The Classics of Viral Videos - All in one place!
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If you’re interested in Viral Marketing and understanding how it works, you may want to head over to the Ultimate Meme Database [link no longer available] (before they called it viral marketing they were called “memes”). What does or doesn’t go viral is a subject that can leave your mind pretty boggled- especially for someone trying to spread the word about a product or service, rather than just fishing for attention on the internet.
The best way to learn has always been just diving in, though, so why not go check these out for a bit.
Consider yourself warned though:
You can’t watch just one
Star Wars Kid (wikipedia entry)
These videos spread for a reason. Take the above video: The Star Wars Kid. This video damn near sparked a religion. Not only did it spread, but it spawned at least 20 different remix videos and has been parodied on half a dozen TV shows.
You may not understand them
The Numa Numa video (wikipedia entry)
One thing I love about most viral content is that most of the people I show them to don’t get them. That’s the thing- many of them aren’t universally loved- BUT to the computer savvy niche who made them and consumed them they are slices of fried gold.
The above video, “numa numa” is a fat kid lip-syncing. That’s it. And I laughed so hard I cried blood the first time I watched it. My grandparents, on the other hand, wouldn’t understand it at all. In their defense though, they’re dead.
You never know what’s next
We’re In Business (wikipedia entry for artist)
This video, “We’re in Business” is by and singer named Andrew Thompson, and it’s hilarious. On paper it has all the qualities a viral video needs. It’s jam-packed with nerd-friendly references, it’s massively funny, it stars a nerd and a robot, plus it’s a catchy song. So why has it only gotten 24k views in 8 months when so many others have millions of views? Why doesn’t the video have a lengthy wikipedia article like the others? I’d say on the one hand it’s luck. On the other hand, viral marketing it getting more crowded every day and it may need some help (hey Andrew, I’ve got some ideas for your site - call me!)
Can you market your product with robots and fat kids? Probably not. But if you can figure out what need these viral videos meet, you’re one step closer to figuring out how to harness the power of word of mouth.
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