29.11.2012

How to get a million YouTube hits

29.11.2012

How to get a million YouTube hits

Do you want to be a mega star, be bigger than Simon Cowell, and for the world to be aware and interested in who you are and your art (albeit all for under 5 minutes, see tip 3)? One way to do it is by creating a YouTube sensation. A million YouTube hits for your video would be pretty sensational, eh?!

 

Here are our four tips to viral video insanity:

 

1. Get creative – really creative

Average isn’t going to get you anywhere. Even interesting isn’t enough: what you create needs to be crazy, off-the-hook good. It needs to be great work throughout, carrying viewers through the whole video in awe. It needs to leave people so enraptured that they share it with everyone they know and on every social channel. Two good sources of inspiration to start the creative juices are to look at the work of John Cleese and Jim Henson.

2. Build it and they will come

Not many ‘overnight’ hits actually happen overnight. First you need to put in the groundwork and build a loyal fan base. If you reward them with great, regular content, listen to them and interact with them, they will reward you with admiration and shares. A great example of a band who did this very artfully are ‘Walk off the Earth’.

3. Short and Sweet

Keep your video shorter than five minutes and it will keep the audience yearning for more; they might even watch it more than once, racking up your views. So cut all intros and production titles­ – you can put credits in the text below. All viral hits follow this rule.

4. Titillate with your title

Your title can draw people in or put people off, so choose something simple and honest, telling the viewer exactly what they are about to see.  For example: ‘Skydiving Goes Wrong: 80-Year-Old Granny Falls Out Of Harness’ or ‘The Sneezing Baby Panda’. These are both clear and enticing. This style also fits well for optimising search.

 

 These three examples of our favourite viral phenomena might help inspire you. A million plus people can’t be wrong, right?

 

1. The Teenage Dream

15 year-old Keenan Cahill is now famous for his lip-synching talents, thanks to his Teenage Dream performance. It even led to him performing with Katy Perry in a video, and he is now approached by celebrities such as 50 Cent and Tinie Tempah, who want to star on his Youtube channel.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm_n3hg-Gbg[/youtube]

 

2. Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise

Harry Potter puppets, need we say more? This is strangely addictive viewing, even for those not obsessed with the Potter franchise.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4[/youtube]

 

3. Marcel the Shell with shoes on

A very honest shell shares his views, fears and life in a documentary-style film. Endearing and hilarious, and there is now a book, too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU&feature=plcp[/youtube]

 

What about you? Do you have any favourite viral videos to suggest to us? Tweet the link with the hashtag #manfrotto_tweets and we will round up our favourites later in the week on Facebook.

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