Many of you may recall that earlier this year the YouTube video
Gundam Style caught the imagination of millions of people worldwide by going viral. As a marketing professional I endeavor to understand why such
marketing events take place. I ask myself several questions, such as, "What is the special spark that makes a video, podcast
or eBook go viral?" "Where does spark that causes a post to go viral get its start?" "Who influences the play and the
spread of a viral message?"
What Puts the V in Viral Posts?
Let's start off by defining what constitutes a viral post. A
viral post is one that gets passed beyond your friends, followers and social network connections. It travels beyond your
network and direct circle of influence. It's what happens when your message takes on a life
of its own.
Facebook defines
a viral post by comparing it to Organic Reach and Paid Reach.
Here is what Facebook lists as their definitions:
§ Organic reach: The number of unique people who saw your
post in Newsfeed, ticker or on your Page.
§ Paid reach: The number of unique people who saw this post through an ad
§ Viral reach: The number of unique people who saw this post from a story
published by a friend. These stories can include liking, commenting or sharing
your post, answering a question or responding to an event.
In order to go viral a post needs to either be entertaining, funny, compelling, or it must provide useful information
that most viewers/readers need or want.
Keeping an Eye
on Trends
Viral posts are often tracked by the
various social networks. These tracked posts constitute trends. You will often
hear the phrase that
a video is “trending.” Trends are often grouped or aggregated via special
markers. The most common is the hash tag (# symbol), which was started by
Twitter. Hash tags are now used by most social networks including Twitter,
Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pintrest and Instagram. To use a hash
tag, just add the # symbol in front of the word you want to be grouped and
tracked. An example is; "Check out this video on #Viral Social Media, it's
great. Please RT and share." You
normally only use one hash tag per post since using too many hash tags is
considered poor form.
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| Photos on the 1-18-08.com viral marketing website (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Video is more likely to go viral than any other type
of post. In fact video is five times more likely to be clicked on than any
other type of post. These statistics vary from network to network but video is
king in the viral realm. Video with text is followed by pictures with text,
then audio with text and text only posts. Facebook statistics show that videos
are ten times as likely to be shared than links alone and photos are five times
as likely to be clicked on than links alone.
What Elements are Necessary?
Next let's look
at the elements that all viral post have in common. When ever possible create a
short video to go with your post. If you aren't willing create a video make
sure you have a compelling picture or audio file to go with it. As stated
earlier videos have the highest click through and share rates.
Use Hash tags on
all your posts. Follow accepted norms when using hash tags and make sure they
are used the same way on all your posts. Also add hash tags such as #viral and
#whatshot to connect to other items that are trending. Also remember that you
are not limited to publishing your post only once. I normally post a subject
three to four times in a week if I'm trying to start a trend.
The elements of
your post should be friendly, familiar and resonate with the general public,
not just a select few. Posts need to
be designed so they can be safely viewed at work or in mixed company. These
types of posts will go viral the quickest.
Examples of Videos gone Viral.
One exceptional example of viral video in action is the YouTube video series
commissioned
by Old Spice. If you are
looking to start the viral ball rolling, there are a number of tried and true techniques that you can employ. Having a sexy model tell your story has been known to produce a large
audience. Doing something hysterical with your product then illustrate
it with a compelling image or story. The Hamsters used in the Soul videos were a cute and
funny way of connecting with the public. Cute babies or cats performing
silly or stupid tricks coupled with a catchy phrase can be very effective. It's even OK to be a little creepy. Many of the viral videos that really take off
use music and dance at the center
of their themes. The Thriller prison
video
comes to mind and of course the Gundam Style dance craze.
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| Image via CrunchBase |
Not every post has to be funny or useful in order to go viral. It's
ok to pull on people’s heart strings. Telling an emotional inspiring story is a
great way to get people to pay attention to your plight. Your post must either be
entertaining or useful to the general public. It's OK to ride the wave of some
new trend. You can jump on the band wagon and follow someone’s
coat tail. After
Gundam Style came out, dozens of imitators soon followed. Many famous video
music artists are emulated in funny ways. These videos don't get as many views
as the original but many do garner thousands of hits. Your job is to either add
your message as a preview or post trailer to the video the public is coming to
see. Video that garner lots of views can pay big dividends in the way of pay
per click revenues.
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| The inmates dancing to "Thriller" in their YouTube video (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Most of the videos, audios and eBooks that have gone viral
were shared because their originators asked that they be shared. If you don't
ask, you have a 40 percent less chance of being shared. Share your post
with as many people as possible. Especially share your posts with influential
followers and leaders in your industry. This includes celebrities. Also make
sure you send it out to the news media. One good news story on your post and
you're off to the races. Don't forget to use free PR posting sites whenever possible.
Your Road Map to going Viral.
Now let's look
at a road map you can use to get you next post to go viral. First create a list
of influential followers so you can personally message them to share and repost
your message. Make sure you use a hash tag and leave space for others to add
their comments.
Create four
types of posts, one video with text, one with a picture and text, one audio and
text and one text only. Make one of them the focus of the four. I would make it
the video post as it is the most likely to go viral first.
Decide what your
video, audio or eBook will contain. Remember it must have intrinsic value. It
has to be funny, entertaining, compelling, emotionally charged or provide
useful information that people need or want! Create a list of what’s needed to
create your video, audio or eBook.
If this is your
first try, create an eBook full of useful information. You can share important
information you have gleaned from your industry. You can answer important
questions that customers most often ask. This is the easiest type of eBook to
create. Now create a teaser video that provides a few of the elements from your
eBook as the focus of your campaign. Find a compelling photo and create an
audio from the video. Also make sure you provide a URL address where viewers
can go to get your eBook.
If you're good
with video or audio create that type of content as the primary piece. Just
remember this is not a commercial. Your video, podcast or eBook is a soft sell
at best. Even if you create an eBook as your first project you should still
create a short video to go with it. Videos have the highest viral rate and it
will lead people to your free eBook which in turn leads them to you. Create your
video, audio or eBook and run it by some friends or coworkers who will be
somewhat objective. Tweak whatever problems they point out.
Make sure that
you embed ample backlinks to your website/landing page or whichever web
property you want visitors to find. Also make sure these landing sites are
designed to either generate leads, phone calls or sales. I often see well
designed viral efforts foiled because the landing site was not setup for
converting visitors. Check out "The Evolution of
Internet Advertising"
and "Is it Still
Possible to Make Money Online?" for more details.
Post it to as
many social networks as possible. Start with the top five; YouTube, Facebook,
Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn. I would also add Pintrest, Instagram and Picasa,
especially if your product is very visually oriented or requires some assembly
or has special operations. If you have a blog write several blog posts about
it. Spread these blog posts out over several weeks. Make sure you especially
ask your friends and family to share, retweet and repost your message. Send
your message to your list of influential followers. Appeal to their needs and
make sure you thank them personally in advance for sharing your message. Again
use uniform hash tag convention and leave room for their 2 cents. Create
several PR posts for your video or eBook. The press can help your post get
found. There are many free PR sites. See my article "Using Press
Releases to Promote your Business" for more tips and details.
Hector Cisneros is a partner, COO and social media director
for WSquared Media Group based in Jacksonville, FL. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube. He is also the co-host of Blog Talk Radio’s “Working the Web to Win,” where he and Carl Weiss make Working the Web to Win simple
for every business. Hector is a syndicated writer for EzineOnline and is an
active Blogger, (including ghost writing) and he is a published author of two
books, 60 Seconds to success (on sale at Amazon and B&N) and Internet Marketing for the 21st Century which you can get free by clicking on the link at WSquaredMediaGroup.com. He is an active Boy Scout Leader, enjoys family time, loves
the outdoors, reading and the creative process of designing effective internet
marketing solutions for his clients.
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