Exactly how do we make a video campaign go viral? Creating viral videos is included in every millennial’s bucket list and every brand’s goal. You know you that having at least one viral video can open up doors of possibilities for your future career. Read on to know about things you need to do to make your campaign go viral.
Ride on trending topics.
If you’re having a hard time coming up with original ideas, make life easier by riding on trending topics. All you need to do is to browse your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites for inspiration. If there are no currently trending topics, simply bank on special events or current occasions like national elections, regular holidays like Valentine’s Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day and so forth. Then add your own personal twist to it –it could be funny, serious, pro, against, using special props, going au naturelle or whatever you want it to be, just be sure to inject your own personal touch or a character that is distinctly you –it could be your laugh, your expressions, your humour, your aversion to certain issues, etc. You can also explore and try to make a trademark that is solely yours.
Make it simple.
You don’t have to own an expensive state-of-the-art video recording equipment to be able to create really effective viral video campaigns. In fact, most viral videos created today are just filmed using regular smartphones by everyday people who happened to be at the right place at the right time capturing spontaneous moments of a loved one or creating something in a flash of inspiration much like the Chewbacca mom video.
Stir up emotions.
An element all viral videos have in common is their ability to touch the emotions or gain powerful reactions from its audience. Varying from empathy, love, curiosity, sadness, envy, disgust, shock, anger and surprise, your viral video can be a hit as long as it stirs something in your audience. So create a video out of something most of them can relate to like falling in love or going through a rejection or incite a powerful reaction by reporting about an injustice, surprising them when they least expect it, amazing them with a special skill, or sharing something new they’d be glad to know like interesting trivia or teaching them a lifehack.
Here are some common examples of viral videos that stirs up emotions:
A cause you believe in.
- When you are passionate about a certain cause, it inspires people to follow and sometimes even influences those from a different belief/ideology. So go and find a cause you believe in and think of creative ways on how you can raise money or make a difference in what you believe in. You don’t have to stick to traditional causes… think Amber Rose’s SlutWalk. A surprise for someone.
A surprise for someone.
- Planning a surprise for someone such as a surprise marriage proposal, surprise visit or reunion iis always a happy event for everyone not just those concerned but for everyone who witnessed it too. However, if you don’t have the knack for planning grand surprises that are worthy of a thousand clicks, you can do the next best thing which is to stage a surprise or have a scripted surprise. Just make sure that the person who will be surprised in the video is a really good actor.
Something taboo
- There is an irresistible appeal that comes with forbidden things which is why hidden camera footages are so popular. Go for a hidden surveillance feel and make your audience believe that what you are capturing is actually forbidden for that exciting dangerous let-me-in-on-the-secret feel.
Something funny
- If you are the kind of person who always cracks up friends and even strangers in parties, this may be your cue to start making videos capitalizing on your ability to make people laugh. You could just go and be yourself, making commentaries about regular topics as if talking to your friends or if you’re a good impersonator, you can make parodies of trending topics and current headlines in the news. If this is not your style either, look around you for inspiration and be ready to shoot ‘cause there are some day-to-day interactions among people in our backgrounds that can actually be humorous once caught on video. It could be your sister’s toddler, or your grandma interacting with a millennial or your dogs acting naughty or you being awkward with a person you’ve just met or just about everything.
Something controversial
- It’s inherent human nature to gossip and listen in on private conversations or fights taking place in public. So try to come up with a script that will involve a public scandal, a love triangle or someone losing their temper in public. It attracts people like flies to a corpse.
Make it short
- The best things in life are short and sweet. So make a video that’s as simple as possible and keeping in mind the average audience’s short attention span, keep it short. The best viral videos usually run from half a minute up to three minutes in length as anything longer than that may not sustain the target market’s interest.
Know what your target audience wants.
- The best way to know what will click and be viral is by feeling, acting and listening like your target audience. Get to know your audience and find out what it is they’re looking for by observing them closely. Once you know what trends and way of living they are practicing or aspiring to be, it will be so much easier to plan a video that will go viral because it’s developed in consideration of most of these people’s needs.
Promote your video
- Last but not least, be proud of your hard work and share your video to everyone. No one will know about your amazing video unless you promote it on every channel. Indeed, using social media to increase website traffic is still one of the best ways to promote a video until it goes viral. Come up with a really good subject so that they won’t be able to resist clicking on your video’s link. Apart from sharing it on your social media accounts, it is also advisable to be direct in your promotion by sending the video to everyone in your friend list and asking these people to share it and send it to friends and family as well.
We hope that these tips inspire you to create a video that will go viral in the near future. If not, fear not, just keep on trying until you make it! The right timing can also be a key to success.
Ryan is a Digital Marketing Specialist at the Bradford based Digital Agency Harrison Mann. Being in the digital marketing field for 7 years now, he enjoys keeping up to date with the latest in all things digital and search. As a silent type, Ryan expresses plenty of his thoughts through writing.