Viral Videos

## Characteristics of Viral Videos

Viral videos are videos that suddenly explode in popularity and spread out at a very quick pace. As shown by the term itself, viral videos act very similarly to how actual viruses work. If they spread, get attention, and thrive, then it becomes a successful viral video. If not, then the video's life as being described as viral is over. From a biological standpoint, this means that the virus is no longer able to spread and infect possible hosts, and will quickly perish. There is no way to guarantee that a video will go viral. Luck and timing play a very large part into what makes a video viral. It is up to the consumers that actively share and distribute to make a video go viral. A video that is attention-grabbing, exciting, or unique will instigate sharing or at least entertain the possibility of sharing with others. In this era, many ideas are no longer unique, but stemmed from some other source. Something becoming viral can be likened to a fad, something that comes and goes. There seems to be a certain threshold that something viral can pass when it stops being a fad and becomes just popular content where it is always expected to do well regardless of content.

## Methods of Going Viral

What the creators can do to increase the chances of having something go viral is create content with "triggers" that encourage sharing. The preparation of a video before it is released is the only way to increase the chances of something going viral without secondary attempts with the same product. They can also begin with some sort of free product that the public can easily access, such as free downloads of a band's new music. It is a bundle of free advertising and creates new potential sources that can spread the content, further increasing the rate at which it spreads. Utilizing gimmicks is another valid technique. It can give the video something unique; something that the others may not have such as discounts or extra incentives.

Encouraging the consumers to do something with the product and not just share it is also plausible. If the video encourages the consumers to create their own versions or parodies, even though the video is not the original piece meant to be shared, the idea and concept remains the same. In the current age, parodies or covers of original products are extremely popular. Following the trends of the current time period further increase the chances of a video going viral, as they are within the interests of the public with access to that material.

## Uses of Viral Videos

The point of a viral video is to spread out and increase awareness of some type of product or idea. Anyone from aspiring musicians, comedians, or corporations can utilize viral videos in order to get their product out to the public. There are many reasons as to why they chose to use viral marketing, with different advantages and disadvantages to each. Several platforms that can be utilized are YouTube, Facebook, and commercials on TV. Each platform has different properties such as potential audience size, accessibility, and cost. Taking these factors into consideration shows that there is no true clearcut option as to which method is the best for spreading out to potential consumers.

A company using the tactics of viral videos or "spreadable media" allows them to reach out to many more markets than compared to using only traditional methods. These newer methods of primarily social media can attract many younger markets. The younger generations are more likely to be influenced by videos on YouTube than to find something in the newspaper, but it is not the same for the generation that grew up without items such as the internet.

Viral videos are not just to spread out and reach different markets, but for other reasons such as trying to increase the shelf life of the product that the videos themselves are advertising. It is a method of refreshing the body of current consumers so that a new product does not have to be manufactured or released that quickly. With the chance of a longer shelf life, the possible profit margin of that product increases.

## Examples

This video spread through many social media platforms, primarily Facebook but was posted using YouTube's platform. Based upon the user's channel, their other videos do not have very many views but the video being referenced has an abnormally large number of views for how active the channel was previously. Based on the total number of views for this video, it is clear that it did not enjoy the same amount of viral success of other videos. This describes the short life of a semi-viral video and how quickly views can accumulate and at the same time stop being given the level of attention that made it viral in the first place. If one takes a look at the statistics offered by YouTube for this video, one will see how hard the video tapered off in views. The video garnered the vast majority of its views in a period of roughly 2 weeks. Since then, the video only got roughly 10% of its viewership if compared to the first two weeks, and that is over a span of a month and a half.

## References

Jenkins, Henry. "If It Doesn’t Spread, It’s Dead (Part One): Media Viruses and Memes."Confessions of an AcaFan. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

Jenkins, Henry. "Why Participatory Culture Is Not Web 2.0: Some Basic Distinctions."Confessions of an AcaFan. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Scott, David Meerman. The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, Fourth Edition. John Wiley & Sons, © 2013. Books24x7. Web.Oct. 18, 2015.