What Makes a Video Viral?

What Makes a Video Viral: Today, viral videos are to be found everywhere on the internet and from all over the world. Viral Videos have their own kind of fandom which makes both the creator and the viewer continuously search for interesting content to be spread out fast(owing to everybody’s habit of sharing contents online).  But why is there such a craze for Viral Videos?

Let’s first know a bit about what viral videos are?

What is a Viral Video?

In simple language, when any video content gets spread fast and to many viewers within a very short period of time via the internet then that video can be considered as a viral video. Now the question arises that what do people like the most in these videos that they go viral? 

Please note that viral videos can be of different types, which can be either serious or with humorous content; while some can have a deeper meaning behind their creation, some are purely for entertainment purposes. 

Also, there are many platforms that give video creators, opportunity to share their videos and reach millions of viewers easily. Youtube, Reddit, Tiktok, Instagram (IGTV) are some of the popular names in this respect. 

These video-sharing sites have buttons that allow the users to share on the same platform as well as on other social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Other websites & netizens then pick up these videos to share further.

Viral videos can also help the creator earn money in thousands and sometimes (which is very rarely) in millions as well. As these videos have great social impacts and reach, they are very much favored by marketing and advertising people as they have the capacity to promote brands and products on social media. 

Let us now see how to make a video viral?

How to Make a Video Viral?

Making viral videos is not an easy task as its popularity depends on factors that are not in direct control of the creator. There is no fixed formula to guarantee that content created for sharing will actually go viral.

But there are factors that can be wisely manipulated to increase the chance of any video content going viral. Videos that are short, sweet, informative, and are strategically designed tend to go viral time and again with social media sharing.

Important Factors to remember while making videos

Whether a video is going viral or not depends mostly on the longevity factor. It got to have something that draws the audience to watch it repeatedly. But again, what can be that something or the key signifier is difficult to foretell.

The signifiers become part of the viral video culture after being shown repeatedly.

However, there are certain tested factors that have helped almost all of the viral videos to be what they are – Viral, implementing them in your videos can increase your chance of getting your videos to go viral than the ones where they are not included wisely.

It is said that there are six factors that work into making any video viral- Emotion, Intensity, Surprise, Style, Relevance, and Validation.

• Emotion: in order to become a successful video online, it the video must interact with its audience. And things that stir human curiosity and interest are romance, anger, joy, nostalgia, etc. Videos that can incorporate these emotions into their content are more likely to connect with the audience at a deeper level and motivate them to share.

• Intensity: In order to connect with the viewers, it is important that your video content grabs their attention in the very first moment. Similarly, it is also important to keep that attention consistent, and the best way is to have concision and concentration in the content. Always need to keep the audience wanting for more.

• Surprise: Human brains always get triggered by unexpected things. It tends to pay attention to anything that defies expectancy. Thus, while making videos, if you can convey your message in a surprisingly different way, your video gets an edge over the others, and the chances of it becoming popular increase. 

• Style: The way of presenting anything is the key behind it being remembered by people for a longer period of time. So when you present your message in a unique style it becomes easy for your audience to remember them. Style can be visual, verbal, or even auditory. 
• Relevance: Whatever you want to convey to your audience through your content must be relevant to them. Your audience must find something interesting for them to stop and see your video.
• Validation: Your video must possess a substantial amount of common ground with your target audience. People tend to share things that match their opinions and beliefs.

Whether you are a marketer or a social media enthusiast, creating viral videos is not easy. Creating video content with shareability attributes and quality needs a lot of understanding the behavioral traits of target audiences and studying and applying certain elements.

Though there is no formula for creating viral videos but with proper utilization of the below-mentioned features in your content will help your video to have a huge impact on your audience. This impact will get your video shared fast, creating a big buzz around it.

Make it Short and Sweet

Today’s generation’s attention spans are getting shorter day-by-day. According to a survey published in The New York Times, more than 19% of people tend to leave a video after only running for 10 seconds only! Thus, it is imperative that you keep your video content not only interesting and fascinating but also short in duration.

Single message focus Should be Your Goal

Before curating your content, define what you are going to tell in your video and keep the focus on getting that one point to your audience as clearly as you can.

Always try to Deliver value to the Audience

Always provide something valuable to your audience. If your video is helpful to your viewers, they will not only check it themselves but will also share it with others.

Right Format

Ensure your video is in the right format for the platform you will be using to upload and share your videos. 

Powerful headline

A Headline is very important for any kind of content and videos are not an exception. Your headline should walk the line between clarity & curiosity. It must tease your audience and bring out a strong emotional reaction from them and compel them to click on your video.

Keep paying attention

Simply publishing and sharing your videos is not enough. As you need to monitor it constantly, keeping a tab on the analytics. Also, you have to keep interacting with your audience.

Be Timely

Staying updated with the current events while deciding upon the concept of your video can also increase the chance of your video becoming popular quickly. 

Always Try to Be Involved

Engagement is one of the reasons behind any video going viral. Engaging with audiences often leads to interest and loyalty. It can easily make it more shareable. 

Be Informative

People are always on the lookout for new and different information. If your video content can quench this thirst for information in people in an interesting way, there is a high chance of it becoming highly shareable. 

Be Inspiring

Including interesting and inspiring content (overcoming struggle, finding success, and standing up against diversity) to your video can also make it share-worthy. 

Conclusion

It is very difficult to determine when and how your video will go viral. But several studies have found many commonalities between videos that end up becoming viral.

Though it is not possible to guarantee anything, it can be said that it is viable to engineer those common factors according to your goal in order to have a considerable impact, which might lead your video to become viral. 

The above-mentioned factors and characteristics are very common in any viral video, and using these in your own content might help you reach as many people as possible. So start focusing on these factors and make your video content reach millions.