Learning from the Viral Video Experts

 

You probably already know what the term "video snacking"means, but just in case, it is the way many employees spend their free timeduring the workday, viewing videos that have no real work-related content. Butrather than blocking video access, I suggest that you take a moment and learnfrom the experts and start to think about ways that you can produce your ownviral videos for corporate promotional purposes.

 

I had a chance to interview Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grob lastweek. You might not recognize their names, but you no doubt have seen theirwork: the two are behind Eepybird.com, where theycombine Mentos with Diet Coke to create geysers of exploding soda and some veryentertaining videos. Their videos have been downloaded millions of times andenjoyed by people all over the globe.

 

What is fascinating is how quickly the duo became famous: within aweek of uploading their first video, they were booked on all the major talkshows (and this is back when these shows had writers so the competition forguests was tough). Voltz and Grob talked about having excellent videoproduction values isn?t quite right for their audience: like so many things onthe Internet, Just Good Enough Production is really what counts, and gettingacross a Just Plain Folks sensibility is really the best path towards moreclick-throughs. Plus, seeing all that spraying soda helps, too.

 

Listen to my podcast interview withthe ‘birds.’

 

Contrary to popular belief, the duo has had plenty of support fromthe marketing arms of both Mentos and Coca-Cola companies. As you mightimagine, they consume a lot of product for their backyard experiments, and theytold us that a lot of planning and testing goes into setting up the final shotsthat you see online ? sometimes these three minute videos take months ofpreparation. They now devote themselves full-time to their experiments, andhave gone on the speaking circuit and done them live at various cities, soakingvolunteers with soda geysers.

 

So what can ordinary corporate IT citizens learn from the viral videoexperts? Several things.

 

First, itisn’t about production values: a single camera and simple editing is betterthan spending millions with a Hollywood CGI crew. Youdon’t need to make them too slick but as polished as you need to just tell yourstory.

 

Second,realism matters. Contrast the exploding sodas with the taxi cab storiesthat are found on Bud.tv: the videos are shot in the back of a taxi, but thetaxi is sitting on top of a flatbed truck with multiple cameras shooting theaction. They could have saved themselves a bunch of money by simplifying theirsituation.

 

Third, findsomeone who is already video-savvy or someone who can put together theright kind of look for your corporation. You may have to look at the teenagedkids of your staff for the best talent here.

 

Finally, havesome story to tell that isn’t just about self-promotion, but mixesentertainment with some content that will be visually stimulating. If you don’thave a visual story to tell, then you shouldn’t be working in video! Take alook at what Walter Lewin, an MIT physics professor, is doing. His freshmancollege physics lectures have become popular downloads, even though they arethe actual lectures that he gives his undergraduates. It is because he is sovisual and funny in front of the classroom that it makes his physics classescome alive.

 

There is a lot to learn from video snacking, and how you can usethe viral video phenomenon to promote your own brand online.

 

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David Strom

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