What makes one video go viral above another? How can you make sure you video stands a chance of being seen on the world wide web? With over 100 hours of video uploaded onto YouTube per minute and the success of your content becoming increasingly decided by the audience, the idea of turning your video viral can seem a daunting task and potentially fruitless. But never fear! Whilst there is no 100% guarantee that your video will be a hit, there are several tips and tricks you can employ to increase your chances & have your video seen by the ‘right’ people.
Step 1: Create Something Worth Sharing
Starting with the basics, the content of your video has to be good enough to encourage viewers to share it among themselves. To do this, your target audience should be at the heart of your campaign and your content should revolve around their needs and interests rather than those of your product or services.
Past successful campaigns have shared several commonalities. They have delivered an element of humour, surprise or shock – often with little relevance to their product or brand. Things like T-Mobile’s Flash Mobs and the Old Spice Guy commercials have all tapped into one of those three emotions and have all gone on to generate millions of views and shares.
Equally valuable is the perception of your video. The information we share on social media increasingly defines who we are to those viewing it – or at least how we want to be seen. In order to influence video sharing, it’s important to ask yourself: ‘When a user shares this video, what are they saying about themselves?’
A mistake many marketers make is by trying to overcomplicate their content by cramming in too much information or overselling. In some cases, video might not be the best format for getting people to buy your products, but rather helping familiarise an audience with your brand.
Step 2: Maximise the Video’s SEO
It may seem obvious, but before it can be shared, your video needs to be found. Whatever video sharing site you choose – YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe – making the video easy to find is crucial in maximising video views. As YouTube is by far the most popular video sharing platform as well as the second largest search engine, it’s potential reach is massive. There are three particularly important areas you need to consider when filling out the video’s meta-date, these are; the title, description and tags of your video. Filling this information out tactically can drastically boost the search rankings of your content.
Step 3: Distribute Wisely
Just as your video won’t go viral without great content, it won’t happen without a bit of a push either. It is really worth investing time and money in a solid distribution strategy, and you should really try and allocate an equal amount of money for distribution as you do the content.
Make sure to maximise your existing channels. This includes your website, blog, YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter etc. You may already have enough followers to start the viral ball rolling, and marketing on these platforms can really give a significant boost to your videos views and shares.
Don’t be afraid to approach significant sites and players in your respective field. Popular bloggers et al will offer access to a wider, relevant audience of people who otherwise may not have come across your brand. Placing content in front of well-known, influential people is a potentially powerful form of seeding. It may cost you, but can ultimately help in your push to go viral.
Above all, when trying to create viral content – above all – you need to keep your fingers crossed. Even with the greatest content and the strongest strategies, the most successful video campaigns tend to have luck on their side too. Just one person coming across your video can make all the difference – so don’t lose hope and good luck!
Madeleine Hammond is a Marketing Executive at Skeleton Productions, a UK based video production company.