Wasted Opportunity - When Your Video Goes Viral And No One Knows It's Yours

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In this day and age, viral marketing is surely the way to go. It is arguably more profitable and gives a faster (and bigger?) ROI than SEO. When your content goes viral, it's literally a matter of days, or even hours and you will be reaping off the rewards.

Just take the dancing flight attendants. In a matter of six weeks, it got over nine million views. Someone in Cebu Pacific certainly got promoted or got a big bonus.

While those stories are inspiring, there are some that make me feel kind of sad because of the lost opportunity. Case in point : the dancing Jollibee mascot video. The original uploader is practically unknown. The video has been downloaded and reuploaded accross several websites numerous times. Its copies have gone viral. Had the original uploader made a simple video watermark of his branding (name or URL), then he would have benefited from his efforts of filming the funny dancing mascot. Big media companies are reaping the rewards of this Internet gem at practically no cost.

Filipinos need to start being more aware of online marketing and stop giving away their media content for free. It's not about selfishness, it's about getting what you deserve for your efforts and making the most of what you own. Why submit your content to YouScoop or BMPM when you can host your own video or photos and have people gravitate towards you? It's like you are working as a reporter for these networks for free. I say watermark your image or video, set up a YouTube account or put up a blog (free or otherwise) and send a link of your own content to these media giants. If your content is good enough, they'll be forced to feature it. Voila! You have an instant Web identity.


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