YouTube is currently the second, most widely used search engine in existence. As web users migrate more and more toward narrative video content on the internet, product and branded video, corporate video profiles and viral videos are achieving record-breaking highs for traffic, views and customer awareness and outreach than ever. A brief look at the first few tiers of video views and shares, suggests the patterns with which viral video tends to grow.
With around one billion unique user visits and four billion hours of video viewed per month, YouTube has surpassed the closest second-most-used video oriented site (Hulu) by a staggering 10 times. A close cousin to facilitating these eye popping numbers lives in Facebook, which has the single greatest reach and activity for sharing, posting and helping proliferate videos on their way to viral-dom. Here are a few key ratios to build our sample of how some popular viral videos have created and continue to create their viral video reach (not including/considering paid or sponsored links):
A Sample of Online Viewership and Click Through/Share Statistics:
| Facebook: 38% | Email: 17% | Twitter: 11% | Google+: 6% | Other: 34% |
With these ratios in mind we took a look at the viewership, to-date, of some of the most popular branded videos of all time:
| Kony 2012: | Dollar Shave Club |
| Total Views: 97,570,624 Facebook Shares: 37,076,837 Email Shares: 16,587,006 Twitter Mentions: 10,732,768 Google+ Shares: 5,854,237 Other Shares: 33,174,012 | Total Views: 10,260,333 Facebook Shares: 3,898,926 Email Shares: 1,744,256 Twitter Mentions: 1,128,636 Google+ Shares: 615,619 Other Shares: 3,488,513 |
| Old Spice: Muscle Music | Dove: Evolution |
| Total Views: 9,100,000 Facebook Shares: 3,458,000 Email Shares: 1,547,000 Twitter Mentions: 1,001,000 Google+ Shares: 546,000 Other Shares: 3,094,000 | Total Views: 16,080,386 Facebook Shares: 6,110,546 Email Shares: 2,733,665 Twitter Mentions: 1,768,842 Google+ Shares: 964,823 Other Shares: 5,467,331 |
| Red Bull: Stratos | Melbourne Metro: Dumb Ways to Die |
| Total Views: 33,937,424 Facebook Shares: 12,896,221 Email Shares: 5,769,362 Twitter Mentions: 3,733,116 Google+ Shares: 2,036,245 Other Shares: 11,538,724 | Total Views: 46,329,582 Facebook Shares: 17,605,241 Email Shares: 7,876,028 Twitter Mentions: 5,096,254 Google+ Shares: 2,779,774 Other Shares: 15,752,057 |
With such staggering and quick reach, video can be both a powerful asset in your path to awareness but can also be your greatest adversary if mishandled. In the words of Intercom COO, Des Traynor:
“If you have no compelling reason to return, then going viral won’t help you – it’ll just speed up the process at which you die.”
Video content development must be consistent, compelling and polished or those masses will not retain the benefits your brand provides, only the missteps along the way. Five simple checkpoints to keep your digital content on the right track include, making sure your video:
- has universal appeal
- is short and simple
- speaks with emotional content
- is actionable
- is both identifiable and relatable
Then, get yourself some professional polish to create groundbreaking branded video that tells the story around your brand. Signature Video can help you there!
