is the part that grows, it needs people (sun/water) to grow however fertisliser can help to make it grow faster. If the plant is a dud it will not grow even if you put all the fertisliser in the world on it.
You can have the best bit of video content in the world but if you are not putting it into the right hands, there is no chance it will spread.
completely agree, no discussion.
It's about 80 / 20 but the 20% is still important.
One thing is discussing viral concept with someone who can understand the concept of become influential rather then popular,
Strategy without tactic is tend to fail, couldn't agree more.
the 10 or 20's % is the difference between life and dead.
Cheers
Lucio
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