What Have Viral Videos Taught Us About Content Marketing?

Videos are undoubtedly the wave of the future when it comes to content marketing, but there’s a lot of debate over how a video can gain the coveted status of going viral. There are certainly plenty of videos that offer value to the customer without going viral, so what is the key behind those that do, and what should your company learn from them? Viral videos have some powerful lessons to offer.

Viral Content is Entertaining Above All

Image via Flickr by boldmagicpizza

Viral videos cover an overwhelmingly diverse range of topics from the Red Bull Stratos Space Jump to Gangnam Style.  It’s nearly impossible to accurately predict what will go viral. The one link that all viral videos have in common is entertainment quality. Whether they leave us in awe or make us laugh, they are inherently entertaining and that’s what inspires viewers to click that little share button. Great videos often have a whole team of creative minds behind them from marketing specialists like Media Whiz.

In Marketing, a Call to Action is Key

There are lots of entertaining topics that may inspire a viral video, but these videos are only effective for marketing purposes if they include a call to action. You may love Harlem Shake videos but they don’t inspire you actually do anything when you’re done watching (except maybe watch some more). To succeed with videos as a marketing strategy, your content must make some connection to your product. The Dollar Store Shave Club’s video was essentially a well-crafted ad that was so witty it went viral. The call to action is clear – buy our razors and join the club.

Creativity and Spontaneity are Behind the Best Videos

In the online world, you have to move fast to keep up. Bodyform responded to an angry customer’s Facebook rant promptly with their BodyformResponds :: The Truth video. This witty response turned poor publicity on its head and made customers laugh at the idea of the disillusioned man complaining about women’s “time of the month.” The speed of the company’s response combined with the hilarious creativity of the video’s premise made this a viral success.

How You Distribute Content is as Important as What You Put In

The way you distribute viral content impacts how it performs. For the greatest success, your video must have a wide viewer base when it’s first released. A study conducted by Yuping Liu-Thompkins of Old Domain University revealed that the rate of diffusion for a video increases by 17% for every additional 100 subscribers a YouTube channel has.

This correlation is especially notable for lower quality videos. The diffusion rate for a video with a low rating increases 30.72% per additional 100 subscribers while a high quality video can travel farther on its own steam. Highly rated videos had only a 3.32% increase in diffusion per 100 additional subscribers.

If you’re branching out into video marketing, it’s important that you combine creativity, entertainment, and a call to action to get the highest rate of success with your piece. Enlisting the help of marketing professionals like Media Whiz can help.