HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR COMMERCIAL GOES VIRAL ON THE INTERNET ?

A viral video is in the first place a video that is released by a brand/company with the intention of reaching a large group of existing customers and prospects. It is also a video that is shared by word-of-mouth. This digital form of Word of Mouth (WOM) is the basis of a successful viral video.

Thales Teixeira, a Harvard professor specialized in marketing, reveals the secrets of a successful and efficient video in his article « ONLINE VIDEO OFFERS A WAY TO ACHIEVE HIGHER ENGAGEMENT WITH CONSUMERS FOR FAR LESS MONEY » published in the Harvard Business Review. Continue reading and discover some tricks that will help you to launch your own efficient viral video campaign :

  • Carefully study your video’s target group and the expected results. This will help you maximize the diffusion ;
  • The subject should be universal and not commercial. The logo should be used discretely because research shows that users stop watching when logos appear on screen ;
  • Reach out to users by using surprise, fear, fun, laughter, provocations. If you want to appear genuine you will have to evoke emotions ;
  • Keep your video short. A video will lose 54 % of its viewers after 60 seconds ;
  • Test your ideas in advance with users who belong to your target group ;
  • Use the feedback you might get from internet users ;
  • Create a scenario that contains both a need and an expectation. It is important that you take the time to think about a launch strategy ;
  • Use influencers to spread the video  ;
  • Publish your video on YouTube, the most popular platform ;
  • Increase the spread via social media.

VIRAL VIDEOS – BRAND SUCCESS

Nike – Leave nothing

Dermablend – Zombie Boy

Microsoft – Don’t fight : windows phone contre Apple et Samsung

Orangina – Mission 404

Virale video, bad buzz

Launching a viral video campaign is a knife that cuts both ways :  if the video is successful it will generate a lot of positive feedback at a low cost. If it is a failure, it can have a strong negative influence on a brand or company. That is one of the main reasons why companies are reluctant to launch a viral campaign.

One example is Greenpeace who published a video about the use of palm oil by multinational Nestlé. This caused reputational damage.

TURNING COMMERCIAL ADS INTO A PARODY : HOW TO USE ANOTHER BRAND’S SUCCESS ?

Bavaria used a Heineken ad to create a « buzz » around its own brand.

THINGS NOT TO DO WHEN MAKING A VIRAL VIDEO

  • KEEPING YOUR LOGO PERMANTENTLY ONSCREEN

  • BRINGING A BLATANTLY OBVIOUS COMMERCIAL MESSAGE

  • BEING TOO EXTREME : SHOCKING, TRASH …

  • IGNORING THE COMMENTS/REMARKS OF THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

Source : lentreprise.lexpress.fr