Viral Video is all the rage these days, and we’ve blogged a lot recently about how easy it is. It still takes time to produce, edit, and upload video. This week we’ve been bogged down producing some videos to upload… Note to self: REMEMBER to always budget three times the amount of time for new technical processes and projects. The Flip Video Camera we recommend here is truly a breeze, compared to other methods we tried, but it took a few trial and errors before we got the first video uploaded properly. Now it’s got some strange watermark that seems to be added by YouTube.
Before you spend a dime or hours of your time playing with video titles and graphics, READ THIS: you could have a funny viral video promoting your site on social media spaces like Myspace and Facebook in less than 10 minutes for FREE. If you are in a rush to get your viral promotions going, there’s a cool tool that let’s you start out using videos that someone else produced. This free viral video enhancement tool called BubblePly lets you add your own pictures, text comments, and even clickable hyperlinks overlaid on top of existing videos from popular sites including these: YouTube, MySpace, Google Video, Hi5, Blip, Bolt, Break, CNN, CollegeHumor, Comedycentral, Dailymotion, Flix, GoFish, Grindtv, Grouper, ifilm, JibJab, LiberatedFilms, Metacafe, Podtech, ScotVid, Stupidvideos, Travelistic, Virginmedia, Webshots.
The creativity you employ to link your site, blog, product or service to an existing video on one of these sites could create a viral sensation, if done well. For example, maybe you find a really funny video that your customers would forward around because it’s an “inside joke” for people in your niche. Or maybe its a popular “Seinfeld” moment that everyone remembers and can help you bond with your audience around a key problem that your product or service solves. How about that episode with the infamous car stink used to sell a car ionizer air freshener? Linking that in a clever way to your product could inspire others to forward your “ply’ed” version of the video around to colleagues and your viral campaign has begun.
At the bare minimum, you can at least start the process of getting into viral video. Use this tactic to let your visitors show you exactly what they will respond well too, BEFORE you start producing videos. Experiment with different content, styles, and approaches to see which ones bring traffic and conversions. You may save yourself a lot of trial and error, and leave more time for marketing.
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Thanks for sharing the bubble tool. I think unique video content is key and by adding bubbles and parodies to existing videos – that in it’s self is idiosyncratic is scope.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. :) Cheers! Sandra. R.