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From: SmartBlog on Social Media - Jesse Stanchak |
Friday, 23 December 2011 00:00
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If you work in online marketing, you’re no stranger to the pressure to create a piece of content that will take on a life of its own. But anyone who has ever tried to create a piece of “viral” content knows that it’s a very tall order.
When you look at the kinds of content that have gained popularity in the past year, it’s easy to come to some mistaken conclusions about what makes content spread. You might think it has to be funny. Or that it should be ironic or post modern.
And, of course, viral content can include those elements. But they’re not requirements. No, I think if you really want to understand why some content goes viral, it helps to look a certain holiday classic:
This clip from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted in 1965. It’s been a holiday tradition ever since. Clips of that speech have been floating around online for years — I first watched it on a computer in 2001 — and despite its age, it still draws a crowd each Christmas.
But I’m not pointing it out because of its own popularity. I mention it because it perfectly embodies principles that can be used to explain the success of a majority of viral videos, even though it’s 46 years old and there’s nothing funny or ironic about it.
So why is this clip so important after so many years? Let’s take a look:
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