Author: Jim Rudden / Source: MarketingProfs 5 Let's face it, making a viral brand video is a marketer's Holy Grail. From the classic sne
5
Let’s face it, making a viral brand video is a marketer’s Holy Grail. From the classic sneezing baby panda to the more recent human Gumby dog toy, viral videos pop up out of nowhere and swiftly take the Web by storm, amassing millions of views, shares, and press hits along the way.
With that much social love up for grabs, it’s not just YouTube power users and the staff at Buzzfeed who should take note. Marketing leaders must, too.
From the tiniest startups in Silicon Valley (or in my case, Silicon Hills) to the largest global organizations—both consumer and B2B—marketers are pouring more resources into video. Why? Well, besides Internet fame and the personal satisfaction of being able to say “I did that” at your next company happy hour, 77% of consumers have been convinced to purchase something based on a video they’ve seen, research finds.
Now imagine the millions of views and engagements that viral videos command, and suddenly we’re talking real ROI.
Of course, wanting to launch a viral video and actually doing it are two completely different things. There’s never a guarantee that your video will be a hit; and, as more businesses create videos, the competition for attention will only increase.
If your company really wants a shot at joining the ranks of video hall-of-famers, here are five steps I recommend.
1. Tell a story worth sharing
If you’re going to spend the time and money to create a beautiful, high production video (and you should), you want to make sure the result is shareable. Consumers love to share videos: Social video generates a whopping 1,200% more shares than text and images combined.
The elements of a shareworthy video coincide with the three elements of engaging storytelling, which in turn align with our underlying motivations as humans for sharing:
- Ego: We share stories that we’re proud of and elicit recognition from our peers.
- Info: We share stories that inform others and make us feel as though we’re making a difference.
- Emo: We share stories that make us feel something—whether happy, sad or fired up; and the stronger the emotional reaction, the better.
Incorporate one element, and you’re on the right track; two elements, and you’re well on your way. But to optimize your content and get the most bang for your buck, build in all three elements—and you’ve got a video people will share and share again.
2. Tell it quickly
This seems…
COMMENTS