Sunday, April 6, 2014

One of Marketers Biggest Secrets? Branded Viral Videos

Everyone has seen viral videos - from the Chocolate Rain music video to the Harlem shake videos to the Call Me Maybe parodies, viral videos are known for exploding in popularity, but often don't stand the test of time. That's all changing with the advent of branded marketing videos, according to mashable.com.

Sarah Ang wrote that brands looking to stay current with social media trends should try their hand at making branded videos. These videos should be short, compelling, "shareable" and, perhaps most importantly, engaging. Surprisingly, the brand need not be front and center in every shot - the power of the video comes from its message, according to Ang, and that in turn will make the video jump from 'interesting' to 'viral'.

I agree with Ang - I think videos produced by brands in general are important nowadays, simply because users spend so much of their time watching videos online at websites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Hulu. It's rapidly becoming a necessity for brands to have videos online for their continued longevity. Some of the best branded videos I've seen have been short, online clips from big names that lead me to their website in an effort to learn more about their product.

I like that Ang pointed out in her article that product placement isn't essential. I myself tend to like videos more when I can watch an ad without seeing the product and it's "amazing new features" every three seconds. Brands that have a strong social media presence online already know this and are working it to their advantage - and those are the brands that are here to stay.

1 comment:

  1. I personally have not seen brand viral videos, but I could see where this would be very successful. Viral videos are very popular right now, and with so much competition, companies need an edge for people to remember their product. The only thing that could be problematic though is the fact that the brand isn't the main subject. I have seen regular commercials where the brand isn't obvious, and later, I can't remember what the commercial was for.

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