The Evolution Of Dance classic YouTube video

One of the most brilliant YouTube videos you will ever see is the Evolution of Dance (video below). This video is arguably the most popular of all time on YouTube with over 114 million views to date. It was added to YouTube on April 06, 2006 and I honestly can’t see this video ever being dated. It’s an absolutely brilliant display of comedy and talent by a professional comedian called Judson Laipply. His new site is worth checking out.

This is another example of how a catchy video is the way to go. There’s nothing fake or overly commercial about this video. It’s just downright funny and entertaining and you can’t help but want to share it with your friends and family. The key to any great viral video in true Numa Numa style.

Laughter the best medicine

An online video that makes people laugh is a sure recipe for success. Take the video below as an example. This video has been viewed on YouTube over 76 million times. That’s SEVENTY SIX MILLION TIMES. Unbelievable!! Watch the video and you’ll have to admit that it’s cute, but you also have to admit that it’s really not that amazing. I guess the lesson is:

1. Make them laugh
2. Make it feel real and non-commercial
3. A baby or kid never hurts

The lure of fake traffic

Anybody that’s launched a new website or forum knows how difficult it is to drive traffic to that site initially. It takes a serious combination of SEO and smart internet marketing to drive solid organic traffic to the site, however, not everybody has the perseverance and skills required to do that. These site  owners often look for a “golden ticket” or quick way to drive traffic to their site.

There are numerous services out there that promise to drive traffic to your site and even make claims about the visits coming from people that are specifically interested in your niche. While I’m sure there are some people that have successfully benefited from this approach, most will end up throwing their money away because the traffic will not be targeted at all and targeted traffic is exactly what we’re looking for.

This type of “fake” traffic might drive visits to your site but you should not expect to see conversions. Conversions are a direct result of people that visit your site because they want to be there or were directed there by something or someone that interested them. Simply popping open a window with the contents of your site is not going to do that for you.

So the best advice I can give when it comes to Internet marketing and to driving traffic to your site - be very careful about fake traffic. There’s a good reason google and other search engines are not fans. Keep it “real” and keep on pushing to get your site viral numa numa style.

A lesson in life and in viral marketing

Sometimes in life we celebrate a little too early on. The finish line is in site and it seems like success is a given. We take our eye off the prize for a second and everything falls apart.

This video is an example of a good viral video because it’s both funny and sad at the same time. We laugh at the failure because it reminds us that others also make mistakes and fail just like we do. On the other hand we also feel sickened by the failure because we like to root for the underdog and the moment things go wrong this guy becomes the underdog. If we were in that situation we’d want to imagine that we could jump back on our bikes and still make it.

The lesson we need to take from this is that even when our site or product or video seem like they are a huge success, we cannot take our eye off the prize. We can’t sit back and pat ourselves on the back. We need to make sure we accomplish our goals first and foremost and then there will be time for celebration. Keep your eye on the prize until you actually have crossed the finish line. Otherwise you may just find yourself on youtube for the wrong reasons. The numa numa phenomenon continues, but in this case it’s at the expense of someone else’s failure.

Numa Numa Chipmunks

Another version of the famous Numa Numa song is this one sung by the chipmunks. Very cute but true to the original Numanuma song. It’s very catchy. Enjoy.

The value of good video content

I have seen too many people try to jump on to the viral video bandwagon and hit an “overnight success” with some extremely stupid or over-the-top video that was produced for the sole purpose of getting hits. It’s easy to fall into this trap. Take one look at some of the latest videos on Youtube.com and you’ll immediately realize the power behind some of these viral videos and the unbelievable number of views they generate. The important thing, however, is to keep in mind that ultimately it is true content; legitimate content that wins at the end of the day. Sure it will take you longer to garner the number of hits you’re dreaming of, but the people that find your video will be watching it and interested in it (and potentially any site associated with it) because they are genuinely interested in that niche. That’s the key folks. Rather have a fraction of the views but a higher level of interest and a far more targeted audience.

Now if you’re simply out for bragging rights and want to have a video that gets an insane number of views with no real rhyme or reason then you should get one of your friends to film you being knocked out or make a total goof out of yourself, but if you’re being smart and really want to have your audience interested in a specific site or product then you should ideally be producing genuine, targeted, Google-compliant material.

Keep on participating and enjoying the Numa Numa trend…

Video of woman going nuts for missing flight

Often the most popular viral videos on the web are those of people in pain or suffering. This video is one of the most popular ones around having been watched over 3.5 million times to date. The woman is going hysterical at an airport boarding gate after having missed her flight. It’s painful, but makes you realize that somebody has had a worse day than you. Enjoy…

Lonelygirl15

Lonelygirl15 was an ingenius bit of marketing that ran for 2 years on Youtube from June 2006 to August 2008. It was essentially an online show, however, it came across as a simple series of videos posted by a cute teenage girl sharing her daily trials and tribulations.

The show eventually turned out to be a scripted fictional videoblog which had been carefully crafted by a few individuals. It has since spawned at least one offshoot and was talked about in the likes of Business Week and other publications.

The success of the show illustrated just how powerful online videos can be. Ultimately successful viral videos can be monetized and used to channel traffic to sites and products in a highly effective manner.

You can have a meme

You can tell the internet meme (or viral video) craze has reached a high point when even President Barack Obama isn’t safe from Rickrolling. From Rickrolling–a popular bait and switch tactic design to trick internet goers into clicking a link of the 1987 Rick Astley video, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” no matter what the subject matter–to the ever popular Cat Macros seen on icanhascheezburger.com, internet memes are slowly weaving their way into our everyday lives, and even the media is taking notice. The story of Christian the Lion, a video depicting the amazing event of a wild lion once nurtured in his youth by two men, recognizing and embracing them upon their reunion nearly a year later, made headlines on the The Today Show. Even Yahoo has its own video section that features the occasional viral video. You can have a meme, too.

The need for viral videos

Gary Brolsma was mocked and even laughed at after Numa Numa went viral–but people needed that. People needed to laugh at something–because they can’t laugh at themselves. These viral videos are snapshots of daily lives. Yours, mine, your friends, and even people we don’t know. When a video finally goes viral it lets the world share just a few minutes with you. Gary was shocked at how many people were able to relate to his whimsical dancing. For the cubicle drones it was a moment of much needed laughter, for some, it was seeing someone break out of the norm. Numanuma.com believes in laughter and entertainment. We believe in you. We want your videos and your laughter. We want to share the moments that you capture with the world. There’s not judgmental eye here–just laughter and fun. Come visit us at www.numanuma.com and let the world spend a few entertaining moments with you.

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