The average age for watching a Viral Video is now 27. If your target audience is aged 18-34, then it is extremely important that you consider including Viral Videos in your online marketing strategy.
Did you know that women account for nearly 57% of viral video views, and share videos 30% more than men?
So what makes an Online Video become a Viral Video? Well it's about making a statement that's worth sharing. People love to watch a funny clip online or something that pulls at their heartstrings. But unless you're a charity or raising funds for a serious health condition, my advice is to keep your viral video upbeat, dynamic and fun! You need your business to stand out from your competitors.
Top 10 Tips when making Viral Videos:
(1) ENTERTAIN: Be creative. Try to imagine your customers point-of-view. What would make them hit 'share'? Remember Viral Videos are a form of storytelling.
(2) CLARITY: Decide exactly what your message is. If YOU don't know, then your customers certainly won't know. Trying to be controversial or become a talking point may prove costly in the end.
(3) DURATION: Decide what length best suits your message - less than 30 seconds or more than 60 seconds. Viral Videos that are either under 30 or over 60 seconds are more effective and hold your audience longer. Avoid videos longer than 2 minutes if you want them to go viral.
(4) PROFESSIONALISM: If you run a professional business and you want to portray a professional image, then you have to commission a Professional Film Crew. A cheap video will make your business look cheap.
(5) PREPARATION: Planning is key. A good Video Production company will sit down with you and discuss what exactly you want to promote and help you plan out the best way of doing that step-by-step. Don't leave all the creative control in their hands. You know your business and customers better than anyone.
(6) BE CURRENT: If you can script a video that deals with a current issue, then it's going to go viral faster with a bigger ripple effect. For instance if a certain celebrity or sports personality are making the headlines lately, you could do a parody video of them.
(7) GO GLOBAL: Videos without dialogue work internationally and will attract a wider audience. Think of Mr. Bean, it entertains everyone of all ages as it's family friendly humour and uses very little dialogue.
(8) CALL-TO-ACTION: There is no point doing a Viral Video unless you have a Call-To-Action at the end. You need to treat the video as a gateway towards your business. Attract them to your website or a social media account with a special offer.
(9) SEED: The first 48 hours of getting a video to go viral is vital. Post it on Facebook and Twitter after 10pm at the start of the week on a Monday night, More people surf social media at this time compared to any other part of the day. Also get your friends and family to share your video and include in their blogs. Everyone wants to be part of what's happening now so the more people that see it in the first couple of days, the more positive reaction you will get from the public.
(10) ADVERTISE: Don't be afraid to promote your video through paid-adverts with companies like Facebook. You are promoting an online advertising tool, so compliment it with other advertising tools to attract more viewers and drive further traffic to your website. You can control your spending and limit your budget so you have no excuses. Make sure you analyse the stats provided during your promotion so you can see exactly who is clicking and sharing.
Don't forget that Facebook is a great social platform for promoting your Viral Video as it dominates 76% of the market when sharing, compared to emails (15%) and Twitter (9%). So go on, get your message out there now!