Now that social media platforms, especially Facebook are emphasizing video content, it’s essential for every business to use videos of all kinds to reach customers.
It’s easier than ever to make a video, but it’s also important to put thought into the techniques that will make your video stand out and hopefully even make it go viral.
Emotional Pull
- Uplifting emotion is best, but any strong emotion increases chances it’ll be shared
- Most resources/data suggest this is the most important/most common quality of a viral video
Humor
- Especially when the humor is part of a narrative in the video, it can allow the viewer to have a positive experience with the brand without it being in the forefront of their mind that they’re being marketed to (so they will pay more attention)
- Humor can be an all-or-nothing kind of situation, so be careful if you’re not confident in the humorous content
- Resource: https://conversionxl.com/blog/does-humor-convert/
- Humor does usually attract attention (it just might be the case that your video goes viral for an undesirable reason)
Relevance/Timeliness
- Consider spoofing a current event or referencing a meme that has recently been floating around the internet
- This will make it more likely for people to share the video
- This will also add to humor
Helpful Information/Is Practical & Useful
- Show your customers/potential customers a solution to a need/problem they might have that you can solve
- Brainstorm problems your potential viewers/customers might be having, and then brainstorm ways you could show in your video that your brand can solve those problems
- You can subtly promote your brand in a way that is valuable to the customer and allows them to think of you as a resource to use and share
Don’t Forget: Taking the time to properly edit and prepare your video for any type of sharing or hosting environment will be key if your video does go viral.
Uniqueness
- If the presentation and the product are unique, it’s more likely the video will be watched and shared
- This mostly relates to the presentation of the video; there is so much out there these days that a repetitive format is not going to help the video go viral
Grabs the attention of the viewer immediately
- Most people stop watching videos within the first 10 to 60 seconds, so be sure to stack the beginning of the video with the best info/funniest jokes/most unique content
- This is an ad, but it’s a good example of how to leave the product placement to the end, grabbing attention and evoking emotion/etc, immediately: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD2b8YbSUOI
- For purposes of encouraging sharing, consider adding a call to action (like “Share if you loved it!” at the end as a little bit of text) to the video
Quick Tips
- Keep in mind that viral videos and promotional videos are not the same thing. Consumers are going to be less likely to keep their attention on a video they feel is simply an ad. Do your best to keep the logo/branding/product placement to the end of the video, and in a logically expected way.
- Be authentic. What does your brand have to offer? What kind of energy/personality does it have? There is a uniqueness to your brand that can be presented in a way that allows customers to build a relationship with it, so plan the video with that as a goal.
- Make sure everything you do is done with the goal of the video being shared.
