Don’t Go Viral

It seems like everyone wants their content to go viral these days. Businesses create content hoping that people will find their video on YouTube and share it with everyone they know because the video is so funny and/or outrageous. That’s fine if it’s done right, but virality is a means to an end – not the end in itself – and by focusing exclusively on catchy content, we easily lose sight of providing long-term value.

For every Will It Blend? there’s a failure that may actually succeed in going viral but is completely worthless from a marketing standpoint. If viewers don’t understand the link between the video and your business after you pull up the curtain, you’ve pretty much wasted your time. Even if your viral content does break through and get millions of views, how do you convert those people into paying customers? The very nature of viral content tends to almost completely filter out anything with overt salesmanship (unless its entertainment value outweighs this, like the blender videos).

Contrast this with the Ceiling Tile Guy – possibly the most boring premise for videos anyone could think of, right? It’s a series of videos featuring a  Bob Vila-like man that talks about ceiling tiles. One might guess that their channel has 1000 views at most.

It doesn’t. They’re closing in on one million views of their “boring” videos. Their content is helpful and informative and it doesn’t grow obsolete after the first viewing. It’s a useful reference tool and it allows the company to sell their product to people that voluntarily watched it. That’s the key element – they didn’t force their marketing upon anyone, people sought them out because they wanted information about ceiling tiles. They didn’t need to see flashy special effects or a punchline, but I’m sure lots of them are now happy customers. Would you rather be a flash in the pan or offer long-term value?