How video ads go viral



Contributing Writer
Photo: Camcorder in hand Credit: Sílvio Gabriel Spannenberg


With all of the videos and blog posts claiming to reveal the secrets of viral video, it’s amazing that the number of viral videos doesn’t increase exponentially everyday.  Tips run the gambit from plausible to absurd, but in general are opaque and a faith-based.  If Harvard professor Thales Teixeira were a marketing blogger, he might be able to interject some pragmatism into the conversation.

Teixiera asserts that the number of online video advertisements that go viral is about .1%.  By sheer volume we must assume that for general video content posted to sites like YouTube the percentage is infinitesimally smaller.  For every advertisement that goes viral there are 999 that don’t, as there are millions of stagnant videos for each viral (non-advertising) video.  The odds are so astronomical that it makes a blog post claiming to share the secret quite (ahem) ambitious.

Professor Teixiera has developed a mechanism for ad video virality based upon research of people’s responses to viral advertising ads.  His insights may offer the best observations yet of what causes videos to be shared and consumed on a massive scale.

Two components of video virality

It seems obvious if you think about it, but Teixiera describes the virality process into two parts: consumption and sharing.  What isn’t as obvious is that the decision to watch a video is independent from the decision to share it.

Teixiera describes that 90% of viral ad video is humorous (he calls this “entertainment” video, with the other 10% labelled as “information”).  He further labels the humor used into two types: typical and shocking.  He discovered that people will watch each type of humor equally, but they will not share shocking humor anywhere near as much as typically humor.

Shock kills, at least so far as virality is concerned.

Content

If you ever doubted Sally Hogshead when she asserts that we have nine-second attention spans, never doubt her again.

Professor Teixiera asserts as much.  In order to have viewers watch a video to completion, it has to immediately draw them in with a humor element, and then take it away.  Why take it away?  Because it turns out that we adapt to the joy caused by the humor and can actually get bored by persistent humor.

This is not unique to video content.  Michael Laskow of Taxi Music lamented in one of his videos that he used to mix down twenty-some tracks for popular music, and now engineers mix hundreds of tracks to make just one song.  The reason that they do this is to change the elements of the music several times during the song to keep listeners interested.  Listen to any current popular music and you’ll hear it.  Darn attention spans!

Teixiera also states that you have to reintroduce the humor (and take it away) throughout the video in order to keep viewer interest.

One other note, Teixiera comments that viewers are very turned off by conspicuous branding and it’s probably good to note that this tactic actually diminishes trust for online videos.

Why we share

The final insight that Teixiera offers may be important to content marketers beyond online video.

In circumstances where users watched a video to completion and shared it with a broad audience, their motivation was selfish (for the most part).  Teixiera says that the desire to build social capital through sharing new or interesting content was a far more prevalent motivation to share than altruism.

What do you think?  Are Professor Teixiera’s research observations consistent with what you’ve observed with viral videos?

For more information please check out the embedded videos of Professor Teixiera describing his observations in greater detail.


Sally Hogshead on the nine-second attention span

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Writer about social media and tech at Leaders West, I also tweet as @leaderswest.

Facebook advertising strategy, the “no-bull****” approach. http://t.co/8FxCBv6MjA – 10 hours ago

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

  • Mark

    Great information! Defining what threshold a video must reach to be considered for this research would be helpful, since “viral” gets redefined regularly. Any idea how many hits and above, the time frame, etc, they were looking at?

  • uDaeth

    Most of the viral videos I’ve found are just completely unique and so random that the media picks them up right away and they get shared all across the web

    Thanks for sharing!

  • http://twitter.com/damygeebo Raccoon Willie™

    Most of the viral videos I’ve found are completely of people falling down hard and busting they nuts. Do this make me want to shop at Home Depot or buy a Smart Car??? …I think so! ; )

  • jimdougherty

    Testicular humor is never out of style!

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks for commenting and reading. I hope is that the attraction of viral videos isn’t entirely random. There’s a great book The Numerati which talks about a guy who can estimate with fair certainty the quality of wine given a certain number of variables. Similarly if there is consistent quality to viral video, it would help producers to communicate better to their audience – and I think that’s very worthwhile. Cheers!

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks Mark! My impression is that the focus of the research was studying precisely how people reacted to already established viral and non-viral advertising videos. He did publish his findings in a paper, but being the miser that I am I didn’t buy it. I’m not sure that his insights are as valuable as to what was construed as viral so much as how people reacted to the video content, but it’s a fair question. There are a few data points presented in the second link above as well as in the long-form video lecture, but I don’t recollect that either would answer your question. Forgive my ignorance. Cheers!

  • http://andynathan.net Andy Nathan

    Jim,

    Great video! Here is the challenge! Funny videos are great, but how much funny can you create with some products? Or more poignantly, how much positive attention grabbing can you do in that short of a time span?

    Andy

  • jimdougherty

    Good points, Andy! I think it speaks to the small number of ads that go viral in general. Even following the criteria that Professor Teixiera describes, there is a very small chance that any video will take off. Your question also could be applied to marketing in general so far as how much positive attention grabbing we can do in a small period of time. I think studies like this aren’t as important to determine how to make a viral video (which is highly unlikely), but to understand how to present information so that it has the best opportunity for understanding. I think Teixiera’s insight about attention and sharing nudge content producers in that direction. I appreciate your comment- thank you!

  • http://xeeMe.com/AxelS AxelS

    Great post – while reading it reminded my to books, webinars, events proclaiming to get rich in 30 days or so. Wealth would have grown exponentially if all the readers, visitors and followers would gain anything from those suggestions :)

    I guess like in those get rich books the same applies to viral video – a lot of truth is there but actually applying what was learned is the hardest part and less than 1% actually do apply the “inner workings” of viral videos.

    So:
    - Making it traditionally funny
    - Get the audience laugh within less than 9 seconds
    - Make it so the audience want’s to share it right away.
    Seems t be the secret source – and I can just see this :)

    And I got to try it – but that is still the hardest part!!!!!!! LOL
    Axel

  • http://andynathan.net Andy Nathan

    Jim,

    I would agree with you on how to “understand how to present information so that it has the best opportunity for understanding.” I only need a few clients at any one time to pay the bills, and allow me to do what I want in life. If something went viral, I would not complain. However, that is my goal with every post. I want the qualified prospect to now be engaged in my services and ideas.

    Andy

  • http://www.facebook.com/karen.bailey.16568 Karen Bailey

    Hey thanks for the post. The only videos that I share are the ones where people are doing such stupid things that you have to laugh. Certainly not at the fact that they have hurt themselves but certainly at the stupidity. The other ones that I share are the funny ones with a tune that the next person curses me for because they claim they can not get the tune out of their heads.

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