15/02/2022
HOW TO CREATE A VIRAL VIDEO FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Do you want your video content to go viral? Most marketers undoubtedly want the audience growth and attention that comes from having content go viral, but they also know that there’s no one formula to attracting viral success.
Knowing some of the common elements of viral videos can help you create more discoverable and engaging content. That’s why we’ve put together some expert tips directly from Sprout Social’s video team to keep in mind.
To learn more about creating a viral video, let’s dive in.
What is a viral video?
Let’s start with the basics. What do we mean when we say viral video?
It’s called going viral when a piece of content really takes off on social media and reaches a large audience very quickly by receiving an unusual amount of shares and exposure. Whether it’s a tweet, a Facebook post, or a video, many different types of content can go viral.
Videos can go viral on a variety of different platforms, from Facebook to YouTube to TikTok and more. But what goes into creating a viral video? And how can you ensure the largest audience possible sees your video content?
Read on to get our five top tips from the Sprout Social video team themselves.
Expert tips on creating viral video content
Sprout Social’s video team is well versed in creating video content that regularly reaches large audiences, so we wanted to share some of their expert tips that you can utilize during your own video production and optimization.
1. Start with a brief
Your first step of any potential viral video is to plan everything out thoroughly and create a brief and a storyboard. The purpose of filling out a detailed creative strategy brief is to shed light on your actual goals, key messages, tone, length, distribution channel, and more.
Every good brief helps to align messaging and the video’s overall purpose from the content team all the way to the video production team. This way all of your brand’s content will be cohesive and have the same overall vision, strengthening your brand.
2. Know your audience
If you don’t know anything about the people you’re targeting, your video will fall flat every time. To really create a piece of content that goes viral among your target audience and beyond, you need to know what’s going to resonate with them and actually make them want to share your video.
One great idea to ensure your team fully understands your target audience is to create an empathy map. This will give you insight into what will grab your audience’s attention so that your content fits perfectly into what they’re looking for online
3. Pinpoint your goals
So you want to create a viral video. But what for? Knowing you want something to go viral isn’t enough for a solid social media marketing strategy. You also need to know why you want your video to go viral.
Are you simply looking for brand awareness? Are you hoping to grow your online following? Or are you hoping to generate conversions through this viral video?
Each purpose will require your team to create vastly different videos for audience members at different stages of the funnel, so you need to have an idea of what your goals are well before you begin production.
4. Start strong
Every good viral video grabs attention immediately. The best way to do this is by using the word “you” within the first five seconds of your video. This is because there’s research that shows if your video uses language like “you” or “your” in the first few seconds, you get a higher retention rate.
Other ways to start your video for maximum results include:
Create a plot twist or be unpredictable
Make your content relatable
Engage your viewers’ emotions
Incorporate attention-grabbing audio/music clips
Forget about being promotional
5. Tell a story
Our social media video production team’s last tip on how to make a video go viral is all about captivating your audience through storytelling.
You want to be able to tell a compelling story in a short amount of time – viral videos shouldn’t be long videos – by choosing a universal context for your creative concept. For example, the context of “Monday blues” is universal and doesn’t need a lot of time to explain.
Play to tropes that your audience will know well so that you can jump right into your video without much backstory. This is a great way to create a relatable video that your audience can really resonate with and want to share with friends and family. It’s also a great starting point to upend expectations and be attention-grabbing.
To massively increase your reach, start creating your own viral video content using these expert tips and guidelines. Incorporating viral videos into your overall video marketing strategy can be a great way to increase reach, brand awareness, and conversions.
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