We all know the immense marketing power of viral videos; if not, go ask the billions who’ve watched them, shared them, and then watched them again. Given that, video makers have made it their top priority to become the next viral sensation. But, as virality becomes more insanely addictive, the more it’s morphing into something new. That new sensation is sharable interaction. A great example of digital interaction is the Harlem Shake YouTube explosion, which is based on creating videos to mimic others to the same strange dance and to the same strange song. Let’s compare that to the billions of views from the Gangnam Style video. What’s the core difference between these two viral sensations? One had a video production company, true, but what I truly think is happening in the viral sphere is that viral is turning into sharable interaction. It’s not brain surgery to notice the rapid changes in technology, but the underlying statement among all of this fluff is that sharable interactive videos are the new viral video. Harlem Shake went “viral” because of its interaction level, not because of the original video.
As a video producer who has been creating explainer videos for the last decade, I not only have to create the next intriguing idea for a brand, but I also need to have a strong understanding of sharability. The Harlem Shake video was no different than my explanatory video or your demo video, as it ended with a strong call of action: to shake your body with racer helmets and Spiderman costumes, make a video, and put it on YouTube. And that’s just what people did. This shareable action and virtual togetherness is not only our future, but our present as well. The next question is who is going to think of the next catchy move?
If you don’t think viral video is dead, then take a step back and look where all of your technical devices are headed. Your children’s’ video games, our computers and tablets and viral videos, are all about interaction. This is the future, as the one-time hits fade away.
