Wouldn't you love to make a video, put it on YouTube, and have it spread like crazy? Many try, but few succeed.
Blendtec is a company that makes high-end blenders. You can puree pretty much anything (wood, marbles, iPods) in one of their blenders. Better yet, you can watch them do just that on YouTube. And that's just what millions of us have done, and many have then bought $400 blenders. (I have to admit, even at that cost, a blender than can whip a 2x4 is strangely compelling.)
The Groundswell blog examines the YouTube success of Blendtec at willitblend.com: Speaking through YouTube. The main ingredients of a successful viral video:
- It's funny.
- It's visually arresting.
- It's short.
- It's authentic.
- It's original.
- It actually connects to the value of the product.
Just putting a video on YouTube doesn't mean people will view it, talk about it, forward it, and be influenced by it.
But when you get it right, it's irresistible. Check this one, in which they blend an iPhone:
Technorati Tags: YouTube, nptech, fundraising
That was actually an earlier one... This is the one that got all the attention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEVcCv_xkQ&mode=related&search=
Posted by: Scot Henley | 24 July 2007 at 08:14
Great post Jeff, and Scot that's amazing. For everyone dying to see the boiling water-to-snow video after reading your comment, I thought I'd share it with the group, since I went seeking it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC3DUwseZn8
Posted by: Katya Andresen | 23 July 2007 at 09:46
The power of YouTube became apparent to our organization this past winter. We operate a weather station atop New Hampshire's Mount Washington, home to some of the most extreme conditions on the planet. One day, temperatures hit 36-below zero, and our staff decided to illustrate what happens when boiling water is thrown in the air at that temperature-- it instantly turns to snow. The video was uploaded to YouTube, just for fun.
Next thing we know, it's on The Weather Channel's homepage, we're doing live reports for them on TV, we were interviewed on Fox News and several regional TV stations, and the AP picked up the story and circulated it nationwide. 170,000 views later, that video is still generating traffic.
What did it mean to this non-profit organization? Incredible nationwide exposure that has led to two TV production companies looking at doing a documentary series for cable TV about our work and Mount Washington's extreme weather.
You just can't pay for that kind of marketing... well, some can, but we certainly can't!
Posted by: Scot Henley | 20 July 2007 at 23:27
That's really funny - I justed that clip in a presentation yesterday -- making the point for blending traditional fundraising techniques with social media - "Will it blend" - What's amazing is that the Ipod video has over 3 million views and they've managed to sell quite a view blenders. The new book that's out - the age of conversation had an interesting section about that company. Great storytelling techniques!
Posted by: Beth Kanter | 20 July 2007 at 22:00