There is no disputing the fact that Web 2.0 provides a huge opportunity for marketers. Sharing content has never been easier than it is right now. As clients are recognizing the potential opportunities, it’s becoming increasingly common for them to want to jump on the viral video bandwagon. In a B2C viral video world, one could argue that the more exposure, the better. In a B2B world however, the old adage of quality versus quantity still applies.
Take for example MTV’s “Jersey Shore” — one of the highest-rated shows to ever air on the network. It was introduced with mediocre ratings until a video of one of the female cast members — Snooki, of course — got leaked to the Internet. Garnering millions of views, the video showed her being punched in the face by a large man in a bar. Suddenly, the show became a smash hit (wink, wink).
Why was this so successful? Apparently there are millions of wretched people who saw a woman getting punched in the face, enjoyed it, shared it with their sick, wretched friends who also loved it, posted it all over Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and tuned in to see more. This is in essence what makes a video “viral” (although asinine behavior and a wretched viewership are not mandatory ingredients for success). The point is, while the video demonstrates a very successful B2C viral video “campaign,” the shocking, mass-appeal of the “Snooki Formula” (as I’m going to call it) is not one that necessarily translates well in the B2B world.
When it comes to B2B, the target market is much narrower than say … the market of people who apparently enjoy watching women get punched in the face. There are key industry influencers, key editors, key analysts, and key bloggers that maintain social media accounts. If you have a truly entertaining, timely, and industry-relevant video to send them, they will likely post it for all of their followers (potential customers) to see. If you have a truly bad attempt at a viral video, the industry will beat you up.
Take this Agency.com attempt, for example. The advertising community was none too kind, causing arguably irreparable damage to the Agency.com name.
So what’s the secret formula for a successful B2B viral video? There is no specific answer to that question. There are, however, several key elements that should be considered:
1) Know your audience
As mentioned previously, a B2B audience is much narrower than a B2C audience. Since the ultimate goal of marketing is sales, one must determine who on the Web has the power to distribute your video to potential customers. If you work in an industry that has very little dependence on the Web, you might want to reconsider directing your marketing efforts elsewhere.
As an example of a company not knowing their audience, check out Aliph’s campaign for their Bluetooth headsets. Some of it may not be appropriate for this blog, so I will not post a direct link.
In the worst of the four videos, a racist guy enters a Chinese laundry, insults everyone, and gets beaten to death by the employees. I don’t know about you, but when I picture someone wearing a Bluetooth, it’s generally a successful person, wearing a suit, closing a business deal over the phone while driving a Mercedes. I think these videos are better suited to the taste of 14 year olds who can likely text 300 words per minute, but have no use for a Bluetooth.
2) Conjure emotion with content
Viral marketing is all about emotions. You want to make the viewer feel something — whether that is laughter, intrigue, happiness or agreement — something must compel the viewer to watch and share the video.
As an example of what not to do, please watch these Microsoft videos and keep in mind that painful awkwardness is not an emotion I would recommend conjuring.
Microsoft Songsmith Commercial
I feel SO uncomfortable right now. That’s not a feeling you want associated with your brand.
3) Make it easy to share
There are countless platforms in the Web 2.0 world that make sharing video easier than ever. One must ensure the video is in a format that allows viewers to share it across these platforms. One of the easiest ways to do this is to start out by posting the video on YouTube. Because YouTube will have their logo on any video embedded from their website, they will want your video shared as much as you do. For that reason, there is a “share” button below every YouTube video that allows the viewers to re-post the video to eight other platforms. Additionally, it will be important to be proactive about getting the video on each of these platforms. Don’t wait for others to post the video elsewhere. Do it yourself.
4) Visually demonstrate the product without being the sole focal point of the video
The last thing anyone wants to see on YouTube is straightforward promotional material that focuses solely on a product’s or service’s benefits to the customer. But because video is a medium that can so well demonstrate a product, it would be silly not to take advantage of the opportunity to do so. Finding a happy medium between demonstrating a product and not being overtly self-promotional is as simple as working the product into a larger theme, as is the case with most any successful PR campaign.
Here’s an excellent example of how Ergotron, a B2B office furniture supplier, is able to toe the line of self-promotion and product visibility:
CubeLife 2.0: The Uprising — Ergotron WorkFit
Ergotron’s use of product visibility bears a striking similarity to one of the most successful B2C viral video campaigns ever made — Will It Blend?
5) Have a call to action
Again, because the ultimate goal of marketing is to create sales, any successful viral video should have a call to action. While it shouldn’t be too salesy (e.g., Buy today and receive 20 percent off your next purchase!), it should call for the next step. This can be as simple as listing a Web address, phone number, or name of a distributor.
Like any marketing tactic, getting a video to become viral requires a great amount of strategy to create and execute an idea that gets in front of the right people and conveys the right message. With a much narrower set of targets in the B2B world, missing the mark with those targets could be devastating to the brand. So, when your B2B client says they want to make a viral video, make sure they understand that while there may be potential in viral video, the “Snooki Formula” that generates millions of YouTube views serves little purpose in the B2B world unless the right people see it and come away with a positive emotion to associate with the brand. This will likely be an increasingly common request from clients, and as marketing professionals, we need to be prepared to discuss and make smart recommendations.
Tags: B-to-B, Social Media, technology
Without a decent concept, your video will fail. The audience is secondary.
Some of your examples were entertaining even if I had no interest in the subject; some were horrid despite my interest.
Smart people can see a bad concept on the printed page; others have to see if fail on video. The difference is a pile of cash.
I guarantee that everyone who worked on the Windows Launch Party knew it was a disaster from the beginning, but Microsoft may still think its a winner.
I’m always amazed that projects like Launch Party even get as far as rolling tape. That script should have been abandoned at the second draft, and a new concept found.
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