K atie c ouric

Going Viral
Filmmaker and CEO/creative director at Comp-A Productions, Pedro D.
Flores, who personally has more than 239,000 subscribers and the viral hit
“Tacos” has over 100 million views, explains that going viral is always a
roll of the dice. You can put in all the right recipes for the perfect viral
video, but you honestly never know if it’s going to be successful.
He never thought that the parody video “Tacos,” about the fact that he is
a non-Mexican-looking Mexican, would go viral. That success changed his
whole perspective on the type of content he wanted to create. Before that

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video, he had never made anything about his ethnicity. But after seeing how
well the audience responded, he now caters to that niche. You won’t start
out knowing what works for you. You will discover your viewers’ tastes by
creating content, testing, and learning—sound familiar?
Flores says that you have to constantly shift. And he would know.
Flores has been on the YouTube platform since the very beginning. He
created early viral sensations “Kings of Myspace” and “Kings of YouTube”
(you will actually find me in this video if you look hard enough). He was
also the director and frequent collaborator of a lot of YouTube stars, such as
Timothy DeLaGhetto (3.6 million subscribers) and SUPEReeeGo’s Eric
Ochoa (2.8 million subscribers). He’s also successfully transferred his
channel from having content only in English to being a channel with all
content in Spanish. Then he shifted from a Spanish channel using real
people to one using mostly cartoons. You have to be willing to change with
the times and go with the trends. He says that if you don’t keep up, you will
get left behind.
Quick Tips and Recap
• On YouTube you need to have at least twenty thousand subscribers
for algorithms to respond, fifty thousand subscribers to start making
money, and a hundred thousand subscribers to get brands to pay
attention.
• Currently, YouTube’s algorithms favor content with a high
percentage of watch time. Longer content does well on YouTube.
• YouTube is one of the most difficult platforms on which to achieve
rapid growth.
• Growth happens primarily through algorithms, search, and
collaborations.
• Be consistent and put out content daily.
• Collaboration is key to rapid growth on YouTube.
• Move to Hollywood and Vine to find YouTube collaborators. Just
kidding (sort of).

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• If you have ten thousand subscribers, you can film at the YouTube
offices one day a month, free of charge.
• Determine the effectiveness of a piece of content by how much more
content it gets people to consume.
• Use AdSense to track which videos people view.
• Analyze your metrics by way of subscribers, watch time, and
follow-on views depending on your needs.
• Have a strong point of view in your content and on your channel.
• Stick to one topic or viewpoint on your channel.
• If your goal is to be a personality or a host, then the two-way
conversation with your fans is important.
• Be passionate and knowledgeable about your topic.
• Be the same but different in your approach to topics and content
creation style.
• Makeup tutorials, gaming channels, and family-friendly programs
reign supreme on YouTube.
• Use cues to encourage people to stay and watch your content.
• Feature your fans in your vlogs to gain their interest.
• Work hard, be flexible, and adapt as the platform changes.
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1
 “The Ultimate Girls Fail Compilation 2012,” YouTube video, 10:14, posted by FailArmy,
November 22, 2012, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gng3sPiJdzA
.
2
 YouTube Space, 
https://www.youtube.com/yt/space
.
3
 John Lynch, “A 6-Year-Old Boy Is Making $11 Million a Year on YouTube Reviewing Toys,”
Business Insider
, December 8, 2017, 
https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-a-6-year-old-boy-is-making-
11-million-a/f-3ff3f0cd46%2Fbusinessinsider.com
.

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