Creating videos is a joy for many creators, and making them go viral is everyone's dream and ultimate goal. It's the kind of achievement you can showcase on your website and brag about to friends or competitors.
In the age of popular social media, the ability to make a "deal" (in this context, "deal" typically refers to "video") spread quickly can significantly boost brand awareness and influence. Whether you're promoting a product, launching a service, or running a special promotion, making your video go viral is essential. This article will explore effective strategies to help your video gain attention and spread rapidly, especially through the power of social media.
Going viral isn't magic, it's not just luck, and it's certainly not random. There are objective reasons why some videos spread quickly while others fade into obscurity. So, what is the essence of going viral? At its core, it's a combination of psychology, social behavior, and strategic timing. Let's uncover the secrets behind it.
"Go viral" is a method of information dissemination where content spreads among people like a virus, growing at an exponential rate. Going viral typically refers to a video (or sometimes a picture or story) rapidly spreading across the internet. In most cases, viral spread occurs through social media platforms. The content that goes viral can be relevant, taboo-breaking, myth-busting, or just downright bizarre-if it resonates with people and motivates them to share it, it has the potential to go viral.
The speed at which something can go viral is incredibly fast. Take popular online videos as an example: once a video starts going viral, its views can skyrocket in a short period of time-sometimes within hours or even minutes. For instance, a funny pet video or a creative ad might initially be shared by just a few people, but due to its appealing content, those people share it with their friends, who then share it with their friends, and so on. Like a snowball effect, it can rapidly spread across social networks, often reaching an audience far beyond what traditional marketing methods could achieve.
Going viral is an ideal mode of distribution because it can achieve massive exposure and impact at a relatively low cost. However, making something go viral is not easy-it requires the content itself to have unique appeal, topical relevance, emotional value, or other compelling factors.
A viral video refers to a video that spreads across different platforms through online sharing. Through rapid sharing, a viral video can gain millions (or even billions) of views in just a few days. Viral videos typically have the following key characteristics:
In this age of content overload, our attention spans have significantly shortened. We enjoy watching videos, but long videos tend to bore us. Naturally, we are more inclined to quickly click on a one-minute video and continue scrolling. This partly explains the success of platforms like TikTok, which focus on short explainer videos. Studies show that 60-second videos can retain 60% of viewers, while 30-second videos can retain about 80% on average. When we turn to social media, the optimal length shortens even further, to between 18 and 26 seconds.
Viral videos are always short and focused on a single theme. They could be quick dance videos, baking tutorials, makeup tips, and so on. They are always concise and easy to understand.
Viral videos don't necessarily have to teach or educate viewers, nor do they need to provide the most valuable information. The key is that they captivate and resonate with the audience. This is where storytelling comes into play. Storytelling allows you to organize ideas, music, and visuals into a coherent video. Even if it's not a verbal story, you still have the opportunity to connect with people emotionally. Viewers can embark on an emotional, psychological journey, which helps them understand what you're trying to convey.
Emotions are what make people like a video and want to share it with friends. This is a major factor in what makes a video go viral. Viral videos either spark laughter, create a "wow" effect, or repeatedly deliver that "wow!" moment. They always inspire or motivate viewers, taking them on an emotional rollercoaster, making them want to return and watch the video over and over again. There's a reason why cat videos, heartwarming reunions, and outrage-inducing news clips often go viral-they make us feel something, and they make us feel deeply.
Research from the University of Pennsylvania found that videos that trigger highly arousing emotions-whether awe, anger, joy, or surprise-are shared more often. People don't share content because it's informative; they share it because it makes them feel something.
The title is the first thing people notice about your video, so you need to find a way to make it seem worth clicking on. When crafting your title, aim for a perfect blend of clarity, curiosity, and emotional impact. If you can achieve this balance, you'll create the ideal title.
Your title should be understandable to both viewers and the platform's search algorithm. This requires some keyword research. You should identify the most clicked-on keywords related to your video content and incorporate them into your title accordingly.
Dove's video has garnered over 69 million views on YouTube. As a brand that appeals to people who care about their appearance, Dove's title sends a strong and clear message, compelling people to click immediately. We all care about how we are perceived by others, which is why Dove's title resonates so well. The title also hints at a motivational element, contributing to its success.
Unless your video resonates emotionally with the audience, it will never become a viral hit. Your video won't go viral just because you have the best product or software. Instead, it will go viral because of the story you tell and the emotions it evokes in viewers. In other words, your video will achieve viral success because it triggers some kind of emotional response in the audience-maybe it makes them happy, sad, inspired, and so on.
For example, amateur dancer Karen X Cheng's dance video has garnered over 1.2 million views on YouTubee. Her dance moves weren't the best, nor were the visuals. It became popular because the video told the story of an ordinary girl improving her dancing over the course of a year through practice and perseverance. This made the video more relatable and emotionally engaging for viewers.
You need to ensure that your video brings value to the audience. The value you provide in the video will determine whether it gets shared or ultimately ignored like another random video. What you really want to do is focus the video on the audience rather than on yourself. For example, you could concentrate on how the product alleviates specific pain points that potential customers may face, rather than emphasizing how great the product is. This is the attitude you want to cultivate in your video.
If people don't see how your business or service can genuinely help them, they won't be interested in it. The same goes for your video. People need to recognize the value of your video first before sharing it with friends.
Your videos won't automatically go viral. There's no algorithm that will choose a video that no one has ever watched. In other words, no video will become an overnight sensation. You need to develop a video distribution strategy to ensure that as many people as possible see it.
When posting videos on popular social platforms, you should aim for the times when your videos are most likely to be viewed. It's essential to fully understand your audience's engagement patterns to find the "best times" to post. To do this, you need to analyze the optimal times for posting videos on each social media platform and take appropriate action.
Each social platform has its own unique ecosystem. Twitter thrives on wit and immediacy, TikTok flourishes with creativity and trends, and LinkedIn prefers a blend of professional insights and personal stories. Understanding where your audience is and how they engage on each platform is key to gaining attention. Posting when your audience is most active, using the right hashtags, and even collaborating with influencers who already attract your audience can make a significant difference.
Properly set video tags will determine who the video platform recommends your video to, or whether it gets recommended at all. You need to conduct thorough keyword research to find relevant keywords for your video and add them to your tags. Additionally, you can explore unique words or phrases that people might use to search for videos. Doing this will help match your video with relevant searches, making it easier for your video to gain attention.
When your video starts to gain traction and people share it through various channels, the thumbnail is what others will see first. Therefore, it needs to be eye-catching to achieve results. Here are some tips to make your thumbnail perfect:
o Quickly grab attention
o Be visually appealing
o Represent the video's content and purpose
o Maintain consistency with your video style
Your video should focus on just one idea, and you need to captivate your audience so they watch and enjoy it from start to finish. Keep in mind that videos that are most likely to go viral typically last only a few seconds to a few minutes. This is why you need to make your videos short and engaging. The shorter and more interesting your video is, the more likely it is to grab people's attention and go viral quickly. This also helps make your video memorable and easy to share. Stick to the sacred rule: "Don't bore us, get to the point." Keep it concise. Some algorithms used by social media platforms promote videos with high completion rates-after all, it's in their best interest to push content that people will actually watch from beginning to end.
YouTube is the most outstanding video platform of our time. When it comes to video content, it's the first platform that comes to mind. As of 2020, YouTube has over 2.3 billion users, making it quite common to publish videos on the platform.
If you want your video to go viral, the best approach is to use the new YouTube Shorts. This is a new way to post short videos, which can help you reach a broader audience. In fact, YouTube Shorts have a wider reach than regular YouTube videos.
They can only feature videos that are up to 60 seconds long. This means you can focus your video on a unique core message. Compared to traditional video posting on the platform, this offers you more opportunities for dissemination.
TikTok is considered a short and entertaining video platform, and it surpassed Google to become the most visited platform in 2021. This makes it an ideal place to publish any video to reach as many people as possible. TikTok allows you to post videos that are up to 5 minutes long. To increase your video's reach, you can search for and use popular music, as well as enhance your video's impact through TikTok ads.
Keep in mind that videos that clearly indicate what will happen right from the start are very effective. Additionally, the less your video resembles traditional marketing, the more people will enjoy it.
If you are in the beauty, food, or fashion industry, Instagram is the perfect social platform. The platform has around 1 billion active users each month, most of whom are women. You can post videos as regular content in your feed or as Reels. Instagram is optimized to enhance the quality and rendering of visual materials, allowing users to enjoy an unparalleled visual experience.
Keep in mind that posting videos only in your feed will limit their reach to just your followers. On the other hand, Reels are shorter and allow you to better reach your target audience.
Posting videos on Twitter should be part of your video distribution strategy. You can share advertisements, short demonstration videos, brand videos, and more. However, keep in mind that the audience on Twitter generally prefers plain text posts over videos. Therefore, it's best to keep your videos short and to the point.
There is no foolproof method to ensure that a video will go viral quickly, you must accept the randomness of viral spread on the internet. You can use ViralVideo to create a video that people will love and share. ViralVideo is designed to make video production as easy as typing. Say goodbye to lengthy processes and eliminate unnecessary complexities. With just a few keywords or a short text description, ViralVideo can automatically generate a creative and engaging video. With our AI video generation platform, it's easier for you to engage, convert, and succeed.
ViralVideo is an AI video generation platform with many advantages, including the following:
ViralVideo can automatically generate video content based on the text provided by users. Users only need to supply some basic information or ideas, and the AI video generator can quickly create a complete, high-quality video. For example, if a user inputs a story script, the AI video generator will automatically match suitable images, music, and voiceovers to create a vivid video story. This is crucial for timely video production.
ViralVideo offers a wide range of AI visual effects, tonal variations, and music styles, covering various types and genres. Additionally, ViralVideo provides corresponding video formats tailored to different social media platforms, allowing users to select the appropriate style and video format based on their needs and preferences. This enables users to quickly produce professional-quality videos that are diverse and have a high potential for virality, capturing the audience's attention.
ViralVideo features a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users with no prior video production experience to get started. Users can complete video editing and production through simple operations like inputting text and clicking buttons.
With the help of artificial intelligence, videos created using ViralVideo are designed to captivate audiences, maximizing shares, likes, and conversion rates. When an engaging video spreads across platforms, users are more likely to like, comment, and share it, interacting with both the video creators and other viewers. This interaction not only enhances social connections among users but also significantly boosts platform activity.
ViralVideo greatly reduces the need for freelancers and agencies, saving up to 70% on video costs without compromising quality. By utilizing advanced technology and creative templates, users can easily create visually striking, entertaining, or emotionally appealing videos. You can set a publishing schedule and link to relevant social platforms for automatic posting, making management effortless. This not only cuts down on production and filming time and costs but also ensures high-quality output.
Are you ready to start creating content using ViralVideo? Here's a quick and easy guide to get you started:
Choose your creative mode: prompt or script
Choose video style, voice over, and music from the free templates of ViralVideo to customize your style.
After completing the creation and editing of your video, it can be exported and shared with your audience.
Set up automatic publishing to easily manage your posting platform and time
By following these simple steps, you can leverage the powerful AI technology of ViralVideo to create engaging, high-quality content that has the potential to quickly spread and help you achieve your content monetization goals. Try it out now.
