Zoetica Media

  • Home
  • Services
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

What Makes a Video Go Viral?

July 17, 2009 by Kami Huyse

Share this:
Twitter0
Facebook0
Google+0
LinkedIn0

It's the holy grail. Just this week a client asked me, “What makes a video go viral?

Everyone wants to know the shortcut to a super-popular video.

Heck, I want to know myself.

One company that probably has a better idea than most is Visible Measures, a company whose business it is to measure viral video. They have a case study or two that you can read to give you a more scientific view of how stuff goes viral.

I think that the key is to be remarkable, emotional, or very funny. You have to move people to say, “Wow, I have to share this with my friends.” Then you have to launch the video in such a way that is has a good chance of being seen. A popular blog is a great place for a video to take off, and don't forget links sent via e-mail.

A couple of years ago Dan Akerman wrote a compelling “how to launch a viral video” guide on TechCrunch that included some questionable practices, but he also peppered in some good ideas.

I picked three very different videos here, one is a commercial that is very funny and odd, which makes it fun; the second is a video put together by a patient at the Mayo Clinic that is both fun and heartwarming; and the third is a very lighthearted and funny video about how United destroyed one of its customer's guitars. What they all have in common is that they have that special mojo that sent them viral.

Let's hear from you, what do YOU think made these viral videos runaway hits?

 

Enjoy!

 

THE COMMERCIAL

Evian Rollerskating Babies – as of today, 5.9 million views

CAUGHT ON VIDEO

Mayo Clinic Couple, as of today, 4.1 million views

<=”<” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” />

THE SPURNED CUSTOMER

United Breaks Guitars, as of today 3.2 million views

Filed Under: How To Tagged With: video, viral

About Kami Huyse

Kami Watson Huyse, CEO of Zoetica, is passionate about great communication. Working in Public Relations since 1994, and blogging since 2005, she has seen trends come and go, but one thing has stayed the same – people are looking for ways to authentically connect. She loves to connect with readers, so leave a comment or follow @kamichat on Twitter and connect there.

Subscribe to get the newsletter and premiums

Enter your email to subscribe:

  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Zoetica

Zoetica Swish SmallWelcome to Zoetica! We are an experienced team of communicators led by Kami Huyse who are dedicated to teaching you how to bring your communication to life with sound strategy, community building and solid success measures. Check out our blog, Zoetica Talks, browse our Resources, and check out our Sevices.We can't wait to get to know you better.

Recent Posts

  • Which Social Media Platforms to Use for Business in 2023
  • Creative Professionals, Get Ready for the Artificial Intelligence Takeover
  • The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023
  • The 5-Part Visibility Plan That Will Help Promote and Grow Your Business
  • Are You Ready for AI in Creative Work?

Zoetica in the News

5 Tools to Measure (and Manage) Reputation in Complex Environment PR News Byline

2014 trends for public relations, marketing and social media | Business | Kentucky.com (mobile mention) 

Digital PR & Social Media Guidebook – Contributing Author

How Communicators Can Get Started with PR Measurement, PR News Mention

Proving PR’s Value in the Age of ROI—How to Tie Results to Corporate Objectives | Bulldog Reporter (Speaker)

A Gnawing Crisis in PR: Measuring The ROI on Social Media Channels, PR News Byline

Named as one of AGBeat's top 50 industry influencers in 2014

Will Houston B2B companies answer the social media call? - Houston Business Journal

Social Media Measurement Twitter Chat: Evaluating Impact of Social Media on Foundation Outcomes (with tweets) · RWJF (Moderator)

Top 100 Social Media Power Influencers in Houston 2013

Named as one of 30 PR Experts You Should Follow on Twitter by e-releases

BusinessWire Congrats for Making the Top 100 Women on Twitter

Posts by Topic

Zoetica Talks

 

#SMBHOU

Influencer Outreach

Best Ranked

Measurement

Book Shelf

Nonprofit and CSR

Community

Online Ethics

CoolTools

Social Media Tactics

Crisis

Guidelines

How To

Social Networks

Humor

Speaking

Trends

Strategy

Latest Tweets

Tweets by @kamichat
© Zoetica, LLC | Disclaimer | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 - Zoetica Media · designed/developed by Petersen Media Group