Facttactic
Corporate and technical writers
The growth of online video is huge and New Zealand is starting to see its own online video stars appear. Their success gives good pointers to the way online video should work in a social media setting.
This story shows how some clued-up Kiwis have made their mark on YouTube. See any tips you could use for a social media campaign?
As the article says: “It has no production values, no nudity and no laughs, and yet a three-minute silent video of a man opening a cardboard box has been watched online by almost half a million YouTube users.”
Unboxing is its name. Youtube videos of men doing nothing but unwrapping new consumer goods from their packaging. Attracting viewers in their tens and hundreds of thousands.
A ‘neuro-marketing’ expert says it taps into some strong primal desires. It’s been described as ‘geek porn’!
It’s cheap, it’s so simple, it taps into everyone’s desires. It’s powerful PR for the companies whose products are unwrapped.
Yeah, but what’s my point ?! … Great PR ideas can be done online for next to nothing and to great effect. Feel the power.
Last month, we looked at how video could be the new media release. Here’s a good example from Ford showing the power of a simple video compared with a traditional media release and a social media release.
Video is being used more and more as an online communication tool of choice – including how-to instruction guides; vlogs (video blogs); promotional and marketing tools; and real world marketing activity being videoed and the video put online. The good thing is top-end production values are not always necessary. A strong idea well-constructed inexpensively and quickly can be just as successful, if you know how to find and engage your audience.
Here’s a blog piece that explains the concept and shows some useful case studies; another giving some tips on making and marketing online video; another explaining how to find an audience using YouTube; and here’s an article in the NZ Herald charting the rise of ‘webisodes’.