I’m writing this post as a direct response to a recent video on YouTube. I thought that “United Breaks Guitars” was a fantastic viral video. When people ask me, what makes a great viral video that gets millions of viewers, I usually respond, “It’s either passion, a great social cause or something humorous that generates a huge response to a viral campaign.” Well, United Breaks Guitars certainly fits the build. I’m not sure if you saw the video but it’s an example of sheer passion mixed with a little bit of humor. When Dave Carroll (a lead singer and guitarist in the band Sons of Maxwell) takes a flight on United Airlines from Halifax to Chicago, his guitar is broken. The viral YouTube video is his story. The video clip is clever, heartfelt and also shows off Dave’s talent as a musician.
However, when you put out a viral video, what do you do to prepare? Did Dave Carroll expect to receive over 3.3 million views on YouTube? His video also appeared on a Fox News segment as well as on CNN. I’m not sure how prepared Dave was to field the many emails and interviews as a result of his viral efforts. I say this because I quickly reached out to Dave to ask him if he would participate in an interview on my Music Quench blog to get his perspective on how social media helped him to get his message across to United Airlines, and to the many other consumers who may have experienced a similar situation. When I sent the email, I did receive an automatically generated email. It stated that due to the overwhelming amount of emails it would take time for Dave to respond to many inquiries regarding United Breaks Guitars.
Now, it’s been a day or two, and I’m sure that Dave will get back to me at some point, but here’s an opinion on what happens when you’re not prepared: Someone sees the video for the first time, has never heard of Dave or his band before, feels strongly about his opinion, agrees with what he’s saying and also takes a liking to his music. That person then reaches out for the first time. However, if Dave or a designated party doesn’t reach back out to acknowledge that person and to start the relationship (perhaps even to invite them to be a part of Dave’s community on www.davecarrollmusic.com, then Dave and his band risks losing a potential fan.
I can’t stress enough the immediacy of social media and how you must take the time to quickly respond. In an instant that someone feels a connection with you, they expect instantaneous results. I’m not saying that it wasn’t a good thing for Dave to have the automatically generated statement. I’m glad that he did. But, what are the next steps? Does Dave have something else planned? Will he reach out to me directly or will his publicist contact me. I would even accept his publicist saying that his schedule doesn’t warrant an interview at this time. But, a response is definitely necessary.
So, as you plan your next greatest viral campaign or it just happens out of sheer passion, how are you going to prepare for the next steps? I hope that you think about each and every person that you influence and affect through your campaigns and social media communications and give them the response, connection and interaction that they expect. Your response could be the start of a great relationship, which could lead to a loyal brand enthusiast.
Tags: Dave Carroll, PR2.0, Social M, Social Media, Sons of Maxwell, United Breaks Guitars