You Can't Make a Video Viral, Right?

Video is king. It’s true. We watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube every day. And we watch more than 40% of all video on mobile.

For maximum impact in your marketing mix, you need to consider compelling, engaging video content that brings brand promises to life. But don’t get it twisted… we’re talking about seconds of great content not minutes… at least to hook your audience. Once you’ve made a connection, then you can work to generate a desired action.

By now we all should know that the first 10 seconds of a brand video are the most critical. This is when get viewers excited for more. And since viewer abandonment increases exponentially after those first few seconds, we have to frontload important content, or create a story worth watching end to end. No one enjoys a boring story.

These six tips should help you out:

Keep it Simple: With such a short window of time to capture a viewer’s attention, your message needs to be clear and concise vs. trying to say too much at once. Figure out what’s most important, and share it… right away. In a way that makes it memorable.

Keep it Fresh: Video content needs to feel fresh, new and exciting, something viewers haven’t seen before, at least from your brand. Zig instead of zag, shock instead of prod. Emote instead of just telling.

Keep it Moving: Remember the short attention span, and the even shorter window you have to hook your audience through to the end. Introduce new twists, characters, images, graphics or interactions every few seconds to keep the audience engaged and interested.

Keep it Relevant: Work hard to connect to a real need, to real experiences, to relatable moments. Funny, sad, exciting, intriguing… they all work, just keep it real. Find inspiration in your audience insights to craft a story that strikes an emotional cord.

Keep it Informative: Brand audiences are always seeking new information and opportunities to help them improve their daily lives. Give them something that provides value and you’ll get them to tell others about your content.

Keep the Branding Subtle: Audiences don’t want to feel like they are they are being served up a sales pitch. Heavy branding tends to diminish the strong impact of a brand video and dramatically limits a person’s willingness to share. Focus on one key takeaway or call to action, and work hard to create more of a product placement feel rather than a product billboard.

Viral is up to the viewers. But you can take steps to get them going, right?