100 million online views can’t be wrong—or so goes the thinking behind the incredibly successful “Kony 2012” video. In only 7 days, the 30 minute infomercial/documentary has spread across the Twitterverse and attracted the support of major celebrities including Angelina Jolie, P Diddy and Rihanna. The video owes its success to several factors. Firstly, the video discusses the atrocities committed by Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony in terms that a child could understand—in this case, the son of the documentary maker Ben Keesey literally acts as the innocent representative for a global audience largely ignorant of Kony’s crimes. Secondly, the video harnesses the unbridled optimism of youth by proposing simple, easily achievable solutions: buy a bracelet, sticker your city to make Kony infamous, and POW—the problem will be solved by December. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the filmmakers have mastered the art of 21st century distribution.
One of the first statements in the video—“there are now more people on Facebook than there were in the world 200 years ago”—is undeniably fascinating. In fact, the video spends its first few minutes explaining that it is about to redefine the paradigm of how the world is run without mentioning Kony directly. The viewer is thus prepared to witness a game-changing moment in human history. Kony winds up being the mute super-villain in what is an incredibly masterful and inspiring survey of Good vs. Evil. At the end of the film, the filmmakers appeal directly to the audience by entreating them to share the message in order to participate in the paradigm shifting, once-in-a-lifetime event. Guess what: it works.
It works partially because the people who have put the project together genuinely believe in their cause. They’ve tapped into authentic enthusiasm, which is why the video has racked up so many views. Obviously, no one wants to enable a genocidal nutcase who turns children into murderers and sex slaves. But the sheer popularity of the video may be more about the intangible product that it sells—in this case, uncomplicated good feeling. Forget the shady nuances of international politics (like the fact that the Ugandan government that fights Kony is pretty awesomely corrupt, too). At its core, the video works because it engages its audience and makes them feel good about themselves at the same time. In other words, it turns the viewer into a superhero, just by virtue of clicking a button and/or spending $10.
Audience engagement may be the one factor that separates successful social media campaigns from failures. In 2011, RadioShack, Papa John’s Pizza and Bing all ran successful campaigns on social media in part by actively engaging their audience. Much like Kony 2012, RadioShack also capitalized on the “superhero” motif, in this case by literally asking people to dress up like superheroes. The process worked like this: people would take pictures of themselves with their hands held out, post the pics on Twitter, and follow RadioShack’s Twitter account. RadioShack then added a cape and superhero glasses to each photo, along with a short description written by each person of what they would do if they had superpowers. Papa John’s went directly for the profit motive, encouraging people to submit new pizza recipes through Facebook. The company planned to make and sell the winning recipes, giving a share of the profits to the person who came up with the recipe. Using a deeply insular strategy, Bing gave people free currency for the Facebook game Farmville if they would “like” Bing on the social media behemoth. Each of these strategies resulted in high customer participation and increased revenue/exposure for the companies.
The lesson to be learned here is that whether you’re selling the idea of fixing an inherently corrupt world or just the opportunity to rack up some extra cash, you have to intrigue and captivate your audience. People want to feel as though they are part of something good. In a world where negativity and fear are commonly used as drivers to inspire action, positive energy goes a long way toward attracting interest. The makers of Kony 2012 are currently being criticized for oversimplifying their message and spending more money on themselves than on their stated cause. However, they should be applauded for understanding how to appeal to and inspire a mass audience, a trick that Hollywood used to know.
Related Articles
Kony 2012 Campaign is a Social Media Phenomenon (PE.com)
Kony 2012: Social Media Campaign Takes on Ugandan Warlord (syracuse.com)
Seen by Millions, will Uganda Kony Video Matter? (baltimoresun.com)
Kony 2012: The Reaction (guardian.co.uk)
Kony 2012: Video on African Dictator goes Viral (Timesofindia.com)
