Skip to Main Content
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 4th Edition
book

The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 4th Edition

by David Meerman Scott
July 2013
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
464 pages
12h 28m
English
Wiley
Content preview from The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 4th Edition

8

Going Viral: The Web Helps Audiences Catch the Fever

As I write this, the number of YouTube views of Korean pop star Psy's video “Gangnam Style” has reached well over 1 billion.1 That makes it the most-watched video of all time. The catchy song, wacky horse dance, and interesting scene locations combined to make it a hit all over the world. When I ask in my talks if participants have seen the video, more than half always have, and it doesn't matter what country I'm in. I've asked people in Belize, Egypt, Bulgaria, the UK, and India about “Gangnam Style.” As soon as I do, smiles emerge.

Even parodies of Psy's video have achieved huge view counts. There are hundreds of them: character-based parodies by Sponge Bob (2.2 million views) and the Oregon Duck (6.6 million); location-based parodies like “London Style” (5 million views) and “Minnesota Style” (1 million); and organization-based parodies like “Bay Area Wedding Music” (2 million), MIT University (5 million), and “Inbound Style”2 from the folks at HubSpot (nearly a quarter million views—and if you add to the total you'll catch a cameo from yours truly).

For marketers, one of the coolest things about the web is that when an idea takes off, it can propel a brand or company to fame and fortune for free. Whatever you call it—viral, buzz, or word-of-mouse marketing—having other people tell your story drives action. Many viral phenomena start innocently: Somebody creates a funny video clip, a cartoon, or a story to amuse friends. ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 3rd Edition

The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 3rd Edition

David Meerman Scott

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781118711071Purchase book