The Truth About Viral Videos
Social Media
In the videography industry, it’s not uncommon to have clients who want to produce viral videos. Many people think that if you follow some defined steps and get help from videography professionals, you can essentially guarantee a viral video hit.
But here’s the hard truth: creating a viral video is much like winning the Internet lottery. There is no secret formula or recipe for making a video go viral. If there was such a thing, then businesses and brands across the web would be churning out viral videos left and right.
The fact is, most viral video sensations arise from some combination of hard work, lucky breaks, and timing. And most of those things can’t be planned or created intentionally.
The good news? You don’t have to create a viral video to benefit your business. The reason viral videos go viral in the first place is that they’re highly shareable. And highly shareable video content is something you can create intentionally.
Making your video go viral should never be your goal because viral videos are practically impossible to predict. Your goal should be to produce highly shareable video content that will lead new customers to your business and increase conversions.
We’re here to share some tips on creating valuable, shareable video content that can give your business a boost — even if it doesn’t go viral.
Did you know that the average human attention span is now only 8 seconds (shorter than a goldfish’s)? This insanely short attention span comes into play big-time on social media. A New York Times survey found that 19.4% of viewers will abandon an online video after only 10 seconds. After 60 seconds, that number leaps up to a staggering 44.1%.
So what can we learn from this about producing video content (especially video content that’s intended to be widely shared)? Keep it short and to-the-point. Viral videos are almost always very short because the creators know their audience. You can’t expect people to defy their own natures to watch your video.
Viral videos always elicit some kind of emotion from their audience. They can be tear-jerking, expose an injustice, play on some controversy… but, more often than not, they’re funny. The fact is, people are more likely to re-share content that’s funny or inspiring. If you want your videos to spread, try to stick with an upbeat tone.
If you want your followers to watch and share your video, then you need to make your video valuable in some way. Keep in mind that there are different ways to provide value to your audience. Depending on your business, providing value to your audience may look like giving them a how-to or educating them on a product hack or simply offering some entertainment. Whatever is valuable to your audience, provide it to them. And provide it without giving them the hard sell — obvious sales tactics are a surefire way to not get your video shared.
Nobody likes to waste their time. If viewers can’t tell what your video is going to be about before they watch it, then they’re probably not going to. That’s why viral videos always set correct expectations ahead of time by using powerful headlines and supporting copy.
Every highly shareable video needs a click-worthy headline. Now, let’s be clear… that doesn’t mean you need to use a clickbait headline. That’s an important distinction. You want your video’s headline to tread that thin line between providing clarity and arousing curiosity. The copy is where you can provide more information that will set even clearer expectations for your audience.
Oftentimes, businesses that want to create viral videos will publish a video, realize after a day or so that it’s not going viral, and then stop looking at it altogether. This is a problem for two reasons. First, one of the keys to having a video be widely shared is the engagement factor. When a business is responding to comments from viewers and actively engaging with its audience, it can generate interest and lead to more shares.
Second, if you don’t pay attention to your audience’s reaction to this video, then you’re lowering your chances even further of producing a viral video in the future. The key to creating highly shareable videos is knowing your audience’s expectations and exceeding them. Once you’ve published a video, even if it doesn’t go viral, studying the statistics and analytics from that video is a vital step towards creating more powerful videos in the future.
Studio Nine 13 is all about getting to the heart of your story and telling it in a way that’s compelling and actionable. For more information about our services or to get a free proposal, contact us today!
