But the numbers might not be as negative as they seem for advertisers who are hoping their viral videos spread the word about their products, writes Jordan McCollum at WebProNews. As Malcolm Gladwell showed in The Tipping Point, there is a small minority of "influencers" whose rampant sharing of cultural and product information has a big affect on others. They might just be that 9% who frequently share.

MarketingSherpa also explored the costs of viral video. Very experienced marketers were likely to pay more for video content, though most said they paid up to $10,000. The average for experienced marketers (estimating the value of ‘more than $50,000′ at $75,000 on average) was close to $19,000.

Most of the less experienced marketers paid up to $5000, with an average spend of almost $11,000. Considering two-thirds of MarketingSherpa respondents were planning a video campaign component this year, that’s a lot of money for video producers.

I don’t know, but it does seem a little steep for a medium with a less than 1/3 success rate. If it takes you three campaigns to be successful, the price of content rises to $30,000 to well over $50,000. If your campaign can bring you that much in sales or value, then it sounds like a good idea. If not, maybe stick to “cool microsites” or online polls.