More than 48 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. Yes. Every minute.
So, how do you make your video go viral? In this TED presentation, YouTube Trend Manager Kevin Allocca explains the three essentials elements that are required.
Tastemakers: Sometimes they are called Sneezers. These are people of influence whose endorsement matters. Think Oprah, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien and Justin Timberlake. When a Tastemaker promotes a video to their audience base, it takes on a new life.
Community participation: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This has never more true than in the world of YouTube. Every viral video has spurned many imitations. It’s this community, those who are in on the joke and expand upon it, that ensures a video goes viral.
Unexpectedness: Let’s face it. We bore quickly. A video has to include something unexpected. Something remarkable. It must evoke an emotion and thus, a desire to watch it. It may be funny, sad, amazing, infuriating, but whatever the emotional response, it makes us watch it and, more importantly, share it.
You can’t control the Tastemakers or force community participation. Creating a video that is unexpected is your best chance.
And frankly, I can’t believe that any more than 10, maybe 12 people tops, like Rebecca Black’s Friday.
Why a video goes viral
Troy Dean said on May 4, 2012
It's so easy to reverse engineer success. I'm more interested in forward projecting and planning it.
So here's my challenge to all of you: plan a viral video and make it go viral.
Write a script for a "viral" video, shoot your "viral" video, edit it, upload and "make" it go viral by following the advice given by Kevin Alloca.
I'll pay anyone $100 who can achieve this in less than 7 days. The video must not already exist and paying a celebrity to tweet it doesn't count.
Who's in?