General - Saturday, January 24, 2009 6:51 - 0 Comments

Viral Video is not a Disease!!

YouTube has very quickly become one of the most powerful brands in the world. In January 2005 they didn’t even exist. Many clients have asked me about doing a YouTube, or viral video for their business. They like the appeal of “free” distribution.

It’s true, hundreds of millions of videos are viewed each day and hundreds of thousands of new videos are uploaded. So your chances of winning the “viral video lottery” are about the same as hitting 6 for 6 on Power Ball.

That doesn’t make YouTube a bad bet.

There are hundreds of great examples of uses for YouTube videos for business. Archiving commercials, product demonstrations, video press releases are just a few of the great marketing uses. If you are hell bent on making a viral video…here are some good points that I learned from Paul Gillin’s book, “Secrets of Social Media Marketing:”

Remember this acronym “AEIOU”. The rule is Authentic, Entertaining, Intimate, Offbeat, or Unusual.

Authentic means use real people in real situations.
Entertaining means fun or funny.
Intimate means satisfying people’s inner voyeur.
Offbeat and Unusual work together…surprise the viewer with something they don’t expect.

If you have all or most of these elements, you will improve your chances, but there is still no guarantee of success. Also, keep it brief (under 3 minutes). The whole definition of viral is that each viewer will pass it on to at least two others. Something quick with the “AEIOU” components has a much better chance of being passed on.