As a digital nomad, you know the importance of creating online content that can go viral. After all, you need to attract attention to build your brand and sell your products or services. In this article, we will discuss some tips for creating a viral video. Keep these tips in mind when planning your next video marketing campaign!
What makes a video go viral?
There is no surefire answer to this question, but some factors seem to increase the chances of a video going viral. These include:
- Emotion: Videos that evoke strong emotions are more successful at going viral. This could be anything from laughter to anger to sadness.
- Shareability: An excellent viral video is easy to share with others. This means it should be short, entertaining, and visually appealing.
- Relatability: People are likelier to share a video if they can relate to it somehow. This could be because it features people like them or addresses a problem they’re facing.
- Timing: A video is more likely to go viral if released at the right time. This could be timed to coincide with a current event or trend or be when people are most active on social media.
- Luck: Sometimes, a video goes viral simply because it’s lucky enough to catch people’s attention at the right moment.
How to make your video more likely to go viral
While there’s no guarantee that your video will go viral, there are some things you can do to increase the chances of it being shared. These include:
- Studying the platform’s algorithm: To get your video seen by more people, you need to understand how the platform’s algorithm works. For example, on YouTube, videos are more likely to be recommended if they’re watched all the way through. On Facebook, videos are more likely to be shared if they’re under three minutes long and generate a lot of likes and comments.
- Posting at the right time: Timing is everything when it comes to social media. You’ll need to experiment to determine when your target audience is most active on each platform. Once you know this, you can ensure that your videos are posted when they’re most likely to be seen.
- Using influencers: Influencers have a large social media following and can help promote your video to their audience. If you can get an influencer with a large following in your niche to promote your video, there’s a good chance it will be seen by many people and potentially go viral.
- Asking for shares: While it may seem counterintuitive, asking people to share your video can increase the chances of it being shared. This is because you’re giving people a specific call to action and reminding them that they can share your content. Just be sure not to overdo it, as too much self-promotion can be off-putting.
- Creating a thumbnail: The thumbnail is the first thing people see when they come across your video. As such, it’s essential to make it attention-grabbing and visually appealing. Some tricks you can use include using bright colors, including a human face in the thumbnail, and showing a highly expressive emotion.
- Pushing out as much content as possible: The more content you create, the more chances you have of one of your videos going viral. While this doesn’t mean you should sacrifice quality for quantity, it’s important to remember that the more videos you have, the greater the chance that one of them will take off. In addition, the data you collect from your non-viral videos can be used to improve the chances of your future videos going viral.
Editing and post-production tips for creating a viral video
Once you’ve filmed your video, it’s time to start thinking about post-production. This is where you’ll edit your footage and add any special effects or graphics. Here are some tips for editing and post-producing your video:
- Make sure your first 3 seconds are attention-grabbing: The first few seconds of your video are crucial. This is when you need to hook your viewers and make them want to keep watching.
- Cut out any unnecessary footage: Once you’ve filmed your video, you’ll likely have a lot of footage that’s not necessary for the final product. Cut out any extra footage, so your video is concise and to the point.
- Add sound effects when necessary: Sound effects can help emphasize specific points in your video. However, don’t overdo it, as this can be off-putting for viewers.
- Add graphics and special effects sparingly: Special effects and graphics can help to make your video more visually appealing. However, too many of these can be distracting and take away from the overall message of your video.
- Ensure your audio is clear: Poor audio quality will make your video seem amateurish and turn viewers off. Make sure that you have a good microphone and that there’s no background noise in your footage.
- Add subtitles: Adding subtitles can help to engage viewers who are watching without sound. This is especially important if you’re posting on platforms like Facebook, where videos are often watched with the sound off.
- Create a catchy title: The title of your video is what will appear in people’s feeds when they come across it. As such, you need to make sure that it’s attention-grabbing and accurately reflects the content of your video.
- Optimize for mobile: More and more people are watching videos on their smartphones. You must ensure that your video is optimized for mobile viewing. This means keeping the file size small, using an appropriate aspect ratio, and ensuring that the visuals are clear and easy to see on a smaller screen.
- Include a call to action: A call to action is a statement or question that encourages people to do something, such as share your video. Including a call to action at the end of your video can increase the chances of sharing it.
Marketing your viral video successfully
Once you’ve created your viral video, it’s time to start marketing it. Here are some tips for marketing your video:
- Join relevant online communities: There are likely online communities related to your niche or topic. Joining these communities and actively participating in them can help to get your video in front of a relevant audience.
- Share on social media: Social media is a great way to get your video in front of many people. Make sure to share your video on all relevant social media platforms, such as Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Embed your video on your website: If you have a website or blog, embedding your video on it can help to increase views. When embedding the video, add an attention-grabbing headline and description.
- Email your list: If you have an email list, send out an email blast letting your subscribers know about your new video. Include a link to the video in the email so people can easily view it.
- Use keywords: Keywords can help to ensure that your video appears in search results. When choosing keywords, consider what terms people might use when searching for a video like yours, or use tools like SEMRush or google trends to extract popular queries.
Tracking the success of your viral video campaign
It’s essential to track the success of your viral video campaign so that you can adjust your strategy as needed. Here are some metrics that you should track and how you can optimize your videos based on them:
- Views: Your video’s number of views is a good indicator of its overall reach. If you’re not getting as many views as you’d like, consider adjusting the type of content you create.
- Watch time: The average watch time is the amount of time people watch your video. This metric can give you an idea of how engaging your video is. If people are only watching for a few seconds, likely, they’re not finding your video interesting. Try to make your videos more engaging by including a hook or exciting information within the first 30 seconds of your video.
- Shares: The number of times your video has been shared is a good indicator of its virality. If you want your video to be shared more, focus on making it more shareable. This can include adding a catchy title and subtitles and a call to action at the end of the video.
- Comments: The number of comments your video has received can give you insights into how engaging it is. If you do not see many comments, try to engage your audience by speaking to them in the video and asking questions.
- Subscribers: The number of new subscribers you gain from your video campaign is a good indicator of its overall success. If you’re not seeing a lot of new subscribers, consider making your videos more targeted and relevant to your niche.
- Sales: The number of sales you generate from your video campaign is the ultimate metric for success. If you do not see a lot of sales, consider making your videos from a value perspective. Think about how you can deliver your viewers the most value possible without being salesy. If your audience finds your content helpful, they will likely buy from you.
Final thoughts
Creating a viral video is no easy feat, but it’s possible with the right strategy. By following the tips in this post, you’ll be well on your way to creating a video that will reach a large audience and generate plenty of buzz. Good luck!
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