DISQUS

stacyvanwickler · 1 year ago

everytime the word "viral" is spoken, a piece of content loses its wings.

Donna Papacosta · 1 year ago

Amen, Scott. I too am frequently asked about crafting something "viral." If only!

Dan Zarrella · 1 year ago

You can't guarantee success in any advertising discipline, not all tv commercials will be successful, does that mean clients shouldn't ask for a "successful" ad? of course not.
Virality is merely another way of measuring "success" and with metrics and tracking and all the other science of marketing (plus some other fields of study) you absolutely can make a piece of content designed to go viral just as you can make an ad designed to be "successful".
Too often those who cry "virality is a lie" would be better served by crying "sour grapes!"

Josep Maria Sala · 1 year ago

As often as I have to listen to such requests, I think it has more to do with misuse of terms that are unknown to people who is not a professional of that subject. I think viral sounds cool, it's a buzzword and what many of the clients, at least in my personal experience, ask for is a specific type of content, be it provocative, original, whatever they understand people likes to share. They try to go farther than the typical "corporate" video.

doughaslam · 1 year ago

As the father of a future major leaguer, I am puzzled at your comparisons, but...

Yes, we hear "viral" too much, and clients in general need to have their expectations cut to reality.

What we can do is create something good enough and relevant enough to have a chance at going viral-- and to have other uses for it as well. Create your own luck, create your own quality.

Dan Zarrella · 1 year ago

"good enough and relevant enough to have a chance at going viral" Memetic theory and general observation (and a blog post of mine) have shown that ideas do not spread because they are "good" or "relevant" there are tons of "bad" ideas that spread like wildfire.

Matthew Ebel · 1 year ago

Thank you, thank you, thankety thank you. Had you not already done so I would've mentioned the "write me a hit single" analogy. All you can do is make a GOOD video. If it goes viral, it goes viral.

Next time a client asks you for that, show them a montage of every "kid getting kicked in the balls" video with 9,500,000 views on YouTube and ask them, "which one of you wants to volunteer?"

Dan Zarrella · 1 year ago

"All you can do is make a GOOD video. If it goes viral, it goes viral." BZZZZT Wrong! good != viral

Bernardo Sosa · 1 year ago

I totally agree with you Scott. Viral for the sake of viral doesn't make sense. We usually first try to educate our potential clients as to what the correct viarl/social media strategy should be for them.
Usually a video is not the way to go.

Brad Givens · 1 year ago

Interesting stuff. You are legend.

On the same front, it looks like Gary Busey has been busy with a company in MA doing some viral marketing. Working with celebs should catch buzz; nutty celebs probably helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfLrtBKCj4M

omerosen · 1 year ago

Please some stop using the term viral video. It looks like as if every new video is viral.

Asad · 1 year ago

What should it be called then?
To be very true, Almost all videos on Youtube have viral attitude. We can't ignore this media to promote ourselves via viral way.

Josep Maria Sala · 1 year ago

I would like to add that we, as social media professionals, can "add some extra chances to succeed" as long as we know which channels are most appropriate to promote specific content, and the tools to spread the voice.

But that of course does not guarantee the viral factor. Wisdom of the crowds will!

Scott · 1 year ago

For people that are looking to measure the success of their "viral" video, a good way to test the waters is YooRL. It stinks you can't mask the url they generate, but measures sharing across all platforms.

http://www.yoorl.com/page/home.html

Adam · 1 year ago

I agree, you can't make a viral video, but marketers do have the ability to make a video go viral. The first step, of course, is having at least a quality video. But there are techniques that marketers can use to start getting views. Dan Ackerman Greenberg had a great post on TechCrunch last year about some of the techniques his firm uses and I know he isn't the only one employing these strategies.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret...

John Blossom · 1 year ago

Great post, Scott. It's a key point that many marketers just don't get. The "Fake Parker" blog for Microsoft's I'm Talkathon sticks out in my mind as a key example of what happens when you try to make fake viral content. It makes you feel unclean. http://tinyurl.com/5znhb8

adamcohen · 1 year ago

Nice post Scott. I just had a discussion with a client last week about viral video, where I mentioned any marketing firm or individual claiming to "guarantee viral video success" should be escorted out the door (well, I use a more extreme analogy). Marketers can help promote a good video, but will be "pushing a rope" if the content doesn't resonate. I like the suggestion of producing multiple (high quality/great idea) videos and seeing if any of them stick - but companies need to realize it's a gamble and not a guarantee.

stoltzc · 1 year ago

Brilliant. I just sent this to a client who asked me to do precisely this. I may lose a client, but I may win a heart and mind. I'm sure I'll be rewarded for this in my next life, if not this one.

Tom O'Brien · 1 year ago

Nice post - planning your marketing based on viral videos ls like planning your retirement by playing the lottery.

Just because it is stupid doesn't mean lots of people wont' do it. My take here:

http://tinyurl.com/6j2cy4

TO'B

Martin · 1 year ago

A few days back I have received an email via my webmaster account. Someone wanted me to promote a video(Youtube Video) on forums. I am amazed to watch the video, it had nothing but only a demonstration. I am worried who will bother to see it. Anyhow, People are crazy about viral stuff.

Jim Tobin Ignite Social Media · 1 year ago

Scott,

I get it all the time, too. Not only is it nearly impossible to predict what would go viral, but the people asking me are usually stewards of their brand. Viral is hard enough. Viral and "on brand"? Yeah, good luck with that.

~Jim

Violin · 1 year ago

There are a lot of views on viral and I shall not like to give the same comment so i shall comment on video, this is funny crazy video which should be spread everywhere. Bravo JIBJAB!

wilson · 1 year ago

Well done. And for a reference point, I bought that issue when I was in high-school and the I knew the headline cold, just by the picture. Also, in the B2b arena, viral for viral sake is a waste. If you hit a tiny piece of your target market and get true business results, that can sometimes be better than dealing with the craziness generated by a true viral phenom like the cell phone/popcorn example. But, hey attention does help...

Brennan · 1 year ago

I take a 180 take on "viral" I think. Interesting that our views are so different. I view "viral marketing" like I view "television marketing" or "online marketing". "Viral" in this case answers the question "how?" not "how successful?".

The "viral" in "viral marketing" only identifies the delivery method of the marketing message. How will I attempt to make this marketing message a hit? Virally. Virally as opposed to 'using a television' or 'via print media'.

That said, we're often asked to make a video go viral and we have the same feeling/answer as you. I agree on that point. I simply don't agree at all that viral = success. To me at least, it describes the delivery method and that is all. A failed viral video is a video that never successfully passed around the internet. A successful one saved the company the cost of distribution (akin to getting free ad placement on TV or in a magazine).

Cheers to the article either way.

saurav · 1 year ago

Very True. A video, mailer or for that matter anything would go viral or not is highly unpredictable. You can put in everything to make it worthy of viral, but still you can't guarantee it.

Josh Henderson · 1 year ago

If you want to make a viral video, you could always do some research and hit up google for anything involving technology.