Top Trends on YouTube

YouTube is a ferocious beast - but I mean that in a positive way.


A search conducted on July 28, 2010 of the 100 Most Viewed videos of all time on YouTube revealed:
Music videos and music parodies or tributes are the most viewed videos in the Top-100. Other popular videos include pets, people doing stunts, automobiles and animation.

Music Videos:
2% in the Top-10
8% in the Top-25
18% in the Top-50
39% in the Top-100

Music Parodies/Tributes:
4% in the Top-10
7% in the Top-25
15% in the Top-50
25% in the Top-100

Animals/Pets:
2% in the Top-10
5% in the Top-25
7% in the Top-50
7% in the Top-100

People/Stunts:
2% in the Top-10
2% in the Top-25
4% in the Top-50
12% in the Top-100

Cars/Autos
0% in the Top-10
0% in the Top-25
3% in the Top-50
6% in the Top-100

Animation/Cartoon:
0% in the Top-10
1% in the Top-25
1% in the Top-50
6% in the Top-100

Commercials/Movie Trailers:
0% in the Top-10
2% in the Top-25
2% in the Top-50
5% in the Top-100

Data collected July 28, 2010

The Top-10 most watched YouTube videos accounted for approximately 252.3 million views.
Videos featured:
Pink Floyd tribute: 36.8 million views
Jon Lajoie – Show Me Your Genitals skit: 32.5 millions views
Michael Buble – Haven’t Met You Yet music video: 28.9 million views
Justin Bieber Tickets (removed by record label): 26.6 million views
Justin Bieber – One Time video (removed by record label): 22.4 million views
Big Spider Tarantula on my hand: 21.9 million views
SNL/Justin Timberlake-Beyonce skit: 21 million views
Michael Buble – Everything music video: 20.9 million views
Sasha the dog cheers for USA: 20.7 million views
Lil Wayne song I Feel Like Dying (not music video): 20.5 million views

Who was featured the most in the Top 100?

Justin Bieber is featured in 9 videos in the Top-100; full music videos or music performances and interviews accounting for 130.6 million views on YouTube.
That’s an average of 14.5 million views per video.

Comedian Jon Lajoie was featured in 3 videos in the Top-100, including the parody “Show Me Your Genitals” ranked at #2.

Michael Buble, Drake, Black Eyed Peas and Bryan Adams all had 2 videos in the Top-100

All together, the Top-100 most watched videos on YouTube accounted for approximately 1.375 Billion views. That’s a staggering 13.752 million views on average per video.

YouTube Statistics:
People are watching 2 billion videos a day on YouTube and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. In fact, every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube

You Tube Demographics:
The user base is broad in age range, 18-55, evenly divided between males and females, and spanning all geographies. Fifty-one percent of their users go to YouTube weekly or more often, and 52 percent of 18-34 year-olds share videos often with friends and colleagues.

Using YouTube as a tool for marketing, promotion, public relations and awareness is no longer an option for business. It is a must.

Create Your Own Parade

Several years ago while I was still working in radio, a manager told me "Pick a parade and lead it". Sadly, because of cutbacks, lack of time or fear of failure, many traditional media outlets adhere to that motto. They (traditional media) do not have the time or resources to champion every new cause that is presented to them.
Newspaper outlets have fewer writers and reports available to research new story leads. Television is reducing staff and replacing more local programs with national news programs. And with automation, Radio stations can be staffed with fewer bodies allowing for more 'piped in' or voice-tracked programming.

So how can you create your own parade for the media to notice?

Remember the movie "Field Of Dreams"? Remember that famous line; 'if you build it they will come'?

If you build a big enough 'buzz', traditional media will take notice. Just ask Greyson Chance. Greyson is the 12 year old who posted a video of him performing the Lady GaGa song "Paparazzi" at a school festival. The video has been viewed more than 26 million times and caught the attention of many media personalities including Ellen Degeneres.

As I mentioned before, traditional media does not have the time to interview or talk to everyone who is seeking their attention. Not to worry. You can do this yourself.

Words on paper or on a computer screen are great - but Video is your secret weapon.
We (society) are actively seeking new information about our favorite brands. If we find something new that we like, we are very inclined to share those stories with our friends. For that reason, YouTube has become one of the most used search engines for new content. Type in any phrase on YouTube and there will be a video for that topic.

So, here you are. A business/company/brand with a story to tell. Go ahead - tell it.

Tell me your story.
Tell me about your company.
Tell me about your products.
Tell me why you had to reduce staff and cut services.
Tell me little known facts about your brand without giving away secrets.

Depending on your budget you can do this yourself, or seek help with the many on-line video production companies in your market. Or, simply throw a good HD camera on a tripod and have someone ask you questions (off camera). Create short 3 to 5 minute video clips about your company and tell your story - in your own words.
Once you've posted them on YouTube, link to them on your company website. Share the link on your Blog, Email Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - every Social Media outlet that you use. Musicians get this, and are using these techniques to market their products and more importantly - giving their fans a 'back stage' sneak peak, increasing the "wow" factor.

Creating your own parade will take time, but eventually, you will have people lining up to see what the buzz is all about.

Photo: Flikr, courtesy Doug Consul, 1962 Calgary Stampede Parade

How To Cut Through The Noise

Let me guess; one of your earliest childhood memories was learning the letters of the alphabet. Since then you have lived your life confident in the knowledge that "I" comes before "U" in the alphabet. Guess what - you are WRONG.


Before you write a letter to your Grade school teachers or to the Sesame Street gang, let me explain.

For years, marketing and advertising campaigns were designed around the values and experience of the business to demonstrate the products or services being offered. Essentially, consumers were told what was good for them, and for quite some time we believed them. Call this the "I" method of communication.

Then a number of marketing and advertising agencies began to shift the focus of attention towards the consumers to demonstrate how each product or services would impact the lives of the consumer. Call this the "U" method of communication.

Today more than ever, you need to explore how to put your consumers needs ahead of your own.

Think for a moment how many messages you sift through and prioritize each day with email, text messaging, telephone calls, newspaper columns, magazine articles, blog posts, TV news, radio commentary, billboard advertising on buildings, buses and street benches, website click throughs, social media (Facebook and Twitter, etc), meetings, letters, fliers stuffed under your windshield wiper and even bathroom stall advertising. Yes, there are so many ways to broadcast your message. Now, quickly think about how many of those messages do you remember at this moment. Which messages did you respond to and which messages did you discard?

How do you cut through the noise?

As a Media Coach and Consultant offering effective solutions for message creation, delivery and engagement, I am constantly being asked to create communication links (dialogue) between clients and business. Effective messaging, either with media releases, marketing, advertising, even email and blog posts, should focus on the impact of your consumer. Answer their questions: "What's in it for me?", and "How will this effect my heart, health or wallet?".

Start with re-arranging your business priorities by putting the needs of your clients and consumers ahead of your own. In other words, re-arrange the alphabet and put "U" ahead of "I".

-Darren

Did you find this useful? Leave your comments below.

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Spring Cleaning; Tips to Increase Engagement with Customers and Clients

Not only does the arrival of Spring mark the end of the Winter 'blahs', it is also a perfect opportunity to do some spring cleaning of your own to prepare you for an even more successful year.

For businesses big and small, I present the Speak Media Consulting Spring Cleaning check list:

1. Review and update Marketing tools. Ensure all new data is correct and updated to reflect the changes in your market
2. Review and update your Website. Time to update content on your website. Add new staff pictures, be sure all contacts are still employed and all links work correctly.
3. Review and update Media contact list. Media people come and go as often as the seasons. Make calls to your ensure your Media contact list is still current.
4. Clean up your Contact List / email Data base. Each year, people come and go from your life. Nothing personal - it is just time for a purge.
5. Update your Presentations. If you do many public speaking engagements, take a few hours to ensure you have all the current information. Update graphs and slides with the most relevant information. Or if you're really daring - rewrite the entire presentation.
6. Create a new Business card. If you are not restricted by corporate design templates, create a new design for your business cards. Borrow examples from other smart looking cards you have collected over the last few months.
7. Make contact with a long lost friend or former associate. We all live busy lives, but staying in touch (networking) with an old friend might lead to new contacts and a year filled with great rewards for you and your company.
8. Wardrobe. If it has been in your closet for more than 6 months and you have not worn it, get rid of it. Donate all your gently worn clothes to Goodwill or other collection agencies.
9. Update your work space. I am not suggesting you hire a Decorator - take time to freshen up your work space. Clean off your desk, get rid of clutter, update pictures of your family and throw out whatever is growing that funky mold in the back of the refrigerator.
10. Be great. Your clients and customers are looking to you for confidence and charisma. Go out there and be the best you can be each and every time.

-Darren
For more tips and tricks for effective communication through the media, subscribe to my free email Newsletter.

Call in the reinforcements

One of the greatest things you will discover with social media is the ability to ask for help - to call in the reinforcements.

One such group I often call on is Ulistic, a Calgary based Internet Consulting company. This A-Team consists of David West and Stuart Crawford who not only speak the language of everything 'Internet', they also take their time to explain everything using a language you and I can understand.

If you are struggling with an out of date website, or want to learn to maximize your impact using Social media, make the first call to Ulistic.

Over the next few weeks, the professionals at Ulistic will be holding a number of
seminars in Calgary to help grow your footprint in the on-line world.

Take note of these events:
February 23, 2010: How to become Googleable

February 25, 2010: Social Media Training Course
Topics include:
1.The importance of Social Media
2.An overview of the top Social Media sites and how to use them.
3.Hands on setting up your Social Media accounts.
4.Preventing the fatal mistakes with your online communications.
5.Build your Social Media followers – how to get good followers.
6.How to position yourself as an industry expert with your followers.
7.Reach people with practical online videos that tell your story & how to syndicate your videos.
8.Automate… how to manage your Social Media strategy for multiple sites with one tool!

Does this sound like a commercial endorsement for the crew at Ulistic? I hope it does. As I mentioned earlier, I have no problem reaching out and contacting other Social Media specialists to find solutions for clients. Not only will you find your competitors using social media, but you will also find many others that are able and willing to help you get a 'leg up' on your competitors. All you have to do is ask.

-Darren
Speak Media Consulting
Media Coach and Consultant
Calgary, AB

Marketing and Promotion on a shoe-string budget

How can you create a successful event with very little budget?
I recently attended a fundraising event in my small hometown in central Saskatchewan. For a once thriving community that supported the local farming and ranching families has been reduced to only about 100 residents. The grain elevators are gone, the skating rink has disappeared and the school I once attended is now the community grocery store. But one thing that has not changed is the small town spirit of "community".

While I have always stayed in contact with my family and friends in this small community, I witnessed an event that would make Marketing, Promotions and Public Relations specialists proud. The success of this event was not the result of a major advertising campaign. Not at all. In fact this sold-out event was the result of 10% advertising and 90% old-school social marketing; the telephone.

What I have failed to mention so far is the fact that in this quiet town of approximately 100 residents, many were engaged by the fundraising initiative and picked up the phone to tell their friends and family. Many of those contacted also talked with other friends and spread the word to a more far reaching group of engaged family and friends. After the home cooked meal, the speaches, video presentations and music, more than 200 people attended this small town fundraiser - a sell-out event. Money raised will be provided to purchase a piano and other musical instruments for the residents of a local Seniors Lodge.

Why was this a success? Good old fashioned two-way communication...the telephone.

When planning your next event or promotion, take a page from my friends back home:
-the event must have a worthy cause,
-the event must have a solid base of supporters who believe in the event,
-the event can be 'advertised' through conversation and networking,
-follow up with guests prior to the event to remind them the importance of their attendance,
-do not give up the cause.


In memory of my Uncle, Don Lynch.
"Any day that you don't laugh is a wasted day."