Advice for marketing with viral videos

Advice from AdAge on viral marketing:

1. Lesson one: Tap into the video community
   Online-video creators and watchers are a large and active community.
2. Lesson two: Quality of the video is not what determines its popularity
   "Though popular videos tend to be short, funny and shocking, there are other variables that have as much influence on getting the video seen. Many second and third-tier sites will give entertaining sponsored videos preferred placement for relatively small amounts of media spend."
3. Lesson three: A video of a dog skateboarding can get 3 million views, but that doesn't mean your commercial will
   "While some clever advertisements (with surprise endings, humor or sex) do become viral, most ads don't translate online, and it's a rare promotional video that gets millions of views."
   His advice: product placement in a video, rather than the stereotypical ad.
4. Lesson four: Online-video marketing is not just about contests
   "While contests are pervasive tools to engage online video creators and audiences, they're just one tactic of many. Smarter brands are connecting directly with prominent viral video creators."
   By which he means that you work with the video creator...something like, "This video brought to you by..."  Libraries may not be able to pay to sponsor a video, but we might be able to find other ways to persuade someone to partner with us.  Increased exposure?  Good will in the community?
5. Lesson five: "Tagging" your video with keywords doesn't get them seen
   "Keywords may get your video to rank in searches, but there are far more effective ways to get your videos seen, such as title and thumbnail."
   The author doesn't say this, but it makes sense to me...
   Or, a funny or clever video with a lot of hits and people linking to it-- think about how Google moves  items to the top of a list.  If you can  be involved in a viral video  not only will people be linking to it on their pages, they will be forwarding it to their friends.  That's what viral is all about.
6. Lesson six: Consumers might see your video, but that doesn't mean they'll visit your site and buy
   My comment?  This is true for any advertising!  So, before you advertise, decide what your goal is and how you will measure it.  And remember, just because your first effort doesn't work, it doesn't mean the method is ineffective.  You may need to try a different video or find a better way to get people to notice your video.
7. Paying for a well-produced video won't necessarily increase your brand's ROI
   "A $250,000 production cost makes a return on investment difficult. Since fewer than 2% of people will visit a website after a video, a good ROI requires a low production cost and the highest number of views possible."
   The author makes a good point!  Not only do few libraries have that kind of money, I think that a really slick video from a library might actually backfire.  How would the community respond to that kind of spending?  And would it make our community suspicious of the message?
8. Lesson eight: Not all video portals are created equal
   "The vast majority of online viewing occurs on YouTube."
   Nuff said.
9. Lesson nine: You may be a conservative organization, but don't let that keep you from this medium
   "Conservative legal and public-relations policies have prevented many marketers from entering into a dialogue with prominent video creators....Quietly watching from the sidelines is no insurance policy and certainly won't grow revenue."
   My take?  You won't know if it can work for you until you give it a real try.
   
10. Lesson 10: This medium will become measurable
    "As it matures, it will become as measurable as search. But for the time being, the most controllable variables are cost of production and total views."
    I say again, figure out why you are doing it and once you know that, decide on the appropriate metrics.