How to Create A Viral Video

How to make a viral video

Jason Wishnow – Director Film and Video at TED

Margaret Gould Stewart – User Experience manager at Youtube

Damian Kulash – OK GO

WHAT IS VIRAL VIDEO: a video where a significant amount of the viewership wants to become part of the distribution system; “anything with boobs or kittens in it.”

Something people can relate to and feel compulsive about sharing it with others, not purely about the view count.

Two main sections:  viral by accident (150 million views for Charlie bit my finger) and viral by intention

What makes content spread fast on the internet and how can you increase your chances – repeatedly not by accident.

It’s all about the content:

Viral content

James Watson at TED

Nicholas Negraponti at TED

Bill Gates at TED 2009 – unleashes mosquitoes into the room – baldness effects rich people, not malaria

Hans RIsling at TED – AIDS talk  – epidemic and pandemic, reveal after reveal to demonstrate new invention, solidified beam of the laser pointer.

Production Values are part of Content – backyard dance video shot in backyard with a borrowed video camera, practice routine, homemade style. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbdbVhBGETQ

Sense of wonder or surprise translated through appropriate production values.

How to spread – Tactics:

• Building your audience and a subscriber base – interacting with the community:  Failblog:  curating rather than creating content.  Relationship between content and audience.  Induce people to participate and make things around the things you make, will make people want to spread.  Encourage offshoots and parodies, etc.  Fighting Granny on Failblog.
• Embed:  no one wants traffic leaving their site.  Title and info is as important as anything else-  titles and tagging are key, don’t trick people with misleading thumbnails and info.  TED content is distributed on blogs, virgin America channel, obviously Youtube and the TED website.  Types of comments made act as great PR.  Intimate reaction between viewer and creator.
• OK GO domino video – State Farm sponsorship.  Corporate sponsor got positive comments and 17^th century patron of the arts style…
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w
• Surprised Kitten video.