Far be it from me to usurp my usual online video guest blogger Lou Bortone with an online video tip, but I made a startling discovery that must be made public.
I’ve found the #1 secret ingredient to online video success.
It’s not about a call to action, flashy graphics, power point, ustream, Justin.tv, or any technical wizardry.
It’s not about selling, subliminal suggestion, or celebrity endorsements.
No my friends, it’s a much smaller, cuter, fluffier, pitter pattering secret ingredient.
Awwwww! Cute sleeping kitty courtesy of www.geckotales.com
I’ll give you a hint: “MEOW”.
Yes, it’s about kittens. Sleeping kittens, sneezing kittens, hungry kittens, fighting kittens, cute kittens, funny kittens, adorable kittens, and playful kittens.
The proof? Just go to YouTube and do a search on any of the above phrases.
Average length of videos: 21 seconds.
Average number of views: MILLIONS.
And your carefully crafted, artfully produced 6 minute and 52 second sales pitch? 34 views (and most of them were you clicking on yourself to watch, watch, and re-watch yourself.)
So should we all just go find a sleeping kitten, film it, then plaster our URL all over it?
Does everyone need to rebrand to something more felinesque?
There’s no solid answer to that. But look at what kitten videos give us and what we can learn from these YouTube phenoms:
1. Entertainment that crosses barriers.
I’m sensing that both Tea Party and Coffee Party die hards could easily drop their agendas for a moment and share a collective “awwww”. Whether you get your info from Fox news or Pacifica network, this is a bridge building approach.
2. Quick and to the point
There’s no build up, there are no intros. Just an entire 21 second clip of a kitten sleeping. People look at a video’s length before viewing it and decide if they have a whopping 4 minutes to invest or a what-the-heck-it’s-less-than-a-minute-so-why-not decision.
3. The title tells it all
Once again, you put “kitten sleeping” in your video title and your audience knows exactly what they’re going to get. Makes it easy for web surfers to click.
4. Niches Rule!
I’m sure you can search other animals sleeping, eating, playing, etc and find specialty areas on YouTube. What’s amazing are the sub-niches that pop up here. An entire camp of viewers just want to see the little fluffballs sleeping, others enjoy “funny” antics (kittens clawing their way up someone’s pant leg… har har har?)
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So take a look at your approach to online video and see if there’s anything you can learn from the cat lovers. Be sure to leave a comment if you’ve gotten any “ah-ha” moments from this post!
And I know you’re jonesing for a cute kitty fix so here’s a classic: sleepy kitten that generated millions of views all from a 14 second clip. (If only my YouTube channel could get this many views!)
(If you don’t see the video player below CLICK HERE)
About Nancy Marmolejo
