Viral Video Marketing: What Is It?

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Viral video marketing is the process of creating, producing and seeding a branded video via social networking sites, blog outreach, targeted websites and social and mobile applications. Consumers are engaged and encouraged to share and pass the video along to their networks of friends, family and colleagues. Viral video marketing is a branch of internet marketing used to build brand awareness and increase web traffic, engagement and, ultimately, sales.

Don’t confuse branded viral video with web ads or TV commercials repurposed for the web, as they are two different animals from the same family (think zebra and horse). In fact, branded video and viral marketing are more closely related to entertainment content and carry the same “water cooler” shareability and conversational appeal, in that people actually want to discuss and share these online videos. A branded video is a stand-alone, entertaining and engaging video or can be part of a web series that incorporates the brand’s message in the content. Rather than overtly persuading, a branded viral video covertly persuades. Most people don’t like to be sold to, and that is what most commercials do. Viral video marketing can harness the perfect balance between piquing a viewer’s interest while spreading brand awareness without being salesy.

The idea is to let your marketing message evolve online through social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. Bloggers will express opinions about the video and your brand, product or service and the story can be picked up and spread across various media outlets including TV, radio and print. Through that extended conversation, over the course of days, weeks, months and even years comes the real value and return on investment (ROI) of a viral video marketing campaign. By building a story worth talking about, you build brand awareness, engagement, recognition, interaction and loyalty.

Viral video marketing benefits include:

• decreasing cost of marketing over the course of the campaign
• reaching millions of targeted consumers where they work and play
• allowing for brand and consumer interaction
• unlimited advertising duration
• free advertising from consumers
• generating buzz around your brand, products and services
• free media exposure across the internet, TV, print and radio
• developing a following of loyal subscribers
• being seen as a brand that is forward-thinking
• becoming part of the online community

Why choose viral video marketing over other forms of video marketing such as pre-roll or video banner overlays? Because pre-rolls and overlays, if not done correctly, can be seen as interruptions or even annoyances. According to YouTube, as many as 70% of their viewers would abandon a video if it were to carry pre-roll, as opposed to a viral video campaign in which viewers are encouraged by trusted sources to watch. Imagine that: viewers actually wanting to watch and share your branded message!

Tommy Liu is the Executive Integrated Producer, New Media with Supercool Creative, a digital creative agency specializing in online video creative & production, video seeding and integrated social media marketing campaigns designed to target consumers, build awareness and drive interaction.