Grab a Tissue. Something Viral is Going Around.

Quick, tell me what your favorite viral video is at the moment? If you are contributing to the 1 billion hours of videos watched daily on YouTube, you likely have a few videos that come to mind. 

In last week's post, I discussed the wonders of Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) and how day after day, you rely on recommendations from friends, family, and most of the time, even strangers to help persuade your consumer actions. 

The key to WOM is shareable, contagious content, and positive experiences. How can you create contagious content that people will embrace, share, and make their own?

Grab a tissue. Something viral is going around.

The above video is a shocking 11 minutes worth of pure, entertainment pleasure if you enjoy watching random objects getting ran over by a car. Now, I will admit, I feel like I lost 11 minutes of my life watching this particular video, yet it has nearly 158,691,000 views. No one is advertising a unique product, no grand mystery of the universe is solved; no seemingly important issue is addressed in this video. It is literally 11 minutes of random objects reacting to the pressure of a car rolling over them. 

So what makes a video viral?

According to YouTube's Head of Culture and Trends at Google, Kevin Allocca, it takes 1 million views. In his TedTalk, he explains that there are three reasons why some videos capture our attention. 

Kevin begins with attributing "tastemakers" to the sudden success of some videos. If you have read my previous two blog posts, tastemakers can be considered very similar individuals as influencers and opinion leaders. Tastemakers introduce us to new and exciting things and bring them to a broader audience. Kevin uses the example of Jimmy Kimmel sharing a video about a double rainbow and a mountain man named Yosemite Bear's gleeful reaction to God's creation.

Now, I can hear you saying, "Yosemite Bear was not out to become viral when he posted the double rainbow video. Viral things happen to the lucky random few, and I do not understand how I can relate this to my job." Perhaps 1 million views are not in your future, but the viral mindset is contagious and easily applied to your life. 

Earlier this year, a local bakery, EllenJAY, posted this fun announcement on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

They knew that there was a good chance Jimmy Kimmel would share the Crichton Leprechaun video on his show during St. Patrick's Day. If you live in Mobile, Alabama, the Crichton Leprechaun is a favorite "local celebrity" and worthy of his own look-alike cookie. EllenJAY has included the "amateur sketch" in their St. Patrick's Day cookie lineup for a few years. The girls took a leap of faith and sent some of their specialty cookies to his show. Their luck played out as Jimmy Kimmel showed the viral video and pulled their cookie out his back pocket, referring to it as "magically delicious." 

According to this  AL.com article, the girls found a pot of gold at the end of their celebrity shoutout rainbow. "On Tuesday morning, ellenJAY's phone was ringing off the hook, they said. "We have a million Facebook and Instagram comments to go through," said Jennifer. "Not really a million, but a whole lot."

This lucky charm cookie continued to bring them success as they shared it with one of their favorite Nashville Bloggers, who also gave them a shoutout. EllenJAY has continued to utilize tastemaker and influencer connections to grow their business. Earlier in October, they announced a unique partnership with Williams Sonoma for Christmas to roll out an exclusive cookie collection.

Community Participation and Unexpectedness

The other two keys Kevin attributes to viral success are community participation and unexpectedness. Not only are individuals able to view and share videos, but people are taking ownership of their own pop culture and contributing to the collection. 

I was out of town this week and unfortunately missed our church's annual Trunk-or-Treat. My husband sent me a photo of a friend's baby who has cerebral palsy in his awesome Duck Boat costume. 

Brantley's mom spent a lot of time and energy on his special Halloween ride. She went to various stores collecting items to make his boat. When she shared the finished project on social media, she included relevant shoutouts to the company brand stickers she used and tagged Gator-Tail Outboards in her post. They, in turn, shared the post with their fan base.

The story picked up decent traction because it was adorable and emotional, but the family also sent a small video clip to WKRG, a local news station here on the Gulf Coast. They shared the clip and reached out to the family to do an interview. In the past few days, little Brantley has become quite the star as other local news outlets both locally and otherwise have shared his sweet testimony.

 

Creative costumes are not rare, nor are individuals overcoming unique situations. However, the combination of the two was a heartwarming story that the local community embraced and shared, giving traction and awareness to Brantley's condition and how we are only as limited as we allow ourselves to be.  So how do we create contagious content and aid our Word of Mouth efforts?  Dr. Jonah Berger, in his book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, features six elements to keep in mind when creating content with the intention of virality. This article on Unruly helps break those elements down into quick, consumable bites:

Social Currency: People want to share things that make them look cool, smart, and hip. If you provide them with content that aids in their social reputation endeavors, they are more likely to share. Triggers: People are more likely to share content that is timely and relevant. If EllenJAY had shared their leprechaun cookies with Jimmy Kimmel on Easter, it is doubtful he would have done anything other than shared them with coworkers as a snack. Emotion: People will share content that makes them feel deeply about a cause or pulls at their heartstrings. Public: People will share content that is easy and popular to share. Practical Value: People will share useful information. Life hacks are popular and usually very simple, but people love to share tips and advice with their friends. Stories: People from the dawn of time have shared stories. Today is no different. Utilize the power of storytelling in your content to create a contagious spread of good. 

When should you see the PR Doctor for a case of viral uh-oh's?

Companies are typically thrilled when a positive video or post about their company or products goes viral. However, they are terrified when a video goes viral for all the wrong reasons. PR professionals and social media account managers can view their jobs as a 24/7 monitor service at times, making sure their organization remains on top of the cliff. With the instantaneous nature of the internet and the frequency in which individuals have access to both an online platform and a video camera in their pocket, negative videos can spread like wildfire and cause as much damage as one before an organization has time to react.  

Keeping with local examples, in early 2018, Saraland, AL Waffle House had a situation on their hands when a video went viral of an altercation between an irate woman and local police in their restaurant. 

Regardless of the full details, people immediately picked sides and created a situation for Waffle House. Amid national calls for boycotting Waffle House. Waffle House took to Twitter to respond, siding with the local authorities:

"We are still obtaining and reviewing information. However, the information we have received at this point differs significantly from what has reportedly been attributed to Ms. Clemons. After reviewing our security video of the incident and eye witness accounts, police intervention was appropriate. The Saraland Police Department is conducting its own investigation. We take this matter very seriously and think it is important for all those involved or interested in the matter to exercise caution until the facts are developed." When companies face negative attention, companies must have crisis communication policies in place to react quickly, and honestly. Next week we will take a more in-depth look at crisis communications and the importance of how businesses and organizations can take steps to prevent a viral meltdown.