OK Go, a rock band widely known for its music video for their hit song, “Here It Goes Again,” recently released a follow-up video that many are hailing as greater than the original. Their YouTube video for “This Too Shall Pass” received 4,168 Diggs to date and is already an internet sensation.
It’s the dream of any marketer for its video to go viral. But this is the entertainment of the every-person, and thus demands a certain level of authenticity. Being quirky for quirkiness’ sake may inspire a few laughs, but it’s the true moments of weird that really inspire the views.
So what are some traits of a successful viral vid? Here are five common characteristics:
1.) They’re more than just stories, they’re experiences – Whether it’s cute kittens or a peaceful aquarium, the video offers something captivating to watch from beginning to end.
2.) They’re easy to digest – Simple concepts that don’t require too much thought. Seriously, what could be less complicated than “Numa Numa” or “Star Wars Kid“?
4.) They offer an innovative or unique view of life that’s different from our own – We find escape through entertainment, so it’s no wonder that fun videos from other cultures and viewpoints become so popular. Check out “Little Superstar” or “Tunak Tunak Tun” to see what I mean.
5.) They’re easily shared – Perhaps the most obvious trait is that sharing isn’t restricted (at least not until after the virility has taken effect.)
A recent TechCrunch article analyzed the actual increase in Twitter usage over 2009. While use on Twitter.com itself remained relatively flat, usage of third-party sites and applications utilizing the Twitter API had grown significantly:
For example, the rate at which bit.ly links are being clicked on is growing at a steep ramp, with more than 500 million clicks (or bit.ly “decodes”) per week. [John Borthwick, betaworks/bit.ly CEO] writes that “last week was the largest week ever for clicks on bit.ly links. 564m were clicked on in total. On the Jan 6th there were a record of 98m decodes.” On January 8, 2009, TweetDeck surpassed 4 million updates in a single day. And Twitterfeed now supports more than 800,000 feeds from more than 400,000 publishers.
Throughout human history, technology has made living more convenient. But it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that the influx of innovation permeated every facet of everyday life. This phenomenon is as relevant now as it was then, with Twitter-related technologies tracking and describing our very movements.
It’s valuable market data that consumers are more than willing to freely provide. And this is just a small segment of the vast network of Twitter-related technologies available. Businesses (and friends) are now more able to track a number of our explicit preferences in realtime. Hopefully this proliferation of personal information means they’re listening, and more willing to provide relevant products and services.
