Clients often approach digital marketing agencies with an objective: they want a video that captures the hearts and minds of the audience and achieves that “viral” status. It sounds simple enough—create a video, release it into the digital world, and watch it spread like wildfire.
Viral video marketing is all about creating content that spreads organically, like a virus, through social media and other digital platforms. It involves one user sharing a video with others, who, in turn, share it with their networks, resulting in an exponential increase in viewership. This approach is less intrusive than traditional advertising and relies on the endorsement of friends or the video’s inherent appeal.
But little do people realize that the journey to creating such a video is far more intricate. With the right script and a well-thought-out strategy, your brand’s message can resonate with viewers and create a lasting impact.
A Guide to Crafting a Viral Video on Social Media
In the dynamic world of social media, viral videos can instantly bring your brand into the spotlight. Wondering how to create content that resonates across platforms? Dive into our step-by-step guide to unlock the secrets of viral success.
1. Define Your Goals:
Before embarking on the video creation journey, define your objectives. Whether it’s boosting brand awareness, growing your online following, or driving conversions, clarity on goals shapes your video strategy. Tailor your content to address different audience stages in the marketing funnel.
A good example of this is @financewithsharan, who first started by gaining followers with fun and engaging content breaking down complex financial terms for common folks. Once he gained a loyal audience base, voila, he started creating content promoting his own company, One Percent Club, where he conducts financial courses. People who have been following him for years and trust him instantly chose his course over a random page promoting their financial courses.
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2. Peek into your Audience’s Psyche:
Understanding your target audience is #1 for your go-to-market strategy. Discover what resonates with them, sparking the desire to share your video. This can be done by crafting personas to understand their preferences. Personalizing content ensures it not only connects but also amplifies its shareability.
3. Curate a Brief:
Develop a creative strategy brief and storyboard to highlight goals, key messages, tone, length, and distribution channels. Alignment from content to production ensures a cohesive video with a consistent brand vision. Key sections in your brief might include a working title, description, what should be covered, length of the video, tonality, competing content, platforms to post, video format, keywords, and calls to action.
4. Grab your Audience’s Attention from the Get Go:
Captivate your audience from the start of the video. Utilize the power of “you” in the first five seconds for higher retention rates. Embrace unpredictability with plot twists, hooks, relatability, emotional engagement, and attention-grabbing audio. Steer clear of overt promotional content for an authentic and intriguing start. Give a clear-cut call to action, like follow me, share with someone you know, or tag someone in the comments.
5. The Video should tell a story:
Given the shorter format, focus on a compelling narrative within a brief timeframe. Choose universal contexts for your creative concept, leveraging tropes your audience recognizes. This allows us to build an instant connection without extensive backstory, creating relatable content that encourages sharing.
Viral Video Campaign Tips
By now, you must have understood that having a creative idea is not enough to create a viral video; there are a lot of different factors and best practices that are considered in this process. Here are a few tips that can lead you to your destination:
1. Consistency is the Key:
If you think that one day you’ll upload a video and the next day you’ll wake up to your video being viral, then you might be wrong.
Myths about Viral Video Marketing
Before your content goes viral, you must nurture a dedicated audience that resonates with your brand. It’s the steady journey that paves the way for viral moments.
2. Brand Building First:
It’s essential to recognize that viral videos are not primarily about pushing a hard sell for a specific product. Instead, they serve as a means of fostering a deep and meaningful connection with your brand’s overall vibe. While your video might subtly incorporate your products or services, the primary focus should be on aligning your brand with a particular lifestyle, value, or message that clicks with the target audience.
3. Create Videos featuring people:
Featuring real people in your videos isn’t just a trend; it’s an algorithm advantage! Instagram and other social platforms give a noticeable boost to videos with genuine faces.
Why? Because a human touch fosters connection, sparking increased engagement and meaningful interactions. Also, while selecting a face for your brand, you should always consider someone your audience would like to watch.
4. Stay on Top of Trends:
It’s not always about coming up with an original idea; at times, you can also hop on to trending topics and use it to your brand’s advantage. Just like Wow, Skin Science used the trend of ‘looking like a wow video’ to highlight its brand name.
5. Emotion Matters:
Emotion is a powerful driver behind viral video success. When crafting your campaign, consider whether it elicits a strong emotional response. Does it touch the viewer’s heart, make them laugh, or bring a tear to their eye? Videos that evoke powerful emotions with their tone of voice are more likely to be shared, as viewers want to share these feelings with friends and family.
6. Producing Viral Video Content at Scale:
Crafting viral video content is indeed an art, and the expertise of professionals or the involvement of influencers can make a huge difference. Tools like a good quality camera, ring light, tripod, etc, can significantly enhance your results. Even if you are working with a limited budget, the right approach can yield a substantial impact.
Leveraging the Above Tips to Create Viral Videos
According to a recent study, as many as 91% of consumers are interested in seeing more online video content from brands. This clearly shows video marketing is gaining a lot of momentum compared to traditional marketing forms. Every brand aims to reach numbers that give them ‘viral’ status. This is because it comes with a lot of advantages.
1. Stealthy Promotion:
Viral ads don’t feel like traditional advertising. They come recommended by people you trust. These videos are so famous or infamous that you want to miss out on the fun, making you join the parade by sharing, engaging, or creating your version of the viral video.
2. Promote Creativity:
Viral videos often have a unique hook that grabs viewers’ attention. This forces marketers to think deeply about their message and make their content appealing quickly. The content should be so beautiful, so elegant, that everyone says it’s looking like a wow.
Did you see what we did there?
3. Rapid Reach Expansion:
The most significant advantage of viral video marketing is its ability to rapidly increase your reach. This can enhance your brand’s image and potentially lead to increased sales. Don’t believe us, then visit the page @propertytransactionguru by Bhavesh Kaware; Aajao dikha denge.
Brands that stand out from the noise:
There are many brands that have cracked the code with the following mantras:
- Connects with the audience with its relatable content or catchy one-liners like Zomato, Durex Condom, or Bumble
- Has extensive production value like Lifestyle and Fashion Influencers
- Has an element of surprise like Duolingo or RyanAir
- Shares your brand ideology like Nike or Dove
Hiring the best digital marketing agency often aids this process. The common thread among successful viral videos is their ability to connect with viewers, regardless of budget.
Conclusion
Marketing videos are crucial for your business’s marketing strategy, and viral videos can take your brand to new heights. Crafting scripts for various video types, including reels, explainer videos, and corporate presentations, is an essential part of the process. Whether you aim to entertain, educate, or inspire, the right script can be the catalyst for a viral sensation. If you’re looking for guidance and expertise in creating viral video content, don’t hesitate to reach out to professionals like Degefy, who can help you craft compelling videos that have the potential to go viral and connect with consumers on a large scale. In today’s digital landscape, viral video marketing is a powerful tool that can lead your brand to the forefront of the online world.