It’s no secret that video marketing is popular and effective. A report by HubSpot Research revealed 54% of consumers prefer video content marketing over email or social content.
If that doesn’t convince you, consider the following. The HubSpot Research found video was 43% more memorable than text and images. It’s time to embrace video marketing if you want consumers to see and remember your business.
But how do you make a viral video? Let’s take a closer look at viral video marketing so you can plan your strategy.
What is a Viral Video?
The term “viral video” refers to the way a video is shared online. If the video spreads across the Internet through online sharing, it’s considered viral. The shares may occur on social media, email, blogs, etc.
Just a few years ago, a video that reached a million views was viral. Today, there’s a much larger audience online. More people consume online video. Now, a video is viral if it gets more than 5 million views in less than a week.
Types of Viral Videos
There are three kinds of viral videos. The first is unintentional. The others can be incorporated into a viral video marketing plan.
Accidental Viral Videos
An unintentional viral video is posted to share with friends. Someone made a single video, which grows into something big. It catches the attention of other people who share it across social media. Most popular videos on YouTube during its early days were accidental viral videos.
Humorous Viral Videos
Videos created to make people laugh often go viral. If a video is entertaining to enough people it will spread across the Internet. Humor is always a good element in a video. When a marketing video is funny people like and remember it.
Promotional Viral Videos
Professionals design marketing videos that promote a product or service to go viral. The goal is to increase brand awareness among the target audience. Promotional videos are for businesses, government, and non-profit causes.
Can Any Video Go Viral?
Nope. A video must be shareable to go viral. Yet, you can set your video up for success by following a few guidelines. Let’s dig into what helps a video campaign spread.
How to Make a Viral Video Marketing Campaign
There is no magic formula. But, there are essential elements you must include for your video campaign to go viral.
First of all, your videos should reveal:
- A Problem
- An Example of the Problem
- A Solution
Tell your audience you see their problem. Show them an example of the problem. Then, explain how your business solves the problem.
Keep It Visual
Your videos should always be visual. No one wants to read a video. Use appealing images to convey your message. Show people what you can do for them.
Almost all viral videos are visually appealing. Choose images carefully. They should match the quality and values of your brand. High-quality images are spreadable.
If you need to convey a written message, be creative. Make it interesting to watch. Add humor or a surprise for a better chance of sharing.
Make It Short
Plan your messages so they are clear and concise. The best viral marketing videos are 15 to 30 seconds long. If you have a multi-part message, don’t put it all in one video. Break the campaign into several shorter videos.
Save longer explainer videos for your website. In fact, include an invitation to watch the longer message in your marketing video.
Get Emotional
Most viral campaigns affect people’s emotions on some level. Information conveyed with emotion is memorable.
Your message can be funny and sentimental. Use joy, love, passion, pride, anger, concern, desire, or excitement. A video that touches people on an emotional level is more likely to go viral.
Make sure you understand what emotional triggers affect your target audience. What do they want from you? Are they looking for serious, funny or clever? Do they want to be entertained or saved?
Get to know your audience so you can craft a message that speaks to them.
Be Recognizable
Be consistent with brand images, colors, and format so consumers recognize your company. Each video may promote a different product or service, but your branding should stay on point. This builds recognition with potential customers.
Use a common intro or feature in all your video content marketing. Make it something unique to your business. It can be a logo, colors or music. Use it in all your videos and marketing pieces.
Don’t forget to include contact information. A memorable website address or phone number works best in a video.
Stay True to Your Mission
Don’t make a video to get popular. Create a meaningful message to convey your company values and mission. Every message you send — video or not — should reflect your purpose in an honest, open way.
Always show your customers how your business can help them solve a problem, or meet a need.
Keep Your Campaign Simple
Its vital that your video campaign isn’t complicated. If you try to send too much information to your audience, they’ll ignore it.
A series of short videos matched with appealing infographics are most likely to go viral. Your campaign has to be shareable. Keep your entire campaign to two or three coordinated messages.
Later, when you have a larger audience you can direct people to more information.
Launch Your Campaign
Once you plan your viral marketing campaign, it’s time to launch it. Consider where your audience is online. You need to know the best time and place to connect with them.
After you determine when and where you’ll reach out, post your videos. Encourage your followers to share the videos. If your video touches your audience, you can watch it go viral.
Follow your launch strategy, and remind your audience casually. You’ll know soon enough if it’s a hit. If it isn’t, don’t keep blasting it. If you overdo it, you may irritate your audience.
Ready to Make Your Viral Videos?
The goal of every viral marketing campaign is to increase exposure for your business. It’s also part of building and improving relationships.
Now that you’re ready to make a viral video, it’s time to contact Epic Video Factory. Our custom video designers can guide you through every stage of video production.
Visit Epic Video Factory today to get started. We’ll show you how to increase your chances of going viral with a visually appealing video.