by Jerome Mouton The other week I was reading an article discussing how the media industry was complaining about the rising cost of advertising. This is where advertising on social media comes in: what I like best about it is that social media actually rewards individuals and brands that create interesting and engaging content.
This is definitely not the case with TV and radio; viewers cannot share your ad, no matter how hard you try, so no earned media.
Today we are going to focus on how to get your social followers to share your content with their followers.
Not the only metric
The best and most simple way to get YouTube viewers engaged in your content is by showing them something that causes them to experience strong emotions. When your content truly has an impact upon viewers, they will start sharing it, resulting in organic views.
In other words, the YouTube view count should not be the only metric.
Consider the following advice when making your YouTube videos (let’s face it, there are just too many YouTube videos made that invoke no response from viewers, who watch and then forget them):
- Be positive. Almost immediately after the death of Nelson Mandela, Woolworths created a flashmob video in one of its stores and it went viral. The public loved this video. The positive emotions experienced by viewers were one of the main causes of success. The video is currently hanging out in the 4.5 million views range, most of which are organic views.
- Personal triumphs, a tactic that is underused by many brands in social media. Looking at the campaign created below by Duracell, it tells the story of the Seahawks’ deaf fullback. This piece is highly emotional and is a fantastic example of triumph in the face of adversity. The video has received over 13 million views.
- Exhiliration is one of the most memorable triggers to ensure your viewers remember you. There are plenty of people who love sharing cool videos with their friends. EA sought out the help of Ken Block to create another jaw-dropping piece of driving, this time to promote the Need for Speed video game. The results got over 16 million, well-earned views. Check it out to see exactly what I mean.
Unfortunately, there are just too many times when agencies or brands fool themselves into thinking they are creating entertainment when they actually are not. Local agencies and brands should invest more into content generation and stop subjecting people to their online sales pitches.
I’m going to leave you a phrase coined by Frank Rose, author of The Art of Immersion: “Content is just noise. Content without story and excitement is noise pollution”.
Jerome Mouton is founder and creative director at 34 South Media, a video-content agency specialising in branded entertainment. He contributes the monthly “YouTube Views” column, focusing on YouTube marketing, best practice and viral videos, to Marklives.
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