Failing that, you can try to drum up publicity the old-fashioned way — with a press release, sent by fax. Fleming, for example, initially contacted TV and print journalists via email, with little success. Then her dad suggested faxing her press release. An hour later, her phone started ringing.
>>> Mesmerize the Crowd
Alex Eylar: 5 million views of his Lego creations depicting classic film scenes.
who combined two of the summer’s biggest cultural sensations — Batman and Call Me Maybe — for his spoof, which has logged 1.4 million views. In similar fashion, Alex Eylar ’12 hit Internet paydirt (5 million views) by using Legos to re-create classic movie scenes. “Use pop culture or things people adore in some new way,” Eylar advises. Animals and cute kids also seem to be recurring characters in many viral offerings. Citing last year’s popular talking canine video, O’Connor says dog lovers are “kind of obsessive.” The canine connection may also explain the smash success of underwater dog photos taken by Seth Casteel ’03 and featured in the fall 2012 issue of Chapman Magazine.
The best way to attract eyeballs to your project is to create quality content that touches people, Hefner says: “It’s emotional, funny, piercing, relevant, timely, unexpected or unpredictable, valuable, unique and so forth.” The more of those adjectives you hit, the better your odds of going viral, she says. It also helps to keep things short (a 10-minute video is out of the question, Freitas says) and sweet (for maximum reach, avoid nudity, swearing and other family-unfriendly content, he suggests).
>>> Time the Market
On the Internet, as in life, timing is everything. Your brilliant presidential debate spoof will go nowhere if you publish it weeks after the candidates squared off. And even if you’re quick on the draw, timing can still mess you up. “If you post something on Twitter at 2 in the morning, it’s less likely to go viral than if you post it when most of your followers are logged in,” Hefner says.
>>> Act Naturally
“When people say they want to go viral, sometimes that’s a good way not to go viral,” says Michelle Breyer of NaturallyCurly.com, a website devoted to unruly hair. “If you try too hard, it doesn’t work.” In 1998, Breyer and a wavy-haired colleague launched NaturallyCurly mostly as a lark, a place to vent about their unwieldy tresses. As the digital word of mouth spread, Procter & Gamble and other hair-product companies took notice. Today, NaturallyCurly is a $3.5-million enterprise with 18 full-time employees, Breyer says. Her advice: Choose ideas that spring from personal struggles or passions that resonate with others.
>>> Keep Your Day Job
Perhaps the only thing more elusive than going viral is cashing in if it happens. “In general, the lifespan of [such items] is very short,” Hefner says. “Once someone has seen it and passed it on, it is usually forgotten.” But not every viral veteran is a one-hit wonder. Connor Martin ’10 has transformed his video alter ego, Con Bro Chill, into something of a cottage industry, with T-shirts, CDs and other products. And Casteel’s underwater dogs scored a major book deal. “You have to give people a reason to come back to your site,” Fleming says. For NaturallyCurly’s Breyer, that means keeping an eye peeled for pop culture trends. When Disney released The Princess Diaries, Breyer urged a boycott of the movie because the main character’s royal makeover involved straightening her curly locks. The protest received widespread media coverage.
>>> Watch Out for Train Wrecks
>>> Have a Best Friend
Sure, luck plays a key role in going viral, but don’t forget fortune’s flip side — misfortune. Embarrassing moments and crises are far more likely to explode on the Internet than cute cats and song parodies, O’Connor says. And “bad viral” is typically more intense and less ephemeral than its angelic counterpart, he says. In other words, when it comes to online fame, be careful what you wish for.
Named Oprah
When seeking Internet immortality, it doesn’t hurt to have prominent pals. Freitas’ Batman video got a big boost when a friend who does PR for one of Oprah Winfrey’s subsidiaries showed it to her staff. Another buddy had ties to The Mary Sue blog, which also plugged the spoof. “You have to be a good networker,” Freitas says. Wesley Freitas: 1.4 million views of his Batman/Call Me Maybe film spoof.
29