How-To Avoid The Viral Video Trap [Video Blog Part 3]

How many times have you heard the words “let’s make a viral video” in a meeting? Marketers get caught up in making the mistake that every video made for the Internet is going to go viral.

It is not and it will not. Not likely, anyway. That’s a trap.

With 100 HOURS of video uploaded to YouTube EVERY MINUTE (YouTube, May 2014), only a minuscule number of them will actually go viral. And, what constitutes viral is not well defined.

In a recent blog post, YouTube weblebrity Kevin Nalty, aka Nalts, asks the question “How many views do you need to be viral?” In 2011 he said, “A few years ago, a video could be considered “viral” if it hit a million views.” But Nalts updated that definition. He said, “A video, I submit, is “viral” if it gets more than 5 million views in a 3-7 day period.” (Wikipedia, May 2014)

The reality is that viral videos most often happen by accident and are unprofessionally produced user generated content. There have certainly been videos by unsuspecting brands, like Blendtec, that have gone viral but they’re an anomaly. When it comes to those brands that successfully do it on purpose (e.g. Old Spice) the are backed by hundreds of thousands of dollars in production, PR and advertising.

Making a viral video is not the best or  most realistic use of the average marketing budget. That’s why in the final installment of our three part series Melonie and Cindy will tell you about how to make a video “shareworthy.” Plus, get video marketing statistics to put in your back pocket for that next meeting.

Here’s a link to Vidrack WordPress plugin mentioned in the interview.

Video by: The Pulse

←Watch Part 1

←Watch Part 2

Meet Expert: Cindy Matalucci

Cindy is the founder, executive producer and host of The Pulse, an interview style marketing company. She will come to your event or business, try your products and services on camera, talk to some of your best clients, and give your potential customers an inside view of your company. The Pulse is all about fun, and making your video an interactive, natural experience. Instead of talking to a camera, clients have a real conversation with Cindy, in a relaxed setting, with a tailored set of questions to target potential clients.