Going viral with video
What’s the buzz? It’s a line that goes all the way back to 1970s pop-culture. Something that was buzzing was something that was cool, talked about, or perhaps in the Zeitgeist. That was then, what about now?
Although technology has changed, buzz or viral marketing is still considered a fine way of improving your marketing return on investment, driving sales or building reputation.
According to TechTarget’s Tim Ehrens, that’s because when something goes viral the target audience sells your brand, your campaign, product or service for you. Ideal hey?
The trouble is, knowing if your message has the required chutzpah or is it likely to find itself social media vaccinated. And the consequence could be that your message is nothing more than a common cold, unlikely to infect the zeitgeist in any serious way.
So, here’s the word. Arguably the most important element of viral marketing is content and the most important content is video. That’s because, video is akin to fast-food take away – easy to consume and, if it’s good, it leaves you wanting more.
Video is king of content
Image by uvbenb from Pixabay
Video Content is key when it comes to brand recognition, thought leadership, audience engagement, and lead generation. That’s because it easily uses emotion, offers information, entertains, provides instruction and tells a story. Video can use sound, graphics and text, and all done in the time it takes you to enjoy your next latte.
Here’s the thing, SproutSocial report that Facebook says live videos get six times the engagement compared to any other form of content and Twitter reports that twitter followers like and share graphics and video more than anything else. Just remember, making a good video and doing it enough to satisfy social media – that takes a lot of time.
But, if you’re still keen here’s some tips to joining the video bandwagon.
Keys to making viral videos
Spectacle
Ensure it has the look, feel and tempo needed to tell your brand story.
Hitting the upbeat
Give it a positive upbeat tone that works the audience’s emotions. And like a warm smile, it lives you feeling good.
Relevance or universality
This one rings true. If something is relevant to you, you’re more likely to like, share or comment.
It’s about the meme baby
That’s right – work with what is already buzzing like current affairs, pop culture or the latest scandal. Memes inform you about what already have people talking and sharing. Think how fast-food king KFC used “Shut up and take my money” – originally “Shut up stupid, and take my money,” or the Sad Keanu memes. Aiden Cole in Forbes magazine argued that Meme marketing is now a fixture of the marketing landscape.
Surprise, surprise, surprise
For a video to go viral it must present something that is either new or told in a surprising way.
So, tell me what’s the buzz?
Do you think viral marketing is worthwhile?
What else makes content go viral?
