Anatomy Of A Viral Video
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.