How to Make Viral Video Work for Your Business

When you hear the YouTube, viral video, or user-generated content it's easy to conjure up images of young 20 somethings imitating stunts from the Jackass movies. Thankfully, businesses don't have to engage that type of content in order to be effective in viral video (which in turn can garner links and traffic).

Take, for example, the following video. It demonstrates the rise and fall of the real estate market using animation of a roller coaster.



Ford Models has a series of web videos with beauty tips and tricks featuring their models. Here's one clip:


What's great about this video is that it's simple. It features a model against a light background offering a tip about a hair style. Less is definitely more when it comes to viral video.

So how does your business 'make it' in viral video? Three things to keep in mind:

• Make it short. Keep your video to no more than 2 minutes max. Under a minute is even better. Also, try to edit short clips together as opposed to taping one long scene. It's tough to produce long scenes that are also entertaining. If you're doing a DIY video that requires measuring, don't force your viewers to watch a guy find his measuring tape, take it to the thing he's measuring, stretch out the tape, look at it closely, and then mark his measurements. Instead, show a second of him pulling out the tape and then cut to the measurement. That will help you maximize time for a short video.
  
  
• Make it personal. With the roller coaster video above, it was great that the "rider" wasn't sitting in the second or third car. I think some people would be tempted to have people riding in front of the viewer to create a real roller coaster effect. But the video wasn't about amusement parks, it was about housing data. Allowing the viewer to sit in the front car gave them a very personal experience of the data.
  
  Same thing for the model video. She was very likeable and approachable, not something you generally associate with models. She was offering tips that other people could incorporate to their daily experience. Also, she showed how easy and quick it is to do hair! What girl wouldn't love a tip like that!
  
  
• Make it for your website. Try to host the video on your own website. But if you can't, make sure you embed it on a page on your website. YouTube, Google Video, etc. offer embed codes to make this easy. When you submit to Digg or Stumble Upon, be sure to submit your site and not the YouTube page your video is sitting on. The key is to get links and traffic to your site.
  

Ok, so now you're ready to give viral video a go. Congratulations! You're about to offer added value to your customers and gain new visitors to your site!


Technorati: viral video, social media, link bait, online marketing