By Brad Strickman, DotLot Editor, The Buddy Group

If you say “online video” to most people, their response will be “YouTube”. YouTube has become a major staple of modern pop culture and is only growing in strength. It now has over 77.3 million videos and 2.89 million user channels, which is growing more and more every day. It is ranked as the 4^th most visited website in the United States between Myspace and Facebook(1). Love it or hate it, it has created an enormous presence in the online world as well as pop culture and those who understand the how it functions and how to optimize how they use will benefit the most.

A Major Misconception

YouTube is not a television. Although many viewers will simply watch videos or embed them without logging in or commenting, but this is not representative of why YouTube is so incredibly successful and powerful.

YouTube is a community; a community of engaged users. Note that they are referred to as users, not viewers. YouTube is an application/program that users interact with. This interaction consists of viewing, subscribing, commenting, vlogging, and much more. Just like any community, online or offline, there are certain social guidelines/codes/ethics/practices.

YouTube Stars

One sign that YouTube is becoming a major piece of pop culture is that recognizable stars are emerging. Here are a few of the most current stars.

Chris Crocker

In case you were living under a rock, here’s a quick reminder why we know who this guy is: http://YouTube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc

He is a great example of a YouTube celebrity. That video appeared on the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, almost every local news channel and talk show. Through YouTube, he was able to cross over into other mediums and become a well-known star. Need further proof?

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=zbr1EiIC2Ro&feature=bz302

He has developed such status as a YouTube celebrity that anything he posts will garnish more than a million views. What’s more impressive, however, is the 21,000+ comments. Users’ entertainment is not based on the content, but based on the community. Most of the comments are directed at other users, not necessarily the content or the channel.

HotForWords

http://YouTube.com/HotForWords

HotForWords is a great example of a self-made star. She has been on YouTube for a little over a year, and has truly harnessed the marketing powers of the site. It is incredibly interesting to watch the evolution of her channel.

Here is her first episode:

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=_s-u3ZN_YXs

Compare this to her most recent video (as of the date this was written):

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=jCaeymyVvw8&feature=user

She has incorporated graphics, music, humor, and much more. HotForWords is the poster child for 3 forms of YouTube Marketing; thumbnail pic, clever titling, and tagging.

Thumbnail Pic

As all YouTube users know, a good thumbnail pic can easily acquire thousands of hits. A good thumbnail pic will always be clear, crisp, and often have a person. Sexually implicit images are notoriously great choices, and will always acquire lots of views. HotForWords has mastered this.

How does one go about picking their thumbnail? YouTube does not randomly select a thumbnail. It gives you three options. Option 1 is the exact middle of the video. Options 2 and 3 are at the first third and 2^nd third, not as precise. Therefore, if you make sure that an engaging image appears, usually a still frame, at one of these points in your video, you can set it to be the thumbnail. This technique is exploited by many YouTube users, but nobody does it better than HotForWords.

Watch out though, the community will call you out if it is clear that you are doing this simply to get views. Make sure your image is relevant to the rest of content. Lots of users have been harshly criticized for overexploiting this technique.

Clever Titling

This is the same idea as picking a thumbnail. Users will be sifting through thousands of videos. What makes yours stand out? How about calling it “Hooker” and having a thumbnail of a hot blonde in a bikini. The viewer does not need to know what the video is actually about (the origin of the word hooker). A view is counted by the video being started, not finished.

Clever titling is just another way to hook viewers. Another practice, which is not as successful but often used, is to reference the title of another highly popular video. Once again this can be dangerous if your content is completely unrelated

Tagging

Tagging involves referencing other YouTube users. A much better example is discussed below.

Feuds

One of the most viewed and also most hated people on YouTube is sxephil (www.YouTube.com/sxephil). Part of this emerges from his feud with HotForWords. This feud increases both of their number of viewers, as users will take sides, posting comments and video responses. The users become engaged and are entertained by more than just the content of the original video.

http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=LyuwSEYBAPg

Most Subscribed Channels:

http://YouTube.com/members?s=ms&t=a&g=0&p=1

Contests

An incredibly popular way to engage the YouTube community is through contests.

http://YouTube.com/contests_main

Often times, these contests are created by large/well known corporations, businesses, or products, and are a form of marketing. Companies such as HP, Schick, Post-it, and Tide have all unleashed campaigns. Many of these campaigns are backed by other advertising in other mediums, such as Tide’s “Talking Stain” campaign, which was launched via a superbowl advertisement.

One of the more recent contests of note is being executed by Vancouver Film School.

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=iap2qfP1XGE

Vancouver Film school has come up with a clever idea that has proven successful many times. They are holding a contest through YouTube. Contestants submit videos which will then be narrowed down and voted on by the YouTube community to determine the winners of 3 scholarships.

Social Projects

MadV’s Humans Project:

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=R0VS_3XmEpY

Social projects are similar to contests, but there is no prize. MadV is one of the best at these types of projects. He presents an idea/concept/question in video form regarding a social issue/idea and then requests that everyone else replies. His Human’s Project has received over 400 video responses and more than 2500 comments. It was featured on the homepage in March.

Games

http://YouTube.com/watch?v=zzIMbjA5m8s

One of the most popular/recent games is “5 Facts”. For all intensive purposes, it functions the same way a chain letter does, but requires more personal involvement. It started by Nerimon posting a video explaining the game, and getting the ball rolling. One creates a vlog in which they reveal 5 interesting facts about themselves. At the end, you tag 5 other users, and they respond with their own vlog, creating a chain.

YouTube and Politics

http://YouTube.com/youchoose

YouTube has become a platform for political candidates to reach out to voters. Each presidential hopeful has their own channel where they post videos of recent interviews, news coverage, and debates. These channels have become a great example of how YouTube is an engaged community. The candidates’ marketing team uploads videos in which people will have heated discussions about, post video responses about, and create active conversation. A political debate is occurring that almost anyone in the modern world can be a part of and express their opinion about in a handful of ways. As we get closer to the actual presidential election, there will be even more activity as more and more users become engaged and involved.

“Viral” is Not a Mystery

Another myth that needs to be debunked is the idea that there is no control over viral marketing. Most people believe that there are ghosts in the machine that somehow make Video A viral, while Videos B-Z are never seen by anybody. They believe there is no rhyme or reason to the success of some videos and the failure of others. That is not the case. Just like any form of marketing there are strategies, best practices and techniques.

The best read on this can be found here:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-video