How to get a worthy video to go viral

S

Somewhereinthewoods

Active member
I directed a very funny music video for a local band located in the Missouri Ozarks. It can be viewed on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2CIQuWVUg

I think the band is awesome and the video tells one hell of a story. I want to help the band make it! Can anyone give me advice on how to get this video viral? Also I am interested on any feedback on the video itself. If you like it - please share it.
On a sad note, I just found out that the man who intros the video, Jerry Dunn, just died.
 
i dont know if this video really has what it takes to go "viral" there really isnt anything that makes you bust a gut laughing, wonder "why didnt i think of that?" or go WOW from a production standpoint.

dont get me wrong. its a good video. very watchable. and a fun song. but you cant MAKE something go viral. it either hits the right people the right way or it doesnt. and im sorry. i just dont think this one's got viral legs.

now you CAN promote it well. making sure its on their facebook and myspace pages. ourstage.com and the variety of other music sites out there
 
"Going viral" is a term that has been totally abused. You could make the best "viral" type video that has ever been seen and it won't go viral. Why? Because it's entirely up to the whim of the masses as to what goes viral and what does not. Sometimes it can be simply a matter of timing that can determine if a video goes viral or not, something that you have no control over.

I laugh when I see postings for people looking for filmmakers to create viral videos. You can make a video like one that has gone viral, but you cannot make it go viral. That is up to your audience.

So make a video that you want to make, and realize that, odds are, your viewership will be measured in hundreds, not millions.
 
I like your video but it does not have what it takes to go viral, nice work though. From what I know and the people I know that have had successful viral videos it takes a lot of creative press releases and money to get it to the point where it 'could' go viral. 1000's of press releases all sent out at the same time with a stratigic plan. Corporate america has spent over $1M in marketing / PR for videos to get them to go viral. It's not as easy and sending links to all your twiter and facebook friends. There was big money behind those bud light viral video's and other corporate viral videos pushing them, you see less now because it's cheaper and easier to buy a national tv spot.
 
Find out what they all have in common... and you have a winner! Your guess is as good as mine.

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I AGREE
 
i think its a nice looking video, but to go "viral" so to speak you need something memorable and worthy enough to get people to "gossip" about it.
 
If someone could come up with a formula to make a video go "Viral", they would have the marketing world by the ass and could write their own ticket. The "Hit record" analogy is very appropriate. I think it is a combination of creativity, uniqueness and an "X-factor" that plugs into the public zeitgeist in just the right way. I don't know if one can really set out to make a video that does it.
 
Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for the comments!

I used a HVX200 and shot at 720P 24fps. Edited in FCP. We shot the band playing the tune 13 times in one afternoon. I am very proud of all of the amateur actors, and the way this piece came together.
 
Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for the comments!

I used a HVX200 and shot at 720P 24fps. Edited in FCP. We shot the band playing the tune 13 times in one afternoon. I am very proud of all of the amateur actors, and the way this piece came together.
 
I don't think there is a formula or way to predict what will go viral.
If there was, everything/nothing would go viral.

Having a professional marketing team (as mentioned above) with a huge email blast can help, but is no guarantee.

The more organic or natural viral videos can be anything from stunning photography (the world's second largest aquarium- 1.4 million views on Vimeo),

to "The best cat video you'll ever see" on Youtube (21 million views),

or the Evolution of Dance on Youtube- 136.6 million views.

Why did these go viral, increasing at an exponential rate?

Well, video geeks like us forwarded the aquarium link to each other, and to non-video obsessed friends and family, who forwarded it to friends and family, who forwarded it to friends and family, etc.

Cat videos? They're... what- strange? Cute? Unexpected?
Cat lovers (millions and millions) and maybe even cat haters ("look at the cat behaving like a dog") forward them.

Dancing? Silly, funny, clever.

So someone or something doing something unusual or unexpected, or something incredibly beautiful, or funny and silly might go viral, but the odds are still, shall we say, challenging?

There's over 83 million videos on Youtube, so... good luck!

And perhaps this question could have been asked somewhere more general (and possibly have gotten more traffic) like the Cafe, but his video was shot on an HVX, plus he got a few more views from us, so...
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