The business of viral videos
Viral marketing, also called viral advertising, refers to a marketing technique that uses unconventional means, such as websites, to spread information about a product or service. One of the best ways to do viral marketing is by creating video campaigns. Videos attract a larger audience because they can be seen in virtually every corner of the internet, specifically on social media and video sharing sites. As these videos are shared on different sites and viewed by various groups of people, they go viral. To use a cliché, “they spread like a disease.” That is why they are called viral videos.
A viral video is created for the purpose of sharing it on the Internet through social media, email, and video-sharing websites. They became trending videos which means they become more popular online due to their wide spread across different platforms. Most viral videos are funny, entertaining, and/or humorous in nature.
How videos spread online
The video sharing site YouTube is the most popular option for posting viral marketing videos. Since you have buttons that allow you to share on social sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to bring the videos to different niches and audiences. These videos are then picked up by other websites and Internet users.
Once viral, the videos appear in a video table. This chart lists the most popular and most recently uploaded videos on YouTube. Some websites even have a separate section or page for their own viral video chart. It basically acts as a compilation of viral videos. Some people prefer to browse through the graph instead of searching YouTube or other social networking sites.
How viral videos help market products and services
There are four reasons why businesses should consider using viral videos to promote their products and services:
- Videos attract people. They are more interesting, visually appealing and attractive.
- Videos offer a definitive answer to what your product or service can do, as well as provide a clear picture of what a customer can gain by patronizing said product or service.
- Videos can be viewed multiple times, regardless of the time of day; any day of the week. Thus, they create lasting awareness for your brand.
- Videos attract more people to your website. And these visitors will find reasons to stay longer and explore the site.
Top Brands Use Viral Videos to Market Products
Some of the world’s most popular consumer brands have been using viral videos for product promotions. They use videos to introduce a new product or promote a campaign. Some companies even have a series of viral videos. Here are four companies that have made a significant impression with their viral marketing campaigns.
- * “Will it mix?” Blendtec’s viral video series began in 2006. The videos feature the company’s product, blenders, blending just about anything from golf balls to glow sticks to the iPad. Most of his videos (over a hundred!) have a million views on YouTube. The glow stick video has the most views with three million. The “will it blend in?” The website has a chart that shows your most recent and most popular videos.
- Red Bull is another company that uses viral videos to get their message across. His video “The Athlete Machine – Red Bull Kluge” went viral in 2012. It currently has over 14.6 million views on YouTube. The video simply shows different clips of extreme sports or action, something Red Bull is now known for.
- Nike knows how to make good viral marketing videos. One of its most popular campaigns is the video featuring the NBA star Kobe Bryant jumping on a car – An Aston Martin, too! – while wearing his Nike gear. It has over 2.8 million views on YouTube.
How to determine if it is trending or not
To know if a video has gone viral, you need to track the results by regularly monitoring various metrics or comments (such as the number of likes, comments, and shares). Social media monitoring is one way to do this. Monitor or follow different websites to stay up to date with what’s happening online. However, it doesn’t just keep track of social media sites; it also monitors forums, blogs, and news websites.
There are tools that can be used for video monitoring, which will make it easier for businesses to track the spread of viral videos on YouTube, social media, and other online portals.
conclusion
Although viral marketing and viral videos may never go mainstream like traditional TV commercials, they are here to stay. One of the reasons for this is its ability to capture the attention of a wide and diverse audience. Also, as their main advertising medium is the Internet, they are somewhat cheaper than traditional advertising. And finally, since technology is here to stay, viral videos are also here to stay. In fact, we may be in for bigger video surprises in the future!