By: Katie Finney, Account Coordinator
How does a South Korean rapper and singer become an international superstar overnight? How do two engineers gain more than six million hits on YouTube from instructional videos about cats?
Through video hosting services like YouTube, average Internet users can create and share content across the globe and gain exposure almost immediately. Marketing professionals also have found success with this medium; approximately 87 percent of online marketers use video content to reach audiences.
But why do some videos spread through the Web like wildfire and others sink in the vast sea of Web content? According to The New York Times, it would take approximately 72 hours to watch all the videos uploaded to YouTube every minute. Amid the millions of other videos competing for viewers’ attention spans, marketers need to find new ways to break through the clutter and create videos that are memorable and shareable. Here are some tips:
1. Consider the audience. Instead of focusing on what you like, think about who is watching and what they would like to see. How are they going to benefit? Very successful videos often cater to narrow niches. For instance, a video of cute kittens flying in slow motion to hip hop music, published last year, has now reached 3.5 million YouTube views.
2. Create a high-quality product. Most viewers can handle poor lighting, but poor audio? Fat chance. Have the right equipment. External lights and lavaliere mics go a long way in creating a video that people want to watch over and over again. If you don’t grab the viewer’s attention within the first 15 seconds, odds are he or she will not watch the video again.
3. Don’t be afraid to be different. Whether you are sharing a dance that’s easy to learn, giving a tutorial on knitting, covering a popular song or promoting a product, add an element of surprise. The most viral videos are ones that show emotion, describe a universal experience and create a conversation.
4. Promote, promote, promote. After you upload a video, share it immediately. Email it to friends, post it on a variety of social media sites and even send it to media representatives so they can distribute it. In order for your video to truly go viral, the sharing begins with YOU!