You cannot make a viral video, you just try to make a good video and distribute it properly.
I don’t know who exactly said this, but have heard a lot in my startup career.
You must have heard this gyan too, but let me tell you this is a misconception that people are carrying without any data driven proof to backup.
Do you know there are templates, and elements and there are formula in a video film which makes it a hit or go viral?
It may sound cliche, and at some extent it is, but many videos have been viral with this formula.
For example – Template for a Romantic Comedy (RomCom) movie like DDLJ or Jab We Met or Hum Tum or You’ve got mail or Blended etc.
- Boy meets a girl but there is an anti-situation in starting – they do not like each other etc.
- But then there is a situation/ circumstance that forces them to stay together – Train miss etc.
- Then one person starts doing some things which the other person like – Taking care of girl, selfless acts etc.
- Then there is an introduction of a third element (character/ situation) – ex-husband, future husband etc.
- At interval these guys separate
- Then one or both persons try to resolve the conflict in second half
- Suddenly in the climax, something terrible happens which jeopardise the love story
- Everything resolves with a happy ending
Specific things change but almost all the above elements will be there in any RomCom film. So now, you give me a genre and I will give the template :).
The point I am making is that things are not random when it comes to making a film or a video. There are some necessary elements in a story which appeal to humans and you need to add them in your videos. Obviously there is no guarantee that every video that has these elements (discussed in article) will go viral but definitely absence of these will make it a dull and money wasting video.
What people like
- Things/ Situations/ Stories they can relate to
- Sex/ Humor/ Emotions
- Creative presentation
What people do not like/ understand
- Quality of video
- Gyan
- Technicalities of video making
Things which generally work
- Inspiring story
- Movie spoof in context of your target audience
- Negative angle of the situation
- Non linear storytelling (helps in presentation)
- Relate your product/ service with emotions like happiness, pride, comfort, trust etc.
How you judge whether a video is viral material or not
- People should relate to the concept – People generally relate with things happening in their life. For ex – An engineer will like a movie spoof made on engineers.
- Video should invoke a reaction or a perspective – This encourage people to share his/ her point of view. People will then discuss it with others.
- Person should feel compelled to pass on the message – Sometimes after watch a good movie, we immediately call a person and tell him/ her about the movie.
- Person feels that his other known contacts will also relate to it – For ex – Many people called their school/ college friends after watching 3 idiots because they knew that other person would also be having same feelings.
- Last but not the least creativity – You have to present the concept in an unique style.
After making a video, you must follow certain methods to make your video viral on social media.
Like entrepreneurship/ startups, there is no definite rule when it comes to viral videos but there are certain things which need to be done right. If you think through and work smartly you yourself can create a viral video but still if you need professional help, please post your requirement here.
