Making Your Video Go Viral

By Erin Quinlan

It seems like every day, one of the business owners we work with, or one of the prospects who wants to work with us, says they want a viral video.

Sure, who doesn’t? But just because you want a video to go viral won’t mean that it will.

You need some of the key components to the creation of something that people actually care about.

These components include, is it easy to do, is it fun, and do people care? Is it engaging, relevant, or unique? If the answer is no, you probably won’t get your video to go viral.

To help get your video to go viral, you want to tell a good story. No matter what you’re selling, the story should matter more than the product. If you have a compelling narrative, it doesn’t really matter if you’ve mentioned what you’re selling. People don’t want to share a video that explains the merit of one brand over another.

You will need to kick your video off with a bang. You need to capture the viewer’s attention within the first five seconds. This can be achieved through music, dramatic intros, or action sequences.

Once you have their attention, you have to keep them interested. Make them laugh, smile, or cry – or they will become bored and won’t be engaged.

You can also surprise – but not shock – your audience. In order to go viral a video needs to be shared, and people aren’t going to share something that is too explicit or graphic.

Once you have your video done, make sure that it is place in front of key influencers. To go viral, it needs to be put in front of the right people.

The first 24 hours of a video’s life are critical. If nobody interacts with it in this timeframe, it’s going to struggle. YouTube monitors how many times a video has been interacted with – likes, comments, shares, completed views etc., during the first 24 hours. If it’s enough according to the algorithm, the video is promoted to its country/language YouTube chart, which dramatically increases the video’s chance of going viral. 

Views are important, but for a video to go viral, it is essential that people share it. If it is shared on social media, more people will become aware of your video than if it just has many views on YouTube. Sharing is the true way of making your video go viral.

Need some help with your videos?

Give The Silent Partner Marketing a call at 866-432-6456 or e-mail Kyle Reyes at kyle@thesilentpartnermarketing.com and we can help you out.

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Erin Quinlan is the Content Marketing Manager of The Silent Partner Marketing, a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology. You can find The Silent Partner Marketing on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.