We’ve all heard stories about ordinary people launching videos, which have become overnight sensations. Remember a young man named Justin Bieber who started singing to the world on a couch in his room? Or what about a song called “Friday” that resulted in Rebecca Black becoming a household name – good or bad? While these individuals made it seem easy, taking videos viral is usually three-fourths work and one part luck.

An article featured at reelseo.com details when Dan Harris of ABC’s “Nightline” went behind the scenes to learn more about the science of taking videos viral. He partnered with marketing agency, Mekanism for help. Together they created the story of “Hovercat,” a video about a cat who floats throughout the house while Harris is away at work. The video was created in support of Harris’s favorite charity – the ASPCA, an animal rescue group, and the underlying theme was to help strays secure adoption.

Agency executives with Mekanism explained to Harris that taking videos viral entailed reaching “influencers,” relevant groups with lots of followers who would likely share the video with their fans. It is this re-posting and sharing with mass audiences that helps take a video from zero to hero.

Unfortunately for “Hovercat,” results were not flooring. While the video did reach its goal of a million views, its extraordinary coverage in the news, including exposure on “Good Morning America,” should have resulted in chart-topping viewership. And, cat videos are generally well-received anyway, so what went wrong?

The creators underestimated the power of content. You can take a video to the influencers, but taking videos viral also requires the content to be influential. While “Hovercat” was cute, it wasn’t captivating. Achieving “Gangnam Style” success requires that special something. Before deciding on “Hovercat,” Mekanism specialists threw out ideas such as portraying Harris as a cat hoarder. Because it’s funny, this concept might have been more shareable.

Noteworthy content is what we’re all about at Susan J. Campbell Copywriting. We connect the dots between message, audience, and channel. Let our copywriting experts help you in taking your videos viral – contact us today.