What are the secrets of viral video for non-corporates?

[Dr Ian McCormick]

How do you create a successful video to promote a good cause such as a charity or a nonprofit group? How different is it from the techniques used in business or corporate marketing? What would be the time and costs involved? Does anyone have any case studies or success stories?

[Nathan.]

I've seen many non-corporate videos go viral very quickly. The key is a successful launch. If it does not receive exponential growth in the first 24 hours then it will probably get buried amongst the hundreds of other videos uploaded that day. Use of social networking for promotion is always used. As soon as it is uploaded, spread awareness via Facebook and Twitter as often as you can. Corporations can usually pay the host site (i.e. YouTube) sums of money to allow their video to show up on the homepage and thus receive high amounts of viewing traffic. Unfortunately that is not an option so you must rely on a very successful launch. Another small tip I would give you is an attractive video thumbnail.