Viral Marketing Lessons

This'll be my second episode of "YouTube Viral Marketing from people who actually know what they're doing." For more on the subject, check out my previous post, about Cracked.com and their outright success in viral marketing on YouTube. It's awesome that somebody has actually figured out how to do this effectively-- spread the word about something using YouTube-- and it's even more awesome that it hasn't come from Suits at Summits, using jargon and repeating the word "fiscal" ad nauseam.

No, it was no such crowd of finger-steepling, suit-wearing detergent salesmen with the overwhelming need to be liked by the internet. Instead, it was Weezer. Thanks to Bryan Higa, I found out about this video long before it was old enough (read: a week) to be considered "old news." You should check out his blog, it's aptly titled: "For Your Entertainment."

And now for the fantastic video:




The cool thing about this video is that it's obviously designed to spread across YouTube like a fire in the Klump house. The amazing thing is that it worked. So how'd they do it? The same way the Cracked video did, so let's see what they have in common. You can think of this as a "How to market virally" checklist:

1. They spoke the viewer's language.
Cracked did it by lampooning a thousand websites and the things we love or hate about them. Weezer's Pork and Beans did it by resurrecting and connecting a dozen well-remembered internet celebrities.

2. They were focused.
It's one thing to make a funny video-- commercials are often (okay, sometimes) funny. And that's entertaining, but it doesn't help anyone take action. Cracked and Weezer both went a step beyond funny by using the comedy to send a message. The Cracked message was never said, but it was clear: "funny stuff comes from Cracked.com." The Weezer message is buried a little deeper in the song: "we recognize and celebrate that the power to make popular now comes from the internet user, not network television." And that's only one of the messages they convey.

3. They were humble-funny.
Cracked made jokes about their own net-reputation, allowing the viewer to side with them. Weezer drew no lines between themselves and the somewhat abused net celebs, embracing (sometimes literally) their bold differences and putting themselves on the level with Star Wars Kid and the Numa Numa guy.

4. What else do they have in common?
You tell me. The comment section is open for business, and the power, as always, belongs to the audience.