Michael Harper, Blank Stage Productions

Viral Video Marketing Is Global Word-Of-Mouth

Centuries ago, word-of-mouth advertising was the only choice available to business owners. Through the years, technological advances have moved business marketing away from word-of-mouth advertising, to newer, flashier marketing strategies. In the 15th Century, the printing press began belching out direct-mail fliers. In the 19th Century, billboards sprang up, extolling the virtues of products in REALLY BIG LETTERS. In the early 20th Century, radio swelled from a novelty into an audio sea of advertising jingles. And in the late 20th Century, television grew from a humble, one-sponsor-per-program model to a not so humble $3 million investment-per-30 second Super Bowl spot monster.

Today, potential clients are constantly inundated with hard-sell marketing messages from every angle, everywhere, every day. We've lost the personal connection with clients that word-of-mouth advertising thrives on. Here, in the 21st Century, it's time to get back to basics.

The internet has grown into its own worldwide village, independent of any physical territory, where word-of-mouth reaches from Atlanta to Algiers. Tapping this global village through viral video is a marketing strategy that's as cutting edge as it is "back to basics". Viral video marketing is the new, global word-of-mouth.

So what exactly is viral video marketing?

Viral marketing is a promotional strategy that boosts brand awareness or product sales via self-replicating processes through pre-existing social networks. A viral video is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through this process.
It works like this: one person views your company's marketing video via the internet, and is so taken with it, he sends it to a dozen of his email contacts. Those dozen people, also mesmerized by the ingenuity of the message, send the video to another dozen contacts, and so on and so forth, with the video spreading across the internet and through email inboxes exponentially, just like a virus, reaching masses of random users who are, in turn, exposed to your company's brand. As your video's popularity grows, so does your brand recognition, all through the new global word-of-mouth advertising that comes from one friend telling another friend telling another friend about your company's internet-based video. Just like the good old days, only via email.

This video has over 28 million views, and has become a cultural phenomenon.

This video is just plain cute, and has been viewed over 48 million times in less than 16 months.

This video went viral over two years ago, has over 18 million views, and is still generating new hits on a daily basis.

Now imagine your company's brand attached to any or all of these videos. That's 21st Century, global word-of-mouth advertising. The spot heard 'round the world.

Marketing firms now dedicate themselves specifically to the creation of viral video campaigns. One such firm is Marietta-based Blank Stage Productions. Poised to become the viral video production leader in the metro-Atlanta area, Blank Stage's production team is a force to be reckoned with in the viral video market. View some of their work at blankstageproductions.com.

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