For some, viral videos are the Holy Grail of social media marketing. When a video spreads through multiple shares on social media it takes on a life of its own, building up an irresistible momentum.
But how easy is it to engineer this phenomenon, to make your marketing video go viral?
Extended Reach
“It is hard to argue with the kind of extended marketing reach viral videos can give you,” Julie Friday, Director at Crew Of A Few Productions, remarks. “But it isn’t something you can guarantee.”
The fact is, viral marketing depends on the audience to be truly effective, and audience reactions are hard to predict.
“If the audience does not respond positively to a video, and spread it to other people, then it will fail to extend its own online life,” explains Julie. “In contrast, a video that does go viral can widen its market penetration exponentially.”
“Successful viral videos can represent a huge return on investment, but they operate in extremes of success or failure”
“The YouTube personality, Kevin Nalty, reckons you can only think of your video as truly viral if it gets over 5 million views in a three-to-seven-day period,” suggests Julie. “In other words, if you only judge the success of your video by whether it goes viral, you are raising the stakes considerably.”
What Should You Aim For?
“Promotional videos and viral videos are not the same thing,” Julie advises. “Something that simply promotes your business is not going to go viral, however dynamic you make it.”
“Viral videos must have an immediacy and an emotional appeal. It means filtering brand awareness through memorable images and powerful storytelling.”
“Even if the brand itself isn’t grassroots, the way the audience shares the video and spreads the word most definitely is,” Julie points out, “so, your video has to have this audience appeal.”
“It all comes down to content,” explains Julie. “For a marketing video to go viral it must contain the germ of an idea that will resonate with an audience”
Some of this audience will be super-sharers, the 18% of internet users who share videos at least once a week, and nearly half of whom share daily, according to Harvard Business Review.
“You should be looking to appeal to these super-sharers with your video content,” Julie advises, “if you want your video to go viral. They are responsible for more than four fifths of total shares.”
After attending M3 Media Publishing’s recent event, Julie has this to say about content, “Video doesn’t exist in isolation from other forms of content. It obeys many of the same rules, in that it must attract, connect and engage with its target audience. M3’s approach to content is all about these values, and they’re also the values that work to make video marketing successful.”
To discover how your business can benefit from video marketing, please call Crew of a Few Productions on 0161 871 7395 or visit crewofafewproductions.co.uk.