Nothing goes viral on the internet like a video. Whether it’s a laughing puppy or a singing cat, viral videos have an underlying characteristic of being relatable and connection-worthy. Or they are simply funny and goofy. Social media plays the biggest part in promoting these videos even further. But, what actually makes a video go viral?
Content creators, since the advent of Myspace many moons ago, have put in a lot of work, effort and number of hours in trying to find a formula for a viral video. Some of them have chanced upon an X- factor that gives their video an extra push, but largely, creators have only used the trial-and-error method to generate viral content.
No matter what your business type is, you might have wondered about going viral with your content. Isn’t it? It’s actually quite normal for every marketer and even non-marketer to turn the table for the company with viral posts. There are many companies that have changed their fortune and blew wind in their favor, after they went viral with some of their content and turned from a small start-up to a big one.
Data confirms that people click 27 times more on a video than on a regular banner ad or another form of digital advertising. However, in the quest of the ultimate viral treasure, there are some reminders that you need to keep an eye on. Do not make a video for the sole purpose of making it go viral. That never works. You also end up imitating someone else’s work that contains little to no originality and falls flat on its face. Instead, focus on creating original and out-of-the-box content using the top technology and professional help. You’ll see the improvement in shares almost instantly.
Anyone who tells you they can make your video go viral, especially if you pay them, is a scam. There’s no formula for it. Only variables. Optimization of those variables give you the highest probability of getting a viral video on your hands. Once you get the hang of this optimization, you will start noticing that your content as well as your publicity are done with little to no extra effort!
Let’s dive in and see what can be optimized to make your video a viral video!
1. Establish Ideal Duration
Now the question that arises is how long a video should be? Considering the prime factor of less attention span of online visitors, video under 2-3 minutes perform exceptionally well and see the best engagement rate (likes, shares, comments, mentions etc.)
You have to learn the skills of telling a story within 10 seconds and have to build a platform to stretch to more significant form videos.
2. Be Persistent
The audience these days is getting more and more fickle as the information on the internet tends to overwhelm people. Even in this overload of information, people tend to find patterns and familiarity. Your content should not be a one-time wonder, and the best way to avoid that is to be persistent with their content. Most of the viral videos have creators who have been posting content weekly or twice in a week for several months before they saw any success. Even after their video goes viral, they keep the continuum going and consistently put up more innovative ideas.
3. Stay Up-to-Date
Your content should never go stale. It means that you need to keep up with the current events, lingo and trends to churn something which will relate to the majority of the viewers. These days memes and picture doodles are very much in vogue. People are also extremely fond of short videos and compilations. Gifs are also hot fads on most of the social media sites.
4. Engage Your Viewers
Most brands fail in video marketing, when they start preaching, rather than influencing by telling a story akin to viewers’ thoughts and life. Remember to create a dialogue- reply to comments and queries; do not ignore feedback from the viewers.
For instance, if you are a digital agency, you can simply make some videos on tips and tricks to secure the website or videos on the latest features in the market. It will build your authority in the market as a platform to rely on the best industry-based information. If you, however, keep making videos on your supremacy in the web development field and what you did with clients’ work, you might see a lot less engagement and will a massive drop in your video views.
5. Market Your Content Extensively
There are many platforms available currently to post your videos. However, you can’t expect a video made for Instagram users to perform well on Twitter or Facebook. There’s a difference in the users’ nature, and that’s the reason for their presence on different platforms. The best way is to team with another website that promotes your videos on their social media accounts or website by giving you proper credit in the description.
Encourage viewers to rate, comment or subscribe to your video channel. When you build a larger audience through video content, your future videos find their way easily to get viral. You should also use a call to action on each page to increase conversion rates.
6. Emotional Investment
The videos that go viral have this one underlying element that binds them- emotional relatability. Your content should make people emotionally invested in it. If your content is funny, or inspiring; optimistic, or motivational; or even if it tells a story for giving information about your business, the video will garner more fame than average. Some folks tend to collect negative publicity unintentionally. Be careful about the message you are sending out through your content.
Study smart examples of famous video marketing creators like BuzzFeed and Filter Copy to see their unique content and how it connects with you. Make people feel good about themselves or help them be better.
Sometimes, the best-looking videos fail to see the dawn of the day. Sometimes, the videos that look useless go viral. Sometimes, it comes down to luck factor. You can, however, do a certain thing to bring luck to your side. You have to learn the trade to do it and understand how things work in the video content domain.