10 Proven Viral Video Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business

By now, everyone recognizes the importance of video marketing. 94% of marketers plan to add video to their marketing efforts in 2022. Producing, distributing, and promoting marketing videos is now required just to stay relevant.

One of the highest impact ways to get attention to your business is to have a branded video go viral. This can transform your brand from relative obscurity into a household name. Every company craves this type of video.

But, how can you make sure your videos will go viral?

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula for creating videos that go viral. However, there are common elements in videos that have gone viral that you can include in your own videos.

In this article, you will discover some of these techniques that can turn a standard video into one with viral potential.

Why are Viral Videos so Valuable?

Gone are the days where a commercial or billboard is enough to get your target audience’s attention.

With the average American being bombarded with over 5000 ads every day, you need to find a way to break through the noise and grab people’s attention.

This is where viral videos come in. A viral video is one that is shared rapidly and widely across social media platforms and the internet, often by people who have never heard of your brand before.

A successful viral video can do wonders for your brand awareness and reach. Not only will it get people talking about your company, but it will also attract new customers and leads.

Viral videos are also an excellent way to build relationships with your target audience and create a connection with them.

When people see a video that they like, they are more likely to watch it multiple times and share it with their friends.

This creates a sense of loyalty and connection with the viewer and can lead to conversions down the road.

Now that you understand why viral videos are so valuable, let’s take a look at some proven techniques you can use to make your videos go viral.

1. Know Your Audience

The first step to creating a viral video is understanding who your target audience is.

You need to know what kinds of videos they like to watch and what topics they are interested in.

If you don’t know your audience, you won’t be able to create content that appeals to them and has a chance of going viral.

Do some research on your target audience and create a buyer persona. This will help you understand their needs, wants, and desires. Once you know who your target audience is, you can start creating content that they will love.

2. Create Quality Videos

If you want people to share your videos, you need to make sure they are high quality. People are much more likely to share a video that looks professional and is well-made.

Invest in good equipment and editing software, and take the time to learn how to use them properly. Have a great story and make sure your videos are well-lit, have clear audio, and are free of any technical issues.

Hiring a professional video production company is also a good idea if you want to ensure your videos are of the highest quality. If your videos look amateurish, people will be less likely to share them.

3. Take Advantage of Trending Topics

If you want your videos to go viral, you need to take advantage of trending topics. If you can piggyback on a trending topic and create a unique and interesting video, you will have a much better chance of going viral.

When something is trending on social media, it means people are talking about it and are more likely to watch and share content related to that topic. You can use tools like Google Trends and Twitter trends to see what topics are currently trending.

Once you know what’s trending, you can create a video that covers that topic. However, be sure to add your own spin to it so that your video stands out from the rest.

4. Use Humor

Humor is a great way to connect with your audience and get people to share your content. If you can incorporate humor into your videos, you will have a much better chance of going viral.

You want to make sure you are still staying true to your brand and that your videos are appropriate for your target audience. However, be careful not to go too over-the-top or offensive with your humor.

5. Evoke Emotions

Videos that evoke strong emotions tend to do well on social media and go viral more easily. People are more likely to watch and share a video that makes them feel something.

Whether it’s happiness, sadness, anger, or even fear, strong emotions will make people want to watch and share your videos.

So, try to incorporate some emotional elements into your videos to increase the chances of them going viral.

6. Keep It Simple

You don’t need to create an overly complicated video to make it go viral. In fact, simpler videos tend to do better on social media.

People are more likely to watch and share a video that is easy to understand and focused on one core message.

How long should your video be to go viral? As long as it has to be to get your message or story across.

Some viral videos are very short. They show the memorable content and the branding, then they’re done. But longer videos can go viral too. Creating a unique story or concept can capture viewers’ attention for several minutes done right.

What’s most important is to hook the viewer in the first three to five seconds of the video. Any longer and they’ll bounce from the video.

7. Include a Call-to-Action

A call-to-action is a statement or question that encourages people to do something after watching your video. Make sure your call-to-action is clear and easy to understand.

You want people to know exactly what you want them to do after watching your video. For most social videos, you should include a call-to-action at the end of your video that asks viewers to like and share the video if they enjoyed it.

If you want your video to go viral, you could include a unique call-to-action. It could be to ask them to film themselves doing something and sharing it, or even asking to go offline and do something for their mental health!

8. Optimize Your Videos for SEO

If you want your videos to be easily found online, you need to optimize them for search engine optimization (SEO). This means including relevant keywords in your title and description.

You also want to make sure your videos are properly tagged so they show up in related searches. The more people who can find your videos, the more likely they are to watch and share them.

9. Collaborate with Other Brands or Influencers

If you want to reach a new audience, you can collaborate with other brands or influencers. This means creating a video with another company or person that has a similar target audience as you.

For example, if you sell fitness products, you could collaborate with a fitness influencer and create a workout video. This would help you reach their audience and get your brand in front of more people.

Is also a good idea to work with companies that sell complementary products. For example, if you sell fitness equipment, you could collaborate with a healthy food company.

This would help you reach a larger audience of people who are interested in living a healthy lifestyle.

10. Learn from the Best

Finally, one of the best ways to ensure your videos are successful is to learn from the best. Look at what other companies and brands are doing with their video marketing campaigns.

See what’s working for them and try to incorporate some of those elements into your own videos. With a little trial and error, you should be able to find what works best for your business.

Here are three examples of successful viral video marketing:

Expedia’s “#Throw Back Thursdays (TBT)” (Trend-hacking Video)

This video offers customers a chance to win a holiday by posting their old travel photos under the hashtag. The video took advantage of the “TBT” trend that was all the rage between 2015 to 2019 to go viral.

Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (Funny Video)

This video is blatant, fast-paced, and funny. Old Spice’s goal was to freshen up the way its brand is perceived and to connect with the younger generation. The video was a hit and it went viral immediately.

GoPro’s “Fireman Saves Kitten” (Emotional Video)

The beauty of this video is that it doesn’t focus on promoting GoPro and the GoPro just happens to be there to capture the moment. The video succeeds in evoking an emotional response in the viewer, while subtly highlighting the durability of GoPro.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a number of different techniques you can use to make your videos go viral. Try out a few of these ideas and see what works best for your business. With a little effort, you should be able to get your videos seen by more people and grow your business as a result.
Do you have any other tips for making videos go viral? Share them in the comments below!