Regardless of which industry your business presides in, you have probably wondered how exactly is it that you can get the content you produce to go viral.
After all, producing viral video content is one sure shot way to make your business go viral, right? Everybody knows it and wonder how to actually go about it.
You will see plenty of small startups that had nothing significant going on for them until they produced video content that exploded on the internet and their businesses have become viral.
When it comes to going viral, videos are the most likely way to really get you there. Mostly, there is the factor of luck that decides whether or not a video goes viral.
But that does not mean you cannot do anything to improve the chances of your video content to go viral. Here are a few tips and tricks that can help you make more shareable content that your audience might just fall in love with.
What is Viral Marketing Through the Internet?
By definition, the term viral refers to content that becomes self replicating in the context of content on the internet.
That means if the content is seen by someone and is shared and the process keeps repeating itself as more people view the content.
How Does Viral Marketing Work?
In essence, viral marketing really harnesses the full potential of the internet. It manages to deliver marketing messages across the internet to people.
It works if the marketing message is something shareable and people are likely to share the content (replicate it). Once that process takes off, the content becomes more and more popular all over the internet and subsequently all over the world.
How Do Videos Become Viral?
There’s no formula that can determine exactly what it is that can go viral. It can be anything that people can find online, instantly relate to and want the people that they know to see it as well. Viral marketing focuses on the aspect of shareability with the hope that people will start sharing the content and mass promote the content that they have produced.
Creating Your Video
As random as it might seem how videos tend to become viral on the internet, there are factors which you can focus on in order to increase the chances of your content becoming viral.
Make Shareable Content Focused On the Story, Not The Product
From a video of pandas being the silly but cute creatures they are to a video that contains a strong message that’s supporting a relevant cause, you should focus on making a video that contains an element which makes people want to share the content with the people they know.
There is a lot of content floating around on the internet focused on sales that does little more than annoy potential customers. You do not want your brand to be like them.
You want your videos to attract potential customers to engage with your brand, not repel them. That’s why the content that you should produce has to have more focus on the story rather than being a sales pitch through and through.
Just like with written content (such as this), the content you put forth should have value for the people consuming the content. Make your content more desirable for consumption by centering it around what the viewers will be interested in.
You can add a subtle call to action towards the end to ensure leads for sales. This example of the Super Bowl Ad by Budweiser really shows how to reach out to the customers and reel them in with a focus on the story.
Make the Most of the Fist 10 Seconds
The majority of people tend to click away from a video after 10 seconds if they do not find he content engaging. That’s why your video should really capture the viewer’s attention within the first 5 to 10 seconds.
Try fueling their curiosity and teasing them right away so that they find it hard to click away from the video and want to view the whole thing.
Your video should immediately put across the message that you’re trying to convey to your viewers and keep them hooked. This ad by Nike is a prime example for an ad that makes the best use of the first few seconds to reel the viewers in and make them want to watch the whole thing.
Viral Content Shouldn’t Be Boring
The worst thing that you can do, as far as video content is concerned, is to make the video boring. If a video is nothing more than a sales pitch or is monotonous, it’s not likely to go viral. You want your audience to really feel something when they watch the video.
The video content that they watch should be something that takes them out of their normal boring routines and provides them with something entertaining.
Content can be interesting and still manage to convey the message of a brand as well. Check out this video by Dollar Shave Club.
The small startup blew up and became more successful than Gillette, the one company that had the longest standing domination in the shaving industry supplies of all kinds.
All they did was produce content like this that made them go viral. From being a small startup, they now hold more shares of the market than Gillette.
Optimize Your Videos for Search
Just making good videos that are shareable and have the likelihood to go viral isn’t enough. You want to make sure that the video is seen in the first place.
There are plenty of ways you can make your videos easier to find on the various search engines online.
- Title Optimization
- Thumbnail Optimization
- Creating Video sitemaps and registering it with search engines
- Well crafted video descriptions with all the right key words which will ensure more traffic and convey the message you’re trying to put forth in the video.
A Few Last Words
Remember that the video content has to focus more on strengthening your brand’s online presence. Making more money is a secondary objective.
If your brand’s able to maintain a good online presence because of the videos, the money will come.
You’re trying to make videos that will reach out to the masses. Make sure that the content, however funny, serious or silly is relevant to your brand’s image. Everything you put out there will reflect your brand.
Video content marketing is an effective way to make your business become viral. Follow these tips and you will see the results for yourself!
