We know now that 50% of creating a great viral video is about content and production.
The goal in this stage is to create something remarkable, literally, something that causes people to remark - and in doing so to effectively convey your message.
We've noticed that certain categories tend to garner the interest of large audiences. Regardless of your message, utilizing a proven content category to package your message is a good way to spread your message wide and far.
The remarkable comes in many shapes and sizes:
Humor - everyone loves a laugh, but many of us like to make others laugh as well; this is what makes comedic videos so viral.
Avant-gard videos - videos that push the boundaries of what is acceptable can be incredibly viral - especially since this content never makes it to network TV. But be careful not to damage your brand and to obey by the terms and conditions of the respective video-sharing sites.
Talent - true talent is rare and fascinating. If you can showcase true talent people will forward your video.
Celebrities - we are fascinated with celebrities, and any videos featuring a celebrity are very viral, in part because there are hundreds of websites that follow celebrities and will embed these videos. Beyond being viral, celebrities endorsements have a powerful influence on decision making.
Kitsch - don't kill the messenger, but a remarkable number of the most popular videos we are tracking also contain one or more of the following qualities:
Special effects - the Ray Ban sunglass catching video is a great example. In general, any video that generates debate generates viewers
Animal/pet tricks - man is drawn to animals just as he is to fire…it's hard to explain, but it seems to have to do with primitive wiring in the brain
Cute kids - one of the draws of online video is that real people capture real moments, and nothing is as straightforward as a child just being herself
Repetitive, catchy music - certainly not a new concept, but with infinite channels come many more opportunities to put up the experimental jingle
Physical injury - thank goodness it's not me!
Pranks - thank goodness it's not me!
Spoofs - ride the coattails of the tried and true
The trick, as with any marketing effort, is to both be remarkable AND communicate your message.
Use the right package to make your video a hit, but don't create a vehicle without passengers. Make sure the content is doing what it supposed to do.
In the online video community, discussions around production are typically in reference to video quality - as it relates to camera, sound, compression, and editing.
Some believe that higher production quality is an important component in gaining popularity for ones online videos, while others believe that the popularity of the medium is authenticity, and that lower quality video has a genuine nature that gets lost with higher quality. Given the plethora of widely seen videos over the internet, this concept of quality hasn't seemed to correlate with audience size or popularity.
One thing is for certain: high quality human components of production, such as shooting and editing, make any video more watchable. Paying attention to lighting, framing the shot, and crisp editing is not only more pleasant, it's often required to make the picture viewable in a small window and on sites with file size restrictions.
Bottom line: choose production components that fit with your message, content, and intended audience.
Just some ideas to get the ball rolling.
RETHINK EVERYTHING
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