I Need a Viral Video – Fast!
I get two kinds of requests on a daily basis: “Can you make me a viral video?” and “Can you tell me how much it’ll cost?” The answer to both of these questions is, unfortunately, “Well not exactly.”
Just like a viral agent (aka a virus) in the real world, it’s hard to predict where a viral video will pop up. Most viral videos fall into the categories of adorable, hilarious or musical. I’ve yet to see any of these genres in a government-produced marketing video, not because individuals in government lack these personality traits, but because government itself lacks these personality traits. The federal government, by its very nature, can’t be too cute or too funny in explaining policies and regulations.
But that doesn’t mean a video can’t be shareable. This is different from viral. Shareable pertains to the quality of the production and the tuning of the message. Here is a high-quality video about Veterans Day produced by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They knew their primary audience, school-aged kids and their teachers, and delivered a message tailored to them. It has over 164,000 hits on YouTube. That’s a pretty good number and come next Veterans Day, because of the way it was scripted the same video can be pitched for more use. Likewise, HHS has produced award-winning documentaries and quality audience-focused messages in-house.
Quality of production and the precision of the message are the keys to making any marketing video sharable. So what does a quality production with a precise message cost? It depends. That’s not a chicken-out answer, it’s really true. Just like a house or a car purchase it depends on how many bells and whistles you want to tell your story.
Sometimes we use the saying, “You can have it fast, good or cheap. Pick two.” Often “fast” and “cheap” are the default elements and we wonder why the video isn’t shareable. Video production is a team effort and teams of people cost money. If you have a message that needs to get out next week – well, that takes care of fast. Now, what’s your budget? If your answer is “not much”, then time may be the variable you want to control to increase the quality of any finished product.
I’ll cover how to make the most of your money in future installments. I look forward to your feedback.
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