Will This Post go Viral? Hardly
July 7, 2010 Fun stuff, Innovation, Technology
Follow @JohnPMuldoon
It’s all about buzz. But how do you do it? Is there a trick to making a video go viral?
At the Dublin Web Summit recently, Paul Hayes of Beach Hut PR suggested building up a video by getting it banned in Britain and then shopping it around the States as “banned in the U.K.” (See his whole talk at the Summit below). Bebo founder, Michael Birch, who is now working on a politically themed social site called Jolitics, echoed this theme when he said he would be disappointed if the new site didn’t get banned in China.
However, Mark Little of Storyful, a news website launching this summer, said trying to make an internet campaign go viral was like throwing yourself a surprise birthday party.
But that doesn’t stop people trying. And it doesn’t stop people trying to give advice. There is some here but, to be honest, I think the ads they use as examples are weak. And it doesn’t stop the small army of social media consultants offering to get you noticed on the web. There are even programs on television that show the web’s most popular videos.
But Little may be closer to the truth. The most popular viral videos feature babies, animals or people making eejits of themselves. Very few business clips feature in these lists. And the ones that are commercial — such as Microsoft’s Megawoosh below — are very circumspect in plugging products.
So, save yourself the money and take my advice: Be funny and don’t mention your product.
Guerilla Marketing on a ShoeString Budget – Paul Hayes – BeachHutPR.com – DWS – Video Presentation Produced by PathPacific.com
Main video logo montage image courtesy of HH Michael on Flickr.com.
No related posts.
Comments (3)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mark little. mark little said: Worth a try
RT @John__Muldoon: Will This Post go Viral? Hardly http://wp.me/pXewP-8Y | @hayespr [...]
[...] A couple of interesting and innovative websites are being unleashed on an unwitting Irish public this summer. Although British and based in Silicon Valley, Bebo founder Michael Birch, has just started doing early tests of Jolitics in Ireland. You can read more about that here. [...]
[...] Jolitics was at the Dublin Web Summit a few months ago. Birch was in attendance and, naturally, Jolitics was mentioned. He had promised a new approach to political discussion, and was looking forward to launching in [...]