The holy grail of video marketing production – the viral video. We’ve had a lot of clients wonder why is it so difficult to achieve this revered status with anything that isn’t a video of a cat playing the piano. Well the answer to that is simple – a video often has to be designed in a specific way to go viral, and a lot of businesses don’t design their videos that way.
Keep Your Video Short And Sweet
Viral videos tend to be much shorter in length than your average YouTube video, often only reaching 2 or 3 minutes in length. This makes them easy to view and share without investing too much time in sitting down to watch them. This kind of video has a short, impactful message that sinks in quickly and leaves a lasting impression. So don’t babble on in your video, keep it precise and to the point.
Give The Video Universal Appeal
One of the things that make viral videos so successful is that they have an element of universal appeal. You want your videos to be viewed around the world, so it’s important not to limit yourself with cultural references if you want to achieve true viral status. For example, a universal truth is that people generally love unexpected, positive surprises. Canadian bank TD used this to their advantage and made this amazing 3-minute video called “The Automated Thanking Machine” that went viral almost overnight.
Add An Emotional Element
If your brand has a heart warming story – share it! People connect with emotional 
videos in a profound way, and if a video online can make them feel something real and strong, they are more likely to share it. As an example, EnChroma are an American company that makes a very special kind of glasses. These glasses allow colour blind people to see colours. As part of their marketing campaign, they put together a series of videos, like this one showing the reaction of colour blind people seeing colour for the first time. These videos were so stirring they were shared all over the world, and raised their profile within the market considerably.
Make A Funny Video
If there’s anything people love, its laughing. Some of the most popular viral videos are shared because they are funny, and bring joy to everyone who sees them. But this doesn’t just have to be dogs that sound like they can talk or fall videos of kids trying to do stunts. Businesses can use the humour angle too. Fiat hit the nail on the head with mums around the world with this ‘Motherhood’ video, featuring a rapping mother with three kids showing off her oh-so-glamorous life of motherhood, with the Fiat 500L featuring several times in the video. The language and content wouldn’t make it onto a normal TV ad, but mums around the world loved it, and shared it with everyone they knew. We guarantee none of them will forget the Fiat anytime soon!
Share Something Upbeat & Inspiring
And finally, there’s nothing people like more than a good, uplifting story to cheer them up when they’ve had a bad day. An inspiring video can be about anything – and it’s the perfect place to promote your life changing products. Underdog stories are a timeless success, and if you can find an uplifting and inspiring narrative for your video, then you are on to a winner. Here are the 5 most inspiring viral videos of 2014 to give you some inspiration.
For help in creating your own hope-to-be-viral video, or for advice on promoting it to the world, get in touch with our video production team of experts at Holler today.