Viral videos are videos that become popular (of at least 100,000 views), when a large number of people share it on the Internet by means of social media, video sharing websites, instant messages, email…
Clients working with us like the idea that a video promoting their company will ‘go viral’ and be seen by hundreds and thousands of people, but they don’t realize that there is no recipe for creating a viral video.
That being said, a video is never guaranteed to go viral, but there are definitely things you can do to up your chances of maximizing views on your video.
So here are some of the factors that can affect a video, and cause it to go viral.
1. Content
Content is the most important thing to make a video go viral. If the content of your video is memorable, people might share it in their circles and even talk about it.
Whatever style or type your video is, the content of the video must be good, and it should arouse interest among the viewers. Ensure your content is targeted, informative, authentic, attractive, easy to understand, sometimes funny and of course not long.
2. Universal appeal
If you want to make your video go viral and be viewed around the world, it’s important not to limit yourself with cultural references. Try to tell universal stories that will appeal to international crowds.
So your video must contain universally felt emotions or situations that can be related to and interpreted the same way across millions of people, regardless of their age, ethnicity, or culture.
3. Element of Surprise or unexpectedness
People are tired of seeing the same things every day. A surprise is a nice, refreshing change of pace to all that monotonous content. In addition, our brains are wired to pay close attention to anything that violates our expectations, so you can make your video stand out but doing something in a surprisingly different way… An intentionally surprising video increases its chance of being shared.
4. Call to Action
Using some form of ‘Call to Action’ within your video will encourage the audience to share the videos with their circle and turn them viral. So always try to give a clear—and simple—call to action that will allow the masses to participate and help spread your video around.
5. Originality
Boring videos don’t go viral. One thing that all viral videos have in common is that they are different — they stand out from the crowd. Originality is one of the key factors of shareability, and shareability is what really makes videos go viral. To put it simply, your video needs to be unique enough to start a conversation, and should do something to distinguish itself from all other videos. YOU HAVE TO BE ORIGINAL.
6. Shock value | WOW factor
Most videos that go viral have some kind of shocking WOW factor. Get out of your comfort zone and do something amazing that impresses the viewers. Make the video shocking and relevant without crossing a line that may offend the customers you want to attract.
7. Promotion
Statistically speaking, very few videos actually go viral. Some don’t get a lot of views simply because they are bad videos. But some high-quality, compelling videos fail because they are not being properly promoted.
Thus you should make sure to promote your video everywhere in order to get as many eyes on it as possible. Distribution channels should include social media, blogs, email
8. High quality production
As a business owner, the video needs to represent your brand and its image. Therefore it is important to work with people who understand the world of video marketing and have track records of success. And here comes the choice of a professional video production company that will produce a neat and high quality video for your business.
Conclusion
Having a piece of content go viral is like winning the Internet’s version of the lottery. But with thousands and even millions of videos published online, no one knows what will go viral and what won’t.
So the worst thing you can do is set out to make the next viral video, because that will take your concentration away from your real message. Instead, you should concentrate on making the best video you possibly can — focus on the factors mentioned above, and with a bit of luck, your video may just go viral.
P.S. None of these guarantee a viral video but it can give you some insight.
So why not contact us and let’s create engaging content, tell stories, and craft immersive videos for your business, and who knows? They might go viral!