Viral Video Marketing

Viral Videos

December 27th, 2009 at 7:23 pm

Benefiting From Viral Traffic

Of all of the different forms of traffic that you can get on your website, viral traffic has the potential of sending you the most amount of people in the shortest period of time. This traffic can come from a number of different locations and through a variety of methods but if it is truly viral in nature, you will be surprised at the explosion of traffic that comes to your website. What exactly is viral traffic and how can you successfully set up a viral traffic campaign in order to send your hit counter spinning?

Viral traffic is basically just website visitors that come from a variety of viral marketing campaigns. These can include anything from online videos to freely downloadable products. The main thing that you need to remember about viral traffic, however, is that it needs to be something that people are willing to pass on to other individuals. You can create the greatest product that is available but if it does not have a viral nature to it then it will do little more than attract some attention on the side.

Have you ever seen some of the videos that have attracted millions of viewers? There are several things that these videos may have in common which include such things as comedy, controversy and creativity. For the most part, however, many of these viral videos were not put up with the intent of attracting this much attention. It happened naturally, as a result of those videos being passed on again and again and the traffic multiplying naturally. The good news is, you can also create the same effect to a video that you make with the intent of producing this kind of traffic. All you really need to do is to create controversy, comedy or creativity that will be enough to encourage others to pass on your work.

If you are on the verge of a viral marketing campaign but just can’t seem to get it rolling to the extent that you want, perhaps you’re not asking hard enough. Many viral campaigns that were started naturally did so simply because people wanted to pass the information on. Perhaps your video or other viral marketing techniques are interesting but they are just not quite interesting enough for people to pass them on naturally. If you ask people to pass them on, however, enough people may take you up on your offer and you could start the ball rolling in that way.

As they say, all good things must eventually come to an end. Your viral marketing campaign will typically have a lifespan and you may notice that the traffic you are receiving will eventually begin to die out to a certain extent. If you continue to put up other campaigns in order to create a viral effect and subsequent traffic to your website, however, you can not only see the traffic coming on a regular basis, you may actually see it grow on a regular basis as well.

September 15th, 2009 at 9:38 am

Viral Web Video Hot New Marketing Tool

In this day of YouTube, My Space, and Face Book viral web video has become an important marketing tool. The point is not to actually advertise the product you are selling, but to intrigue your audience and tempt them to watch your video, slipping the advertisement in on them without warning. Often such ads are also shown on TV, but with the increasing cost of prime ad time, companies are looking for more cost effective and novel methods to introduce their products or services to you.
A successful viral web video will take on a life of its own, as everyone will want to see it – and when they see it, they revel in sharing it with their friends. It can spread like a virus and have much more impact than what you might expect from traditional advertisements. Viral videos offer greater retention since people talk about it, thus increasing exposure and hopefully your sales. This viral marketing trend is expected to grow in years to come since online video in general plays an increasingly important role in online content delivery.
How to do it:
You must first determine if your brand is right for online video. Is your brand compelling and simple? If so it is perfect for viral web video. If your brand is a more complex, regulated industry it’s going to require more thought… You must be able to entertain your audience and advertise subtly. It is the entertainment that is the key to the viral propagation. Comedy is often the entertainment style of choice. Content driven only by an advertising objective is at risk of being a flop. If you want people to share your video, it must be entertaining, funny, provocative, outrageous or very interesting and target the interest of your market audience.
If you decide that viral web video is appropriate for your brand, first you need to develop a brief of your idea, and then you must find a creator for your web video. There are several ways to do this; hire your agency, a professional video production company, or contract with a third party that represents a variety of proven creators. Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages.
Research shows that successful viral web video initiatives increase the awareness of your brand and changes the preference of your target audience. How to create and convey that message and how to use social media to do this successfully is an art. Done correctly, you can pull in the viewers you want to your website, without spending a fortune on ad placement. To get the most out of the video, it should be integrated with the company’s web site to steer viewers to “home base”.
You can’t make a video viral, but your viewers can. Viral web video often has a TV approach: attract the most eyes possible first and promote brand attributes second. The reason these videos work is this, the product isn’t the star…a person or the story is, and people are entertained by it. They watch it, share it with their friends, who share it with their friends; this is how the viral effect is achieved.
Target audiences must be made aware of the company’s existence and must be made to comprehend its relevance to their needs. Audiences must be made aware of how to interact with the company. The process of moving potential customers easily and conveniently from awareness to the sale must be smooth and transparent.

RESOURCE
In this age of the Internet, even the smallest companies have the opportunity to advertise via viral web video. Horizon Film and Video, www.horizonvideo.com, is a professional Austin video production and video production Austin, post production and multimedia company located in Austin, Texas whose staff is ready to help you with all your video branding needs. Horizon is experienced in branding and selling products and services through the power of video. Horizon can help give your company the edge in this competitive global economy