Creating viral videos is an effective way to get mass exposure for your brand; but, it’s a lot easier said than done. Viral video marketing companies go to great lengths to help businesses create videos that have a good chance at going viral.

There’s a wide range in the types of videos that go viral. There are homemade viral videos, and there are also viral videos that have been professionally produced.

Some are funny, some emotional and some are just completely random as to why they catch on. Here are some strategies for creating viral videos.

Strategies For Creating Viral Videos

The following are some of the strategies that viral video marketing companies will often employ to help create a video that could go viral.

Have a plan in place

If your video does go viral, understand that it happens quickly. It doesn’t slowly build up, giving you a chance to figure out how to react as it happens. Viral videos spread like wildfire.

If you don’t know how to react when this happens, then you could end up wasting the opportunity. Have a strategy in place for when the video does goes viral.

What is it you are trying to accomplish? Do you have another video you can release afterwards if it does go viral? What are you going to do with the spotlight now that you have it for a limited time?

Engage the audience within the first five seconds

The first five seconds of your video needs to capture interest and hook a viewer to stay engaged.

Engage with humor

Humor is one of the top styles of content that engages audiences and prompts them to share with others the know. Consider using a humorous approach that a wide range of audience members could identify with or relate to.

Engage with emotion

While educational and informative video content helpful and relevant to certain audiences, not all of it will go viral.

These kinds of videos are great for building brand authority and creating trust, but not so great at providing instant exposure and engagement across a wide variety of viewers. Emotional content, on the other hand, is something that many viewers may engage with as well as share.

Create a great title and description

You need to attract your audience’s attention in order to get them to hit play, so create a title and description that is unique, succinct and to the point.

For example, if you’re posting a funny video of a cat giving the camera a funny look, the title “Cat video,” won’t help you that much. But, “Cat plots world domination!” is a lot more unique and attention grabbing.

Optimize the video for SEO

To make your video easier to find, you’ll want to boost its search engine ranking. You can do this by using relevant keywords in the title and description of your video.

Post the video at the right time

If you post your video at the wrong time, you could tank your chances of it going viral. The best time to post new video content tends to be at the beginning of the work week, on either Monday or Tuesday.

This gives viewers the whole week to share and talk about the video. Posting it on a Friday is a mistake because everyone is focused on getting their work done before the weekend.

Promote the video as much as you can

Don’t just pick and choose where to post your video. Post it on all of your social media pages and on your website. Email your subscriber list a link to the video. Add social share buttons to the video to make it easy to share.

What to Avoid When Creating Viral Videos

Avoid being too ‘salesy’

Face it, not many people want to watch another ad (at least not knowingly)! And your video is less likely to be shared if it’s a blatant advertising of your brand, products or service. Top priority is to keep your video engaging to a wide range of audience members.

Avoid the wrong video length

Consumers tend to watch videos online when they have the time, and run time can range from short and quick to long-form, depending on the content. For example, a humorous gag is best kept short.

It’s a quick laugh that anyone can enjoy throughout the day and pass along to a friend. For a more in-depth documentary style piece of content that provokes emotion, you can go a little longer, as long as the content really catches the audience’s attention, remains engaging, and finishes strong.

Don’t assume it will go viral on its own

Just because you think you’ve created a hilarious video that people will love doesn’t mean it will go viral. You have to constantly promote your videos!

Not just by posting them on social media and emailing your subscribers links, but by growing your email list and social media following so that you’re guaranteed a certain amount of viewers upon the initial publishing of the video.

These are some of the strategies used by viral video marketing companies. These steps should put your company in the right direction and help your company create great videos that can potentially go viral.

Remember, because creating viral videos can be quite a challenging task, working with viral video marketing companies will help boost your chances at reaping the benefits of a viral video.