Viral videos have become a sort Fountain of Youth for small business internet marketing – something highly sought after but hardly ever found on purpose. While many marketers may not be able to effectively dissect the beast that is "going viral" many have still tried to chart patterns and create some guidelines for best practices, according to iMedia Connection. At the same time, these rules are often broken – sometimes, to a marketer's greater success.
For example, the source references on commonly accepted rule of viral marketing: "viral is a one-off thing" and "it's not for the long haul." Oreo was able to prove this wrong with its "Daily Twist" campaign, when the company publishes a photo everyday from June 25 to October 2 tying in an Oreo cookie to an important event in that day's news. The campaign drastically increased its followers on social media and generated the buzz that keeps the company's name in the minds of consumers when they go to a grocery store.
Another rule is that viral videos must be short and funny in order to become viral, but Proctor and Gamble, the manufacturer of many name-brand household products, created a video during the London Olympics that garnered over a million views called "Olympic Moms." The two minute video tells a heartfelt tale of different moms from across the country whose kids play Olympic sports, and it follows the development of these families to the points where the children grow from little kids to Olympic athletes.
Clearly, while there are many "rules" that come with internet marketing, there are times when companies may benefit from breaking them. By partnering with an experienced digital advertising agency, businesses will know more accurately which rules they may want to break during their targeted internet marketing campaigns.