If you’ve been on the internet only for a minute over the past month, then you’ve seen the Chewbacca mask video posted by Candace Payne. It quickly became the most viewed Facebook video ever, and the amount of views continually grows every day. (She’s such a happy Chewbacca!)
I have found that the differences between her video and other viral videos that have been posted are anything but subtle, so I wanted to share with you what I saw. Here are the two main differences that separates her video from everyone else’s:
1. She was herself and brought joy to everyone who has watched.
Everyone who has watched the video could see Candace’s joy and personality radiate through her video. You can instantly see that her laughter wasn’t just put on for a brief moment of entertainment, but it was her true self being put on display. The rest of us need to not forget that we are who we are for a reason, that our voices matter, and that we can be relatable by being ourselves to produce unique content, even including the videos we create. Not to mention that research shows that positive content is shared much more often than negative content. People need a positive influence in their lives, rather than the negativity that is always being promoted. And after viewers felt her positive energy, they reacted to the video and shared accordingly.
2. She made a connection.
Every great piece of content connects on some level. And to connect, we must be true to ourselves. Everything she did in the video — used a mask from a movie that everyone has watched, went to Kohl’s, sat in her car, and spoke to viewers as if they were the only person watching — connects to every person on Facebook in some way. It wasn’t staged, but rather, it was the fact that she turned a seemingly ordinary every day event, into a remarkable connection. When this happened, it didn’t take long for people to begin talking about Candace’s laughter and the reaction of laughter that it caused. If you set out to connect with others, they will always take notice.
Adam, I watched, and then shared, Candace’s video…after I laughed along with her. I see many “funny” videos come across FB’s newsfeed, but what I connected to was Candace herself. Anyone, unless they are completely heartless, was immediately lifted up by her unbridled joy and excitement over her “find” in the Kohl’s store. Her heart seemed pure and her joy, very real. It was encouraging to me that people were obviously enjoying her video rather than making mean comments and putting her down. It made me think that most people really do want to be a positive influence in this world and that was heartening. We are tired of all the negativity and bad news. In today’s climate, political and otherwise, we needed a reason to laugh out loud, and Candace gave us one.
Exactly. I laughed pretty hard along with her. What a great video!