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We’ve all seen those crazy videos on YouTube. Silly dances, dangerous stunts, some really bad singing and some incredible singing (aka Susan Boyle). Recent reports say over 500,000 new videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. Why are some wildly popular while 99.9% of the videos are BORING?

The latest YouTube sensation is this wedding video from a couple in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson wanted to do something different for their wedding procession and boy did they succeed. Almost 9 million people have viewed their wedding video in the past week and almost 45,000 people have commented on the video. Kevin and Jill appeared on the Today Show and the entire wedding party re-enacted the procession on live television. Take a look at the video now and you’ll see why this is one of the most popular videos on YouTube right now.

When you watch this video you can see why it’s spreading like wildfire across the internet. Here’s why it’s the hottest viral video on YouTube this week.

1. It’s totally unexpected. The ushers are standing patiently at the end of the aisle waiting for the ceremony t0 begin and while the crowd is anticipating the arrival of the bride.

2. The music begins and the ushers break out into a dance. The crowd instantly joins in the fun wondering what’s going to happen next.

3. The bridesmaids join in the fun making up their own dance down the aisle.

4. The groom busts through the pack of ushers and bridesmaids and somersault down the aisle.

5. The bride boogies down the aisle to the delight of the crowd.

Everyone is genuinely having fun. The wedding party practiced a little before the event but most of it is improvisational. The crazy dancing totally surprised the crowd and they totally embraced it wanting more. Many even joined in the dancing. There’s no acting in this video – it’s totally authentic.

If you want to create a viral web video then you have to make it fun and real. Surpise your viewers by doing something totally unexpected and entertain them. Be authentic and don’t try to sell anything in your web videos. The best way to turn people off is to try to sell them something because we see enough commercials when we watch televsion.

Make some web videos and send me the links so I can post them on my blog. Have some fun and make a name for yourself!

To your online success,

Ted

I was having lunch with my mother at Applebee’s the other day and I noticed a flyer on the table. It said Wanna be on TV? We can help.

Check out www.applebees.com/realvideos and you’ll see you can upload your own videos to their website. They want you to upload video of you and your family enjoying themselves at Applebees. They’re going to feature the best  videos on television commercials. What a great idea. They’re using Web 2.0 to create interaction between you and their website. Applebees is inviting you into their community. The only thing they’re missing is letting us see the uploaded videos on the website and make comments on each others videos.

I’m seeing more and more of this community building from large companies and I love it. The large, cold, faceless corporations are reaching out to us!!  Now lets get the oil companies to reach out to us as their profits skyrocket and build a community!!