The Best Viral Videos for Business

"Viral" is one of those buzzwords that doesn't really say anything new - it's really the oldest kind of marketing there is. That said, I believe that "viral" videos are truly the future of advertising. I decided to start this hub to kick things off. One of my goals for 2011 is to start creating online content more often and sharing the things that I find and enjoy. So, I'll be dropping viral videos into this hub as I find them.

I will use this hub to focus on the business side of viral video - videos that sell more widgets and effectively increase brand awareness. Please leave a comment on this hub if you have found any great viral videos - particularly ones that are truly effective for business purposes. (I'm including non-profit causes here, since they're basically trying to get people to open their wallets just like a business does).

I've looked into that question a lot lately. While no one can definitively answer it, of course, it seems that the greater online community has come to a consensus on some major points:

1. Viral videos often become "viral" by accident, where the viewer had no intention of it.
2. There is no 100% guaranteed formula for making a video viral.
3. There are ways to increase the likelihood that a video will go viral.

Further reading on this subject:

• Viral Advertising Hub
• The hub above links to an excellent TechCrunch article about best practices for viral video.
  
• Twitter SEO for Viral Videos on CreateBusinessGrowth (by yours truly)
• Viral Marketing Examples (my hub under a different account)
• Disadvantages of Viral Marketing (under the same account as above)
  

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list over time.