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Anatomy of a Viral Video: Can Jewelers Do It Too? | June 01, 2016 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—It seems that the pinnacle of social media is scoring a viral video. You know, the kind that’s shared “a zillion” times, that everyone talks about, and that even shows up on local TV news as a human-interest story with a nice follow up?
Everyone on social media wants a viral video. But is that a realistic goal? Producing one would be akin to winning American Idol—many try, but only a very few are chosen.
The latest buzzed-about video is commonly referred to as “Chewbacca Mom.” Candace Payne, the poster’s real name, filmed herself for a Facebook Live Chat in a Kohl’s parking lot talking about buying herself a gift—for her, not her kids. Then she was wearing a Star Wars Chewbacca mask. Her laugh is wonderful and memorable and makes most people smile, even if they’re not a Star Wars fan.
Haven’t seen it? It’s here, go ahead, we’ll wait.
This unexpected video has earned itself a place in the viral videos hall of fame. Let’s take a look below. Note: the sneezing panda video debuted in 2006, so it’s had a much longer time period to rack up its number of views.
Image source: Marketwatch.com.
So, really, it’s a viral video? Who actually cares besides the viral video scorekeepers?
Well, Kohl’s for one. They received amazing publicity about their product and their return policy (which is why Payne was in the store that day she bought the mask). But Kohl’s wasn’t the only business that received actual profits from the day. That Chewbacca mask, having been marked down in Kohl’s (and likely elsewhere), suddenly came back to life and flew off the shelves of most every retailer who had it. Jon Passantino, a Buzzfeed editor, noted on Twitter that “Chewbacca mask sales are up an astounding 916,298% on Amazon after that viral video...” Not too shabby for a great number of retailers.
And Candace Payne herself profited. Kohl’s surprised her with $2,500 worth of gift cards, plus Chewbacca masks for her children so she wouldn’t have to share. And there was more Kohl’s merchandise for her family as well.
And of course she was also on Good Morning America, then The Late, Late Show with James Cordon (and here, too), met J.J. Abrams, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. She’ll meet Chewbacca himself (Peter Mayhew) within the next month.
As a regular consumer (and Star Wars fan), it’s been fun to follow her interesting path since the start of that video. As mentioned earlier, everyone using social media believes that a viral video would be a tremendous score. And likely they are right. But if you ask anyone (or everyone) what makes a good viral video, you’d get a number of very different answers.
Most people believe that conflict increases the chance of a video going viral. Think “the dress.” It sparked controversy across the Internet.
And while that certainly characterizes ‘the dress,’ it’s really joy and laughter that characterizes Chewbacca Mom. It’s very hard not to laugh along with her as you watch the video. Payne says in her video “it’s the simple joys in life,” and perhaps it’s just that simple. That, and a great laugh.
So maybe it’s joy that works. Or maybe it’s just a chance occurrence. Whatever it is, we’d all certainly love to see a viral video about jewelry. Imagine what might happen if a truly happy customer showed her new ring (or bracelet, etc.) with the same enthusiasm that Payne showed about the Chewbacca mask? Cash registers would be ringing across the US and jewelry would be selling out! A worthy goal indeed!