Monthly Archives: February 2009

Anatomy Of A Viral Video

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What’s not to like about viral videos?

They attract tons of traffic.

Aside from minor content creation/editing costs, the production cost is minimal.

Video is getting hot.

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On the negative side:

Video viewers tend to be click happy and might click on the next “related video” before finishing yours.

They might not be motivated to head to an external link/website to take action.

Even if they do click on the link, they might not be qualified to participate in the CPA or affiliate offer.

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When video marketing is done right, however, it can get you more bang for your buck, compared to any other PPC or SEO/SEM campaign. National coverage, including appearances on shows like Conan, Ellen, Oprah could be in the cards.

Witness the video which made its appearance early last year Sammy Stephen’s minimall rap:

Here is the original version with about 3.8 million plays:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk[/youtube]

Some elements which made this a success:

  • A catchy electrosynth drum machine background track
  • An interesting host/performer (check out Sammy’s bug-eyed look)
  • Kitschy elements (whether you find it funny/humorous or just so plain bad that it’s good)

What I think works in its favor is the Sammy’s personality and the fact that he’s having fun with it.

As is apparent in his appearance on Fox 6 WBRC:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbmVVOHa5BI[/youtube]

Now after watching that, aren’t you a little curious to check out his mini-mall?

Else Simon might have something to say about that:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Uux__e5aw&NR=1[/youtube]

It’s difficult to predict what the impact of a single video will be. However, there’re lots of examples to take a leaf out of and test.

Making The Most Out Of Social Media

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At last month’s Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, I took a question asking “How do I effectively use social media in my business?”

Here is the long answer:

Social media (I would consider this as “blogging and the other stuff that goes with it”) is more than just a tool in my business. Up till now, it is the foundation of my business.

If HTML websites are billboards filled with information waiting for people to stumble upon them and read them, then blogs are like aggressive ticket scalpers running up to you and shouting in-your-face, in a direct manner. (this is a good thing).

And if you’re new to the social traffic, social networking game, here are some pointers:

seagulls

  • Go out and try everything: The best and worst part of social marketing is that it’s usually free to sign up and participate in. (Although if you forget to factor in the value of your time invested, you could be losing out in a great deal of opportunity cost). Heard about LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Plurk, FriendFeed, Friendster, Orkut, Plurk, Hi5, Flickr, Craigslist, YouTube, Twitter? Why not sign up for an account. If you’re concerned about it (and you probably should be), make sure you register your personal name, your business, your brand, and get your related domain or account name before someone else does. Sure, you can go after “social network domain/account name squatters” after the fact, but it’s going to take time and resources to do that, so why not spare yourself the trouble now.
  • Learn to specialize: I don’t think it’s worth being a “jack-of-all-trades” and spread yourself across all the social networks and have merely superficial relationships with the people in those communities. Instead, I’d suggest focusing on specializing in one or two social networks and “embedding” yourself in them. Learn the social rituals, get to know the influencers, build YOUR own social influence within those circles. Some wannabe “gurus” would have you believe that your social influence is dictated by the number of followers or friends you have. In my opinion, that is utter nonsense and is at best a simpleton’s scare tactic. Just like wine, it’s quality than counts, not quantity.
  • Stay away from the Dark Side: Yes, the medium is a free one, but does that mean you should keep taking away from it (see: How NOT to be a tool on Twitter and How NOT to be a tool on Twitter part 2)? Believe or not, there’s a better course of action, that’s to build your goodwill bank.

Being “successful” with your social marketing efforts has a lot to do with your social influence and ability to shape opinions and behavior. And that’s going to take more than just a simple follower count to resolve.

how not to be a tool on twitter