While there’s no sure-fire way to get your video to reach millions of people as rapidly as your Internet speed allows, it is possible to get your video out where it needs to be. To do this requires, first and foremost, an understanding of how virality happens.
How does a video spread online? Let’s think about this in terms of three circles. The First Circle consists of your immediate network of friends, relatives, and acquaintances. These are the people with a high propensity to like and share your content — regardless of how good your content actually is. The likelihood of your content being shared depends largely on your social capital: the degree of influence you have over your social network.
The Second Circle consists of the network of your first circle — the friends of your friends, or the people that you don’t know personally. In this circle, your social capital is no longer the driving force behind the shared content; rather, content gets shared on its own merits. People in this circle will judge how “shareable” a video is based on its subject matter and overall impact.
The Third Circle is — you guessed it — the people immediately connected to those in the second circle. If a video happens to so worthy of sharing as to reach this third circle, it’s viral.
The second and third circles are where you want your video to be. As a marketer, how do you go about focusing your efforts on making this happen?
1. Stick to the message.
It’s easy to lose sight of the real objective once virality becomes the goal. The aim of a marketing video is to have your brand’s message communicated; not to have your content viral. When marketing teams desire virality, they risk focusing on what’s trendy — by, for example, mimicking the concept of an existing viral video — if only to gain traction, thereby defeating the purpose of a marketing campaign. Always keep your key message in mind when developing a video.
2. Keep it short.
With the amount of content being shared online, not everyone has the time (or patience) to spend five to 10 minutes watching a video. The shorter your video is, the higher the chance of it being watched to completion. A 15- to 90-second video is also easier to share on the spot.
Videos by Tasty are often shared on Facebook because they’re bite-sized and high-quality, and because of the fact that viewers don’t need sound to appreciate the content.
3. Evoke emotion.
One of the things a video can do effectively — perhaps even better than any other medium available to marketers — is stir emotions. Vivid lights and sounds can create memorable experiences for people, but you can maximize the tools on hand to tell a story with your video and make people feel something, even if you’re only talking about the features of a product.
They don’t say “laughter is the best medicine” for nothing, but don’t be afraid to make your viewers sad or angry, either — just be sure not to direct the negativity at your brand.
The success of Globe’s “#CreateCourage” campaign is attributed to the emotional impact of the reveal at the end of the video.
4. Test it before sending it out
Get immediate feedback on your video to get an idea of how the rest of the world will react. One of the best (and most surprising) ways to test the effectiveness of a video is to have kids watch it. If they understand it, chances are that other people will get the video, too. However, set the following rule for yourself when testing a video: Don’t explain the concept. Let your test audience watch the video and gather thoughts on it themselves, and be open to changing what doesn’t work.
5. Get Traction
To jumpstart a video, you’ll need a big viewer base to get the ball actually rolling. Consider hiring people with high social capital, i.e., large networks in which to share a video. These are influencers you want — bloggers, radio personalities, and other contemporaries whose values resonate with your target market. Find these people to share your video, and watch the shares multiply.
To know more about how AdSpark can help your next video marketing campaign, check out our product spotlight on Wootag and how it allows you to go beyond views.
Sources:
Wolfe, L. (2016, September 08). How to Make Your Videos Go Viral. The Balance. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-make-your-videos-go-viral-4061810
Raykov, D. (2016, October 25). How to Create a Viral Video Marketing Campaign. Hop-online. Retrieved from http://hop-online.com/blog/how-to-create-a-viral-video-marketing-campaign/
Hardwick, J. (2016, March 05). 4 Rules for a Video to Go Viral. Convince and Convert. Retrieved from http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/4-rules-for-a-video-to-go-viral/
Stratten, S. (2012, July 30). Why No One Will Watch Your Crappy Corporate “Viral” Video, and How to Fix It. Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/1844017/why-no-one-will-watch-your-crappy-corporate-viral-video-and-how-fix-it
McCarthy, B. (2017, March 15) Finally! A Study Finds Emotion Drives Engagement for Video Marketing. b-Mc Creative. Retrieved from http://www.b-mc.ca/blog/pub:68/Finally-A-study-finds-emotion-drives-engagement-fo
