Everyone wants to talk about video. In fact, if you're an Inman Member, I would suggest going over there and checking out the PDF slideshow put together by Kelly Roark, Scripps Network Interactive at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco on July 24, 2008 entitled 25 Great uses for Video in Real Estate.
Kelly has some great points in her presentation as well as some ideas that you might not have considered before. I will still stand by my guns and say that it needs to be good quality, (See my earlier post entitled Caution: How NOT to incorporate Video into your Business)
But what is Viral Video? What makes it VIRAL? It's a great buzz word that many have thrown around and played with out of context... but what truly makes it work? According to a Wikipedia article on Viral Video, it states that Viral Video is, "A viral video is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites."
That being said, I love this example below. It's short, non-offensive, funny, and represents EVERYTHING that goes through our minds when we have to deal with one of these people. But would you associate the following words:
* Funny
* Hip
* Young
* Sarcastic
Witty
With Zillow.com? Not me. Cutting Edge, yes. Young, Hip and Witty? Probably not. This video has been viewed 5,000+ times as of this writing. How many of those people do you think went to Zillow.com? Take a look and share your thoughts... better yet... take this as an example and tell us how you intend to make your next marketing campaign viral???
I love my FLIP. But remember to use it for GOOD and not EVIL!
Just kidding. I think it's brilliant and can come up with 100 great uses. (think about giving it to a buyer to use when you're out seeing 10 properties... then upload the video for them to remember all the things they saw!) Keep me posted to what you do with it. I'd love to see
The sad part is... you can't "make" a video viral. It sure doesn't hurt to try, but it's like anything else - a lot of that success is just plain dumb luck that you strike a chord with a lot of people and it gets sent around the 'net.
The other issue you have to consider is... if 5000 people saw that video (which was funny, but dragged out a bit like a Saturday Night Live sketch), who are those 5000 people? Are they 13 year old girls who like to have pillow fights and think it's funny? If so, that's not going to help your business, which is the bottom line. Just like traffic to your website. Having traffic isn't the key - it's having the right traffic.
Glad you enjoyed the video. It's been a fun experiment so far. The goal here is certainly more around branding than traffic. And hey, what have you got against young, hip and witty people? They need homes too you know! :-)
Thanks and I agree, as with most things, you can't force something to be anything. However when designing a video or when thinking about the content you sure can position it so that it is viral-video-enabled. Here's something to think about...
5000 people viewed this video
Let's say 50% of them were teenage boys looking for pillow fights
25% of them were older men looking for pillow fights
That leaves 25% of the viewers (roughly 1,250) viewers that were like you, me and the 100 people that have clicked through since midnight on this post. Exposure is everything... I'm sorry but I will have to disagree with your statements, but thanks for the comments!
David,
totally fun... keep them coming. if you have a chance, I would check out the Nike Viral Video that was directed by Guy Ritchie. Gives me chills every time I watch it.
Is there a risk that an attempt to create a viral video will actually create publicity that's bad for business? Such as being perceived as too frivolous to trust with a real estate transaction or too young?
Witty advertising is not always effective advertising. But I guess it might work if they are just aiming at "branding" as David G says. Either way, it was pretty funny.
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