Another exciting panel at SxSW! The concept was to try to understand why some videos go viral and others never get picked up. What makes a video popular and what are the critical aspects of a video that keep people viewing it, getting millions of hits.

Panelists from YouTube, TED, and OK Go shared their thoughts; most important was that it was all about the content. Having video that was inspirational, surprising, or provided unexpected wonder or unexpected combinations were more successful than negative messages that usually don’t spread. The panelists also talked about the two types of viral videos, viral by accident (family or home movies that catch fire), or viral on purpose, those created with the desire to generate views.

The concept that production values were an important part of the formula only in that they matched the message in the video was evident. The shaky cam in the backyard, or the professional multi-camera experience at an event like TED, were what made a video more able to go viral.The panelists were all adamant about allowing videos to be embedded and that having exclusivity for the videos significantly hindered their ability to reach the largest audience as possible, everyone always ends up on YouTube. Metadata was also discussed and how important it is to generating searches, and that fooling the audience with a fake cover screen grab just leads to angry users.

At Frito-Lay we use user created content like our Crash the Super Bowl program, allowing users to upload their Doritos commercials. What it seems every entrant really wants to do is create the most viral video so that they get the votes and they potentially end up winning the ad rankings at the Super Bowl. Everyone can create a video but it takes a combination of talent and tools to make it a success.

Viral videos are a great way to get an idea out and the panelists certainly had a number of great ideas for creating your own!