Yes. That's the short answer.
This week's post is going to be a short one, in list format, because I'm hoping that by keeping it simple, some of you out there in the land of wires and iPhones will heed my advice. I see so many companies wasting their time making videos that go nowhere.
First, let's talk about realities:
Your YouTube video is unlikely to go viral. It requires hard work for a brand to go viral on YT, and if you're doing it yourself, you probably don't have the time to make it happen.
You'll have a better chance for success on Facebook. In fact, the social network is the best place to post if you want a video to go viral. Post the video natively to your Facebook Page.
Personal videos (videos made by an individual) have a better chance of going viral.
Now, here's the tricks:
1. Broad Interest
You'll need to create a video that is more broad than your offering. For example, if you are a restaurant that has great community involvement, consider producing a video about the community. If people start sharing it, they'll be sharing your brand as well. I did this for a Facebook page to promote events in Winnipeg. Here's that video. Spend: $0
2. Be Unique
Your concept should be unique if you're trying to sell something. In the case of Fun Mountain, we created a Halloween event that capitalized on the zombie fad. This was unique because the park had never done an event in the off-season, and the video went viral because of the unique advertising angle. In fact, it was the most viral video in Facebook history promoting a product or service in Manitoba. That is, until it was beaten by another video we did for Fun Mountain. However, that was linked to a contest, so we still call this one the winner, and so does Facebook. Spend: $225
3. Never Release Video Just Cuz
Don't release video of you and your employees stocking the shelves. That's what Snapchat is for. Viral video needs a hook, and it needs to capitalize on something happening in the world or your market at that moment. This is a video we created for a first year music festival. Spend: $100
4. Figure out Your Audience & Pay to Play
You should target your video towards those who would love to watch what you post. They'll take care of the broad reach from there. Pay a few hundred dollars to get things going, then continually fine tune your audience as you start to see trends in your insights and analytics. Remember, broad subject whenever possible, targeted audience whenever possible. Here's a great take on what could have been just another boring auto ad. Spend: $500
5. Involve as Many People as Possible
For small businesses with small budgets, the key is to get as many of your staff, customers, and brand loyalists involved whenever you can. This gives you an opportunity for free advertising, and free viral reach.
Virility Can Be Yours!
This is a starting point, and will get your pointed in the right direction. If you want to learn all of the tricks and methods of Online Marketing, take our training course. It starts with a free 45-minute consultation to call to see if you are a good fit for our program.
Written by: Jay Hall - Chief Strategist