Viral Video is pretty hot now. There are some very interesting things going on with video over the internet and I’m nor on a limb here to say that the TV and Internet will completely merge within the next three to five years. The opportunity here is to create compelling video content that garners an audience AND drives a business goal. That last bit is lost on a lot of campaigns I’ve seen.

Let’s start with the facts:

• If you’re online you’re watching videos
• If your watching videos your watching them on YouTube (there are some compelling other online video networks like Hulu and Revolution3 that have an audience, but the masses are on YouTube)

To check out what is hot right now check out:

http://www.viralvideochart.com/

We should break up online video into two buckets. Video has become a very efficient tool to communicate product information. You see it everywhere from Amazon to Walmart. Most manufactures should ,if they don’t already, have videos on their site. I’ve been producing product demo and usage videos for the last couple years and they have been extremely valuable in communicating product features and benefits. The best aspect of video is how easy it is to distribute the videos through partner sites, video sites like YouTube, blogs, and other channels. I’d say video content on the web is the future of the web.

The second bucket is what is meant by “Viral Video”. It is a video specifically produced to generate a grass roots viral pass along frenzy. Think of the last video your buddy sent to you with “You got to see this”. Thats viral video. It has its place and can be a valuable communication tool. New product introduction, brand personality positioning, and awareness are some objectives that can be achieved with viral video.

A couple thoughts:

• The more outrageous and funny the video is the more viral it will be. So this is not for everyone, every product, or every legal department.
• Videos don’t become viral unless people see it. I call this “critical mass”. To make sure your video becomes viral you’ll need to invest some seed money to get to critical mass — a point where grass roots pass along takes over. So make sure you budget for the video production AND the ad buy.
• This is completely hit or miss and they don’t last long. A successful viral video campaign will get between 100,000 and 1,000,000 views — but those views will all be seen within a couple days. Something better is always just around the corner to become the next hot video.
• Be mindful of the target audience. Do you sell product to people that pass along outrageously funny videos to each other? If not, think about another tactic.

Like I said before, Viral Video has it’s place. But it has to be the right objective, with the right brand, and there is a lot of luck to make it successful.