Great Content, Gangnam Style
In a world in which every business now has several online platforms vying to grab it's customers' attention, content is king -- and those sites that deliver the richest and most informative (and entertaining) content will draw the most views.
Indeed, the realm of what is called inbound marketing is gaining in importance, and via white papers, videos, and social media, marketers are trying to develop great content that will position them as thought leaders and keep customers and prospects returning to their online sites.
One can't argue with success, and one of the most successful pieces of content on the web from a viewer perspective is Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video.
While it's not a business video, it's a great study in content, stickiness, and virality, as it has received more than 1.6 billion hits on YouTube to date.
Yes, that's billion, with a "B."
To put it in perspective, the population of South Korea, from which Psy hails, is only 50 million, that of the U.S. is 314 million, and the world's population is just over 7 billion. So the equivalent of obe out of every three people on the planet have seen it.
According to various published reports, following the video's release July 15, 2012, it made YouTube's Top 100 music videos in just over a month's time. Around this same time, a combination of music personality and celebrity Tweets and blog posts on entertainment sites grew it's virality into epidemic proportions, and by September 2012, the number of daily views averaged more than 5 million.
Critics and reviewers have suggested various theories for the viral success of the video. One Korean music critic said it was the video's sophisticated rendering and arrangement that made it so popular to the general masses. Others referred to the personality and charisma of Psy, in addition to the new "invisible horse trot" dance, which itself has become a phenomenon. I have no idea whhat they lyrics are, but it is admittedly a fun and interesting video to watch.
Indeed, part of what has fueled the video's viral explosion -- was it's viral explosion itself. After all, who wouldn't be curious to watch what has become the most popular video in the world? And that's also what keeps you watching, as you try to figure out what it is that makes it so popular, and waiting for an answer to pop up on the screen.
Instead, there's Psy again, with the refrain you now cannot get out of your head: "Oppan Gangnam Style."
Whatever makes up the secret sauce that makes this video so popular, whoever can extrapolate the successful ingredients from its recipe to use in developing their own unique content will be several steps ahead of their competitors.
Take a look for yourself...