Comments on: Blog: Have You Seen Susan Boyle? You Can’t Judge A Book By…Well, Just Watch The Video

By: alice

alice — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:42:32 +0000

It was just a week ago that Susan Boyle performed I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables on Britain’s Got Talent. And in that week over 35 million people have viewed her singing the song on YouTube. By anybody’s measure this has been a true viral success. Indeed, this video has achieved much greater success than many videos designed and seeded as part of viral campaigns for big brands. Many of them would be delighted for quite so many people to have viewed, commented on, shared or talked about their video. Even more would wish for the kind of brand recall that Susan Boyle is now getting from her video, or indeed the access to the lucrative US market that happened in a matter of just days.

So what makes this video so special and what can we learn from it about social media. The answer is probably quite simple – people watched, commented on and shared this video because the content is good. This is often overlooked when people talk about social media. Too much time can be spent trying to find the right people to seed a video, or working out the optimal viral strategy. And too little time may be spent on making the content good in the first place. Susan Boyle’s performance is good content, and that’s why it has spread so much and so quickly online. Why people think it is good may vary – because she is a good singer, because her performance is a surprise or because the attitude of the judges before she sings highlights the way human beings can make prejudices based on appearance. The reason people think the content is good does not matter, that they do is all that counts.

Of course, this leaves us with a dilemma – if we cannot tell what people will think is good content then how do we make such content in the first place? Well this is one of the benefits of social media but also one of the problems for brands and marketers. The proliferation of shared content online means there is more for us to choose from and more for us to enjoy. There is great content out there and now it is probably easier for us to share it. But good content is in the eyes of the person who views it, and it can be difficult to predict what will be good.

So Susan is not only a good singer, but also teaches us a lot about social media. The key to making a good viral video is to have good content in the first place, but what makes good content can be difficult for us to predict in advance. The best we can do is to understand our target audience and then create something we think will appeal to them. But maybe we’ll never be as successful as an unassuming singer from Scotland.

By: Sandra

Sandra — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:29:59 +0000

WOW!!! Thanks for sharing…what a lady!

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:07:53 +0000

Her version of I Dreamed is better than the recording from Les Miserables available from iTunes. I hope someone signs her up for dome jazz standards. She did a great job on Cry Me A River. I’d like to hear more!!!

By: Bam

Bam — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:20:00 +0000

I had heard about her on Monday and had to share the link with everyone I know.
I don’t usually watch American Idol too many times it just a popularity contest with little real talent. With Susan that sure changed things she was not what anyone expect and that was great. I love that she had a great sense of humour and was as sweet as could be.

I had seen Simon blown away when Paul Potts performed a couple of years ago and when 6 year old Connie Talbot sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. So there really is talent out there you just have to know where to look – on the other side of the pond.

By: I Dreamed a Dream

I Dreamed a Dream — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:32:31 +0000

Though I adore and love Susan Boyle and my self have watched shes performance more than 50 times with joy and tears in my eyes every time.

By: DEBBIE

DEBBIE — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:24:10 +0000

That was great! You touched many people. You showed us you can never judge a book by its cover. You gave me goose bumps and put a smile in my heart!

By: Bev

Bev — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:54:31 +0000

Susan,
When I awoke Friday morning, I was sluggish and feeling like I was moving at a turtle’s pace. My friend said to me, “You have to see this, come right away…” I did. I listened to you with my friend, both of us with tears in our eyes. The tears weren’t just because of your incredible angelic voice, the tears were much deeper than that… I went to work feeling wonderfully energized, happy, exuberant, in fact.

In this world,when life seems so incredibly difficult, you, with your incredibly beautiful voice, your personality and your strong spirit, have united millions and milions of people globaly. To put it in your words, you have “rocked” the world.

Thank you for being YOU! Your beauty radiates infinitely. You have taught so many of us a very deep lesson…

Please come to the U.S. I would do whatever necessary to travel to hear you sing and listen to your clear and simple message. You are incredible. My hat is off to you and I wish you the incredible success you so deserve. More importantly, you are a teacher to the world . …. and I say – YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!

My most humble regards and gratitude.

Beverly Mooney

By: dbg

dbg — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:44:10 +0000

That was amazing! That lady can SING! It gave me goose bumps.

By: lis

lis — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:42:07 +0000

This is for Susan Boyle,

I am a very tired and discouraged mother of two autistic boys; when I heard you sing, I wept. I wepted not because I have two autistic kids; I wept because of society’s perception of what is different.

It was not only your voice that ‘uplifted’ me; I was refreshed by who you are, genuine!

Thank you for sharing your gift; you did this soul good!!

Sincerely,

lis

By: rrgat97a

rrgat97a — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:44:20 +0000

Wow! I love American Idol and I loved watching Simon’s face as Susan started singing. Thanks for sharing this.