One of the hottest topics in digital entertainment is how to produce videos that go viral. From Break Media’s “We are Lebron” video to Mingle Media TV Network’s “Red Carpet Report,” these media companies use comedy and celebrity to get a huge response to videos. We met with leaders of each company this week in Los Angeles to gather insights and examples to help you make videos viral for your audience. Break Media’s content connects mostly with a young 18-34 male audience compared to Mingle Media TV Network that attracts mostly a 24-52 female audience.
Humor is key in making any video popular online. If you watch this viral video, "Baby Laughing Hysterically at Ripping Paper," it’s easy to see why this video has had almost 6 million views since January. It’s an 8-month baby laughing while ripping up his father’s job rejection letter. Because it’s so timely and relevant to a broad audience, it has mass appeal. Break Media also focuses on comedy, and had a huge response to a branded video campaign produced for Fox Home Entertainment that spoofed movie classics such as "There’s Something About Mary – High School Project."
Mingle Media TV’s videos and webisodes also focus on celebrity and comedy for four types of shows: 1. Red Carpet Coverage (“Red Carpet Report” just covered the Oscars), 2. Lifestyle Talk Shows (“LifeAfterKidsTV”), 3. Comedy Shows (“Laugh Lounge” with live streams where writers from TV shows like Conan test material) and 4. Produced Web Series (“Ruby Skye P.I.”) To reach their audience, Stephanie Piche, CEO/Executive Producer at Mingle Media TV, shared during a Lifetime sponsored panel on March 1, 2011,“Know your target audience. It’s a product. With any product launch, you need to know who’s going to watch it, where to find it and build a community around it."
Along with comedy and celebrity, Jonathan Small, SVP/ Editorial and Creative Lab at Break Media, explained at Digiday in Los Angeles, “You’ve got to be fast, topical and relevant.” Break Media created a hugely successful viral video hit in 2010, "We are LeBron," that got over 1 million video views and 65,000 “Likes” on Facebook. Along with online promotions, this video received millions of print, online, and Word of Mouth broadcast attention in the media, including mentions on The Colbert Report, ESPN’s Sport Center, WSJ, NY Times, and others. Break Media just released their spring slate, and Jonathan Small added, "What appeals to men are four categories: funny, sexy, ow and wow." While some of their videos many not connect with women, Break Media is recognized for reaching the young male demographic.
Both Break Media and Mingle Media TV have great content distribution, which is another success factor in videos going viral. You can watch Break Media videos on Break.com, along with 1,000+ other sites. Mingle Media TV is also a master at content distribution. Along with posting content on MingleMediaTV.com, their content is distributed to thousands of sites. Stephanie Piche explained, “We syndicate through Blip.tv, and then set up partnerships with other places like iTunes and AOL Video.” Stephanie added, “For our Live Shows, we stream live on Facebook and offer a free app for your Blackberry, iPhone, Android so you can log in and chat with the host during any of our live shows.” (The Mingle Media TV’s app is via their partner Stickham. You can go to the app store and download the Stickam.com mobile app for free.)
If you’re interested in developing your own viral videos, and/or pitching them to Break Media or Mingle Media TV, both groups recommend that you have a great social media following to support your content. You can’t just post a video on YouTube and expect it to go viral. Work all promotional avenues (social media and traditional media), make it funny, and add a celebrity/wow spin to build a following and make your videos go viral!
© Liz H Kelly, National Digital Entertainment Examiner, Sunrise Road Media, http://sunriseroadmedia.com
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