The Top 10 YouTube videos of 2011
• “Friday by Rebecca Black”
• “Ultimate Dog Tease
• “Jack Sparrow” by The Lonely Island and Michael Bolton
• “Talking Twin Babies Part 2″
• “Nyan Cat”
• “Look At Me Now” Cover Karmin Music
• “The Creep” by The Lonely Island, Nicki Minaj and John Waters
• “Born This Way” Cover by Maria Aragon
• “The Force” Volkswagen Commercial
• “Cat Mom Hugs Baby Kitten”

If you analyse the videos the common elements which emerge are:
1. Original Music Videos by unknown artiste…who become known
2. Music Videos – Original Cover Music (Remakes of known/famous songs with license/approval of original artiste)
3. Hollywood movies or Music with well-known stars
4. Using happy, exciting children / children activity
5. Using dogs or cats – usually humour

What elements can be used to make a successful viral video on YouTube
Now how can small businesses propagate their brands on the web through video? Obviously using music stars and movie stars is out of the question. So what elements can be used to make videos which have higher chances of going viral :
a. Build a story around children – babies or definitely below 12 year-olds
b. Build a story around dogs/pups or cats/kittens
c. Create a video using popular songs (after buying copyrights)

So what are you waiting for…go on create your viral YouTube video

About Raja Mukerji (CEO, www.events24x7.com)
Raja Mukerji, is the CEO of events24x7.com, a pioneer in development of its own virtual events platform development and organizing virtual events in India. Events24x7 has helps corporate, event management companies and exhibition organizers conceptualise and execute virtual events. He is a social media enthusiast.

Why Virtual events make Business Sense
Two research studies* have been released recently which confirm the benefits of virtual shows and also reveal the which virtual-elements attract audiences look for :

•    The benefits for the organiser are seen quite clearly; more than 82% of past users of virtual events and 84 %of future users questioned in the Tagoras study mentioned the potential increase in audience numbers, an important consideration where physical events were only enabling them to reach a fraction of their total target audience.
•    Live content, be it video or webcasts, is the most popular on a virtual site, and yet only 43% of physical events capture any of their content to post online, and where they do it is often less than 10%.
•    84% of online event attendees take at least one action as a result of their experience a  (Virtual Edge Institute recently published in a report)

Agreed these figures are from internet-evolved countries like US, but the world is fast catching up….and target market of our clients and exhibitors is also global.

Virtual Events – 5 specific benefits, which are hard to ignore
1.    More Visitors – All of your audience may not be able to make it to the live event but they can definitely come to the virtual event
2.    Extended Life – The physical event which packs-up in a few hours or days, stays live on the web for a month, 2 months or even years
3.    Global Reach – The reach of your event goes international…and today business is global
4.    Visitor Engagement – Allows visitors to engage with organizers, exhibitors, speakers and also amongst themselves – before, during and after the event
5.    Measurability – Virtual events throw up a host of statistics, which help in not only sales lead generation but also measure impact
Conclusion

At a fractional additional cost, organizers can get benefits by extending their events online and get multipler benefits. The only additional investment requirement is commitment – to make the online event as successful as the physical event.

About Raja Mukerji (CEO, www.events24x7.com)
Raja Mukerji, is the CEO of events24x7.com, a pioneer in development of its own platform development and organizing virtual events in India. Events24x7 has helps corporate, event management companies and exhibition organizers conceptualise and execute virtual events.

* The two studies quoted are:
Virtual Event Study, done in collaboration with the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, Relate Content & Community Solutions and Tagoras, and funded by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events:

The Business Motivations and Social Behaviors for In-Person and Online Events, a study sponsored by the Professional Convention Management Association, UBM Studios and Virtual Edge Institute: