Viral Videos

We have all seen them, laughed at them, rolled our eyes at them, cried at them and absolutely hated them. Viral videos are a fairly recent internet trend that some spend hours watching every day.
What exactly is a viral video?
         According to this article on Mashable.com, a viral video is a video that becomes popular through internet sharing.. hence the term "viral." The content is usually humorous, but many serious videos have become viral through stunning content such as the Kony 2012 video and eyewitness events. In my opinion, some are just plain stupid (Cue Gangnam Style).
     Viral videos first began circling the internet through e-mail. Remember the nice German car commercial where the scary face pops up and scares you? Or the e-mail that told you to focus on the haunted house to see the ghost, and the same thing happens where the face pops up? I remember those videos being shared via e-mail long before YouTube or Vimeo were around.
    Today, websites like Vimeo and YouTube contain millions and millions of video content for users to search.

Viral videos can and are huge for online marketing. Brands have the ability to either monetize popular videos to get their name out there, or even attempt to create viral videos of their own. I personally think it is a crucial part of social media marketing. It is important to study the trends, as well as think outside of the box to create viral material. Usually the most ridiculous things go viral. According to the article Brands Gone Viral, columnist Alex Rowland suggests that it's a recipe of "the perfect combination of creative genius, market timing, and emotionally engaged audience."
Old Spice is a perfect example.

Videos are becoming more and more popular. They can be used for entertainment, information, as well as marketing.