Viral or Video?

There are companies out there who claim to specialize in creating viral videos. They may do their best to try, but they simply cannot create them.

It’s my belief that such a video by its very nature, and why it is called viral, is that you don’t know when it will catch. The same goes for a cold. Now, you can probably increase the likelihood of catching a cold by not washing your hands and going around licking doorknobs, but you still don’t KNOW you will get sick.

For me, the equivalent of systematically trying to catch a cold is the same as creating a video in the first place. And doing it well. If you create something that you want to watch over and over again, you have a greater chance that your audience will want to do the same.

So what’s the key to going from video to virality? Your video needs to show your brand’s personality without giving the audience a sales pitch. If you also include some humor, surprise, information, and an element of intrigue, all of which create an emotional response—then and only then does it even have the potential to go viral.

Finally, and most importantly, make it relatable! Because it’s when your audience unexpectedly, suddenly realizes that it’s them who’s featured in it—that’s when they hit the share button.