Short-form videos tend to be under 60 seconds in length. They can be entertaining or highly useful, and they make a quick impact, which motivates your audience to share the video with their friends, family, and colleagues on social media. When this happens, the video can end up going viral. In this post, we’ll explore viral videos in more detail, assessing whether this should be a primary objective for your marketing efforts.

What does going viral mean?

When we talk about viral videos, we’re not referring to a specific type of content. Rather, we’re referring to the manner in which the video generates popularity. So, when a video goes viral it rapidly amasses millions of views because of the social media users sharing it with followers and/or friends.

Why do we want to go viral?

Of course, the obvious benefit of going viral is that you’re going to reach a monumental number of people. This will expand your reach monumentally, enabling you to connect with more leads and reinforce your brand image. Suddenly, your brand is going to be on everyone’s feed. Not only does this increase the number of people who know about your brand, but it goes a long way in improving your credibility at the same time.

It’s also worth considering that this is a low-cost marketing strategy. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to go viral. You can’t simply purchase this sort of popularity. Instead, it’s all about having a good idea and producing something that people want to watch and share with others. Naturally, while it doesn’t cost a lot to go viral, this doesn’t mean that it’s easy. A lot of brands have tried to go viral for years with clever, funny, and shocking videos, and they’ve failed to do so. That’s why we never recommend obsessing over going viral.

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How to go viral

There are a number of things you can do to increase your chances of going viral. Firstly, make sure your content is useful enough to share. Ask yourself, would you share this video with your news feed? Enjoying the content is one thing. Sharing it requires a much higher level of enjoyment and engagement.

Because of this, you need to read the room and develop content that resonates with people in the current climate. Make sure you’re genuine and authentic in your approach. Also, make an emotional connection. Whether you get an ‘aww’ moment or you leave the viewer in fits of laughter, it’s ultimately strong emotions that are going to encourage people to share the video with their loved ones.

Is it really important to go viral?

While there can be a great buzz when a video goes viral, this shouldn’t be the primary objective when crafting a marketing campaign. Often, if you create an incredible video, it can take off and go viral without you intending to do so. Because of this, it’s much better to create content that focuses on the needs of your customers, rather than chasing that viral hit!

What do next if you go viral

If your video goes viral you need to capitalise on this fast. Share it to other platforms and re-share it to your Stories across the week. Answer as many comments as you possibly can to keep the momentum up. Finally, review why it went viral and make more of the same types of video as people obviously like it!

Want more help with TikTok and other short-form videos? Here are four ways to work with us: