When your video suddenly goes viral and scores millions of views globally – it’s like hitting a jackpot. But just like with the jackpot, so many internet users dream about it, but so few actually manage to achieve this goal. Out of all the billions of videos available online – of cute animals and funny kids, sports and leisure, juicy hamburgers – how do some clips rise above the rest? There is no doubt you are not the only one who asks the question “What makes a video go viral?” Unfortunately, nobody knows the precise recipe of success that can guarantee your video becoming a hit. Yet, there are definitely techniques that can significantly increase your chances. When we create video content that’s engaging, it appears to be some kind of magic: it gets popular and users keep on sharing and commenting on it without your further involvement. If you ever had this experience, then you already created a visual with a potential to become viral. However, it’s more complicated than that. It’s no secret that the web is soaked with video content. This means that going viral requires standing out. Probably, the most difficult part here is to understand how. We believe that the answer to this question may lie in understanding how and why users consume content, being able to put it all together and hoping for a bit of luck, of course. So, let’s get started.
Speaking to Emotions
Any type of video can theoretically become viral – there are no limitations here. Yet, there is one common feature that all successful videos share: video content that went viral always appeals to some emotion, either positive or negative. Happiness, sadness, homesickness, nostalgia, thoughtfulness, gratitude – any of them will do. From this viewpoint, you always need to keep the focus on the audience, always. And even when you’re creating a video around a product or service, you should avoid putting it in the spotlight of your video.
Visual Side
In order for a video to go viral, users need to watch it first. This may sound very simple and logical to you, and so it is indeed, but the issue here is that the internet is already overloaded with all kinds of video imaginable, so to stand out you need to work really hard. What you need here is the ability to instantly capture the user’s attention and keep them from scrolling further to other videos. This is something graphic design can help you with. For example, thumbnails are important because they’re the first part of your video that someone is likely to see. The right and relevant title also makes your video more clickable. Knowing how to appeal to your audience is really helpful. Will you get more traction out of a headline that’s value driven and straight to the point, or does your audience like to be teased with a little sense of mystery? Whatever you do, please steer clear of clickbait titles. They’re a sure way for users to lose interest in your page. Don’t stop at this and go further in your experiments with graphic design of your videos, try all possible variants and see which ones really work. For instance, try to blur background online free and see how it goes.
Be Useful
We are not going to deny the apparent fact that sometimes those videos that became viral didn’t seem impressive at all at first glance. The thing is that the global audience’s preferences are very hard to predict, because there are too many factors that need to be considered. Still, the baseline is that in your videos, you are appealing to real people who have real-world needs and very real problems. If you manage to offer videos that help users cope with their issues – either by providing practical advice that really works, or by making them feel good and distracted from their current problems – this will be noticed and appreciated by the audience. And it’s exactly the type of content that is highly likely to go viral. Focus on what you do best and offer something practical that nobody else is providing to your audience.
Be Mobile Friendly
People go online to break away from the daily routine, so in the first place they seek comfort. You should make sure that users feel maximally comfortable while watching your videos – in the broadest sense. For example, many people prefer watching videos from their phones. Thus, making sure that your content can be accessible from mobile devices is essential to viral success. Another example is sound. Remember that users are not always in a place where audio is appropriate. That’s why your video content also needs to be consumable without sound. To approach this issue, consider including captioning or some kind of subtitles.
Final Note
Importantly, when your video goes viral, it’s only the beginning of a long journey. Always keep a watchful eye at how your audience engages with your video and for insights to help you have even more success next time.
