Online Video Lessons from Webby Awards Nominees, Funny or Die at SXSW and Jennifer Aniston

A headline can make you click on a video, but what is the winning formula, the magic sauce or trade secrets on how to make you watch and share it in your social networks – and dare I say – go viral? The 16th Annual Webby Awards nominees and honorees have been announced and many of those selected have generated substantial views and conversation online. Who better to have the right answers than the beloved comedy site Funny or Die, nominated for multiple Webby Awards this year. I sat in on Funny or Die’s (FoD) “How to Succeed in Videos By Trying” at the SXSW Interactive conference last month and was fortunate enough to hear FoD’s indisputable (okay, simply hilarious) “Keys to Success.” Funny or Die’s Keys to Success for Online Video 1) ?????? 2) Don't Be Terrible 3) Have (GOOD LOOKING) Naked People 4) Rent a Kitten for the Day 5) Abrasive Dubstep Soundtrack Think about the above before you plan and produce your next online video that you want to go “viral.” Of course, the FoD editorial team on the panel also playfully said, “we’re the modern-day Quentin Tarantino” and “Blake Griffin is like the Daniel Day-Lewis of the basketball world” so you may want to take their advice with a crystal of salt. Speaking of Billy, he received a Webby Award nomination for “Best Individual Performance” in FoD’s “When Harry Met Sally 2” video, which features an older Crystal and Helen Mirren in a vampire-inspired sequel. The FoD showed this video (among others) – to biting laughter – during the SXSW panel session. Grampires anyone?

The “Jennifer Aniston Viral” video, which was nominated for a Webby Award in the Branded Entertainment category (for smartwater), also featured some of its own advice on what to include in a “viral” video – outside of a celebrity such as Jennifer Aniston of course. Jennifer Aniston’s Viral Video Checklist: 1) Keenan Cahill (Internet famous for his adorable lip-sync videos) 2) Animals (especially cute puppies or skateboarding dogs) 3) Dancing Babies (maybe even dirty dancing ones) 4) Double Rainbow (it’s so beautiful) 5) Kicking a Guy in His Groin (apparently worth 100,000 hits) 6) A Catchy Name (she apparently likes the name “Jen Aniston Sex Tape”)

If you don’t want to follow Funny or Die’s keys to success or if you don’t have access to Billy Crystal, Jennifer Aniston or a double rainbow generator, create something along the lines of the appropriately titled, “The Most Amazing Beatbox Video Ever” (and receive a Webby Award nominee for it). Click!