Lessons from a viral video

So, how do you get more than 5 million people to watch your story?  Take a look.

1. The content is compelling.  Many people, including me, have entered into this debate and the student producer, Patrick Romero, used a simple point-counterpoint approach to shaping the story.

2.  The audio is audible.  If you read Advancing the Story, you know that we often make the point that good audio can save the day in a story, and poor audio can ruin a perfectly good visual piece.

3. Social media is powerful.  The video was produced as an assignment that the class watched on YouTube.  From there, students added the link to their Facebook pages and on the video went on to fame — including an airing on the CBS Morning News.

The story also had a tight focus, and engaging presenter and adequate production values. So given all this, can you make a video go viral? Or is it just luck that makes it happen?

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