Why Do Videos Go Viral?
Everyone knows about viral videos. They dominate the news when they happen and they spread like wildfire on social media. But how do these viral videos get started in the first place? Are they designed that way or is it just a happy accident? The fact is, both are true. There have been viral videos that were carefully designed to have as high probability as possible of going viral, and the effort succeeded. There are also other videos – in fact the majority of videos that go viral – that do so against all odds and completely by accident.
How to Know If the Video Will Go Viral or Not
If you want to know if a video will go viral or not, you need to look at the characteristics that make up the video. This doesn’t mean the production value, nor does it really mean the subject matter. Instead, you want to see if it has the characteristics that make it impact you emotionally and want tell your friends about it. When something changes someone’s life, even in a very small way, they want to tell her friends about it. A viral video touches someone either in a good way – or sometimes in a bad way – it makes them want to share it.
Tips to Give a Video the Best Chance of Going Viral
If you want to give your video the best chance of going viral you should start with creating a short but effective video. You don’t want a video that is too long because people are going to want to sit through a 10 minute video even if it’s good. You should keep your video about the same length of the song – 3 to 4 minutes.
Make sure that your video conveys some sort of message you want the viewer to come away with something when they leave – something that is going to be simple enough for them to easily share with others.
You also want to make sure that there is some sort of emotional connection – some sort of human touch that works on emotions. As mentioned, viral videos work because people have an emotional connection with them and they want to share it with others.
These things may not make a viral video at all. In fact, you could follow the exact same steps that other viral videos followed and not have your video go viral because much of it depends upon chance.
