Commodifying Viral Videos to Extend Reach - Marketing - Viral Marketing

Have you seen the latest hot video? It's hard to say which one specifically, as there are so many out there, and so many deserving of people's attention. Viral videos are a growing aspect of leveraging social media in internet marketing and search engine optimization. Individuals post videos all day long, but companies create videos to push their message and gain exposure as well.

Let's look at personally created and posted videos. Some are films and some are true videos, but the thing is though, if released online and it goes viral, whether film or video, it plays the role of an online video. This is where the lines between the two blur. A film warrants more planning, expert shooting, production, and editing, and is truly a work of art. Personally created videos from your phone or handheld recorder can also be a work of art but tend to be separated from films ultimately due to their lesser quality.

Catch 22 One question is if a growing number of personal films or videos will be made into commodities by agreeing to sponsorship. It is an intriguing concept, with companies riding the coattails of a popular video to get more exposure for their brand. This does exist but presents a tricky model to master as it is a bit of a catch 22 is two distinct ways.

First, videos are often popular because they are personally created without any affiliation to anything larger, so attaching a sponsor may take a degree of its attractiveness away. It could take the simple concept of an average person sharing something and turn it into something else that a larger entity makes money from. Commodifying pop culture can get ugly and cause backlash. At the same time, if a video elicits a high emotional response from viewers, then it ultimately may not matter - people may watch it just the same. Riding the wave of such a popular video could compliment SEO efforts and drive additional traffic to a company's online properties.

Second, how does a company know which videos to partner with as the viral nature of a video implies a meteoric rise in popularity? The lifecycle from discovery to the peak of its mass consumption can be very quick making it hard to identify which ones will be widely viewed before they do become widely viewed. To address this, companies could stand watch over videos that are trending and contact creators of videos in the early hours of a video's life if it looks promising. Given the low budget nature of the majority of such videos, companies could offer their creators modest compensation and cast a wide net.

One consideration is whether or not companies would want their brand tied to amateur viral videos? In the end, some brands would not want to be associated with unprofessional production, etc. however others would not be bothered by those details. More and more though, the internet is making the dialogue between companies and their target audiences more transparent and accessible. This could mean companies may embrace this commodification of viral videos. For even more impact, these videos could be paired with pay per click campaigns and SEO efforts, as mentioned above.

An example to offer fuel for thought is this MOVE video which is quite popular at the moment. It is expertly done and takes the viewer through 11 countries in just about 1 minute. Is it a video though or a film? It is termed a film, or a short film, by the creators, or more formally the directors and producers.