Tips for YouTube and Viral Videos

From Beth’s blog on Nonprofits and Social Media

Right after Thanksgiving, TechCrunch published a guest post called “The Secret Strategies Behind Many Viral Videos” which unleashed a record 491 comments because it described some unethical practices. There was also a follow up post here.

This week there are two more articles with advice that isn’t sleezy, one from a for-profit perspective and the other an nonprofit perspective.

Advertising Article:
Video blogger Steve Garfield recently shared an article with me called “Ten Lessons for Marketers About Viral Video.” Here are the lessons:

Lesson one: Tap into the video community
Lesson two: Quality of the video is not what determines its popularity
Lesson three: A video of a dog skateboarding can get 3 million views, but that doesn’t mean your commercial will
Lesson four: Online-video marketing is not just about contests
Lesson five: “Tagging” your video with keywords doesn’t get them seen
Lesson six: Consumers might see your video, but that doesn’t mean they’ll visit your site and buy
(or donate or sign a petition)
Lesson seven: Paying for a well-produced video won’t necessarily increase your brand’s ROI
Lesson eight: Not all video portals are created equal
Lesson nine: You may be a conservative organization, but don’t let that keep you from this medium
Lesson 10: This medium will become measurable

The other is a blog post from Collactive called Ten Tips To Spice Up Your YouTube Video

1. Create a Relevant, Informative Video
2. Keep the Video Short
3. Select a Catchy Title and Thumbnail
4. Embed Wisely
5. Promote “Fresh” Videos
6. Choose Your Video Category Wisely
7. Target the “Most Viewed” Lists
8. Ask Your Community to View Your Video
9. Ask Your Community to Promote Your Video
10. Ask Your Community to Promote Your Video on Social Media Sites

Some other blog posts about viral videos can be found here:

Will Video for Food: How To Promote Your Video
Tube Mogul: Video Marketing Best Practices
Robin Good: Ten Ways You Can Promote Your Content on YouTube
Marketing Profs: Case Study – Will it Blend?
E-Politics Video Blog Posts
Heather Diosa’s Best Practices for YouTube