This week is National Small Business Week and to celebrate, we bring you five awesome viral videos made by small businesses to drive awareness and engagement online. From cats to kisses to lawyers wielding flaming sledgehammers, these videos have a little something for everyone. In all seriousness, we commend small business owners and employees for all of their hard work and dedication. We appreciate your contribution to your local economy as well as the positive influence you have on your community. Thank you and enjoy.
This first video aired in this year’s Super Bowl during the local ad break in Georgia. Obviously, not every small business will have the budget to advertise during the Super Bowl, but Lawyer Jamie Casino was able to blow viewers away with his two minute spot. The video has earned more than 5.5 million YouTube views to date.
This next video features a skateboard-riding cat (which may be the reason why it did so well on the Internet). At first, it doesn’t seem like an ad at all, and in a way, it isn’t. There isn’t a logo at the end or a call-to-action. It simply mentions who trained all the animals in the video: Robert Dollwet, an Australian who runs his own animal behavior business. The video has racked up 2.3 million views on YouTube.
A recent viral sensation, “First Kiss” racked up 82 million YouTube views in two months. The video, which cost only $1,300 to produce, is an advertisement for Wren Studio’s Fall ‘14 collection. After its release, it was picked up by news and media outlets and spawned hundreds of parody videos, generating significant awareness for Wren.
Our fourth example comes from Chuck Testa and his Ojai Valley Taxidermy business. This video has almost 15 million YouTube views and even inspired a popular Internet meme. Inadvertently hilarious, this viral spot definitely helped Testa reach a huge online audience to promote his service.
Last but not least, we have Dollar Shave Club. Though you’ve probably seen the video several times and know how big of a success story it is, we couldn’t leave it out. I mean, the company spent $4,500 on a viral video that boasts more than 14.4 million YouTube views. In the first 48 hours after the video’s release, Dollar Shave Club received 12,000 orders—talk about viral video effectiveness!
Have any videos you’ve made for your business? Share them in the comments and they could end up in a future post!