Do you want to learn how to create high-quality content that will go viral quickly? These insights will help you create the best viral marketing campaigns that will help you generate more sales on your content.
Viral videos are a hot topic that spread faster from person to person through social media platforms. Most social media users wonder what it takes to make a video go viral. There is no one answer to this question, as what makes a video go viral can vary depending on the platform, the audience, and the content. However, some general guidelines can help you increase your chances of creating a viral video.
Depending on the social media platform, a video might need a certain amount of views to be considered viral. Generally, a video qualifies to be viral if it gains at least a few million views within one week or less. For instance, a video with 250,000 views on TikTok can be termed viral; however, the same video will not be termed viral on Youtube. This is because TikTok has a smaller population compared to Youtube.
A funny video, interesting or educative, is more likely to go viral compared to a boring one. Also, the timing and promotion of the video contribute mainly to the video's viral state. This article will discuss what it means for a video to go viral and what factors contribute to its success. We will also provide some tips on creating your viral video.
What is viral marketing?
Viral marketing is a marketing campaign when a person or brand creates a marketing message about a particular product, idea, or service that people can relate to. Viral marketing aims to create content that relates to all individuals to the extent that they willingly share the content with family, friends, and followers. This type of marketing widely relies on word-of-mouth communication for it to go viral.
Viral marketing spreads from one individual to another or channel to channel to earn attention. For example, if a video appears on Facebook, people will share it on TikTok, Twitter, Youtube, or Instagram, and it will spread on all those social media platforms.
How many views on TikTok are viral?
On TikTok, a video with 500,000 views is considered semi-viral, while one with 1-2 million views is considered fully viral. Even if a user has a million followers, reaching a million views means the video has gone viral outside their circle. A video must take 2 to 6 hours after it has been posted on TikTok to reach viral status.
How many views on Facebook are viral?
For a video to go viral on Facebook, it counts the number of shares that users have done with a particular video or the number of posts created by the video. For instance, if a video is posted and gains 100,000 views but with 10 shares, the video will not be considered viral. If the video has 100,000 views and half of the viewers liked or shared it, it is considered viral. Since Facebook is more complex, there is no particular number of views for a video to be viral.
How many views on Youtube [shorts] are viral?
Youtube shorts are designed to be consumed in 60 seconds or less. With Youtube shorts gaining over 50 billion daily views, there is no specific number of views given by Youtube for shorts to be considered viral. In 2022, creator marketing agency Exonia outlined a list of the top 25 most-viewed Youtube shorts, and surprisingly, the videos had over 300 million views each. This does not necessarily mean a video will not be considered viral if it does not gain 300 million views. Still, unlike other social media platforms, the Youtube shorts will need a few million views to go viral.
It's always best to focus on creating engaging and high-quality content for Youtube Shorts that resonates with your audience rather than aiming for a specific view count to define virality.
How many views on Instagram is viral?
As outlined by Instagram, a video has to gain over 100,000 likes and views and over 1000 comments while being shared by a single Instagram account. This makes it quite difficult to go viral on Instagram. However, the views largely differ depending on the targeted audience, specific goals, and industry benchmarks.
How does viral marketing work?
Viral marketing is less about being lucky and more about marketers working hard to craft a strategy that will push their product. This is basically how viral marketing works and the following are requirements that can assist you in coming up with viral content:
- It creates highly shareable content. A brand first needs to create content that is highly entertaining and informative. This content includes images, memes, articles, challenges, videos, or interactive experiences.
- Emotionally engaging content. Everybody wants an environment where they can express their emotions and share their experiences. A brand should consider content that taps into human emotions.
- They are utilizing social media platforms. Viral marketing widely relies on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter. People can easily share the content with their family, friends, and follower through this platform
- Seeding and initial promotion. To begin, marketers share the content across all their social media platforms. Content creators and influencers with huge followers on their social media accounts can also be involved in helping to push the content.
- They are encouraging user participation. Brands and marketers encourage the audience to participate in the campaign by creating and sharing their content related to the campaign. This helps in creating awareness about the product or service.
- They are leveraging trends and challenges. Younger generations look for trends or challenges to adopt and make their own. Coming up with trends, challenges, or memes can elevate viral marketing.
- We are optimizing for sharing. Sharing is among the best strategy for increasing brand awareness. The content should be easy to share, and sharing buttons and hashtags should be included to facilitate sharing.
- They are leveraging user-generated content. Brands also encourage the audience to create their content concerning the campaign. The audience shares the content with their followers, and the followers with their followers, spreading brand awareness.
- Timing and relevance. Launching a campaign when the product or service is relevant and timely can increase the chances of brand awareness.
- Tracking and monitoring. Brands and marketers track and monitor how the campaign performs on various platforms, which platforms attract a great audience, and how the audience interacts with the content.
- We are adapting and iterating. Viral content does not last forever, so adapting a strategy to capitalize on the campaign is of great essence.
Viral marketing consists of the message, messenger, and environment; each part plays a significant role in creating a successful viral marketing campaign. Viral marketing can gain traffic within a short duration, and it does not matter whether it is a big business.
Features of viral marketing.
To perform well in Viral marketing, you need to be aware of some features that will enhance the process of your content going viral. A campaign should have the following features to succeed across all platforms.
- They are appealing to the targeted audience. For any campaign to go viral, the audience must be targeted. The audience makes the campaign go viral, so the audience should feel that they are positively targeted. Reaching your targeted audience through the proper channels increases the chances of having a successful campaign.
- It should be shareable. Sharing of content is what pushes it to be viral. A campaign should consider making its content easy to share. It can be through a hashtag, an easily replicated image, or by giving something away that will make other people want them.
- Emotional appeal. Certain content often tends to trigger certain emotions among individuals. Any viral campaign must emotionally connect with the audience regardless of the emotion. Content that allows the audience to express their emotions is always more shareable and memorable.
- The date and time the content is posted for successful campaigns are of great essence. For the day, one can consider a day like Christmas, as people are all over social media trying to keep up with the current trends. Also, people are much idle and free on the weekends, which is the perfect time to do away with boredom.
- A marketing campaign will not go viral unless it is outstanding and unique. While developing a viral campaign, ensuring the content is unique is essential. The content should not be a duplicate of something from the past; rather, it should be something new and eye-catching.
How to do viral marketing?
To have a successful viral market campaign, a brand must acquire a combination of specific skills. One also needs a strategy, an understanding of digital trends, and consistency. These are some basic skills to consider to acquire a successful viral market.
- Understand your audience. Before starting a campaign, get to understand your targeted audience. Please get to know their interests, behaviors, and what they prefer most.
- Identify trends. Research the most trending topic and memes and stay updated. Adding this to your content will make it more attractive and shareable.
- Set clear goals. Identify your significant objectives for your campaign and set your goals. These goals will help shape your strategy.
- Creative concept. The more unique your content is, the more audience it attracts. Competition is high, so make sure your content is unique and outstanding.
- Create high-quality content. With videos being highly shared, ensure your videos are of high quality.
- Emotional appeal. Emotional content is more likely to be shared, so consider creating content that will evoke emotions among individuals.
- Avoid making your content too hard for the audience to understand. Ensure your content is simple and easy for the audience to get along with.
- Make it possible for the audience to easily share your content by including sharing options, i.e., hashtags on your content.
- Utilize influencers—partner with significant influencers and content creators with a massive following on their social media accounts.
- Engagement and interactivity. Encourage your audience to start challenges and create content relating to your campaign.
- Mainly consider holidays and weekends when people are mostly active on social media.
- Engage in conversations. To help build a community around your campaign, interact with your users.
Is virus spreading always good for my digital marketing?
There are always ups and downs in every situation, and so does viral spreading. Viral spreading is considered to be both beneficial and challenging for digital marketing. This also depends on the context and goals of your marketing strategy.
Benefits of viral spreading in digital marketing.
- It increased reach and visibility. For your content to go viral, it means it has attracted a large audience across different social media platforms. This also means that you already have a vast number of potential customers.
- Cost-effective. Viral marketing is the most cost-effective type of digital marketing. There is no need to use much money to make your content go viral. Viral spreading also reduces the need to pay for advertisements on TVs and billboards.
- Brand awareness. Viral marketing introduces your content to a new audience earning your brand popularity. It gets to people who might not have previously been aware of your products or services.
- Engagement and interaction. Viral content generates discussions, comments, and user-generated content. This interaction among individuals creates a community around your brand.
- Credibility boost. When your content goes viral, it boosts your industry's credibility and authority.
Challenges of viral spreading in digital marketing.
- Unpredictable. It is difficult for a business to measure the increase in sales due to a viral marketing campaign.
- Short-term impact. Though it is easy to go viral, maintaining the same level of attention takes time and effort. Viral marketing can be short-lived and does not guarantee the longevity of your brand.
- Quality vs quantity. Though your content may attract a much larger audience, it does not guarantee that all of them might be interested in your brand.
- Risk of misinterpretation. When your content targets the wrong audience, your content might be misinterpreted and give your brand a negative reputation.
- Potential privacy concerns. Some viral campaigns encourage users to share their personal information, which might not go well with others.
What are the classic viral marketing Videos in 2023?
The list below outlines some of the best and classic viral marketing videos released in 2023. All these videos are creative, engaging, and educative. These videos are the best way to start if you want to create the best viral marketing campaigns.
1. Virgin Atlantic ‘See the World Differently' campaign [2023]+
The ‘See the World Differently' campaign launched in 2022 is still gaining attention in 2023. The campaign mostly focuses on shaping the travel industry. Due to the stagnation caused by the Covid pandemic, Virgin Atlantic has taken a step to foster inclusivity among passengers and crew. The video encourages individuals to embrace their authentic selves. The voice of Lady Blackbird singing ‘I am what I am' accompanies the video promoting empowerment and acceptance. The video has a total of 17 million views on Youtube.
2. Samsung Mobile Galaxy S23 Ultra [February 2023]
This video provides an extensive introduction to the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Though it is packed with details and features, it is easy to understand. The video has garnered over 23 million views on Youtube. The video features people using the Galaxy S23 to be more creative.
3. Heinz and Absolut Vodka [March 2023]
This viral video features popular celebrity Gaga Hadid making tomato vodka paste sauce. Heinz and Absolut Vodka teamed up to launch a limited-edition tomato vodka paste in the UK. The 2 brands combined Heinz pasta sauces and Absolut Vodka to create a unique and delicious pasta sauce. The “Absolutely Heinz” campaign was a success for both brands as it generated a lot of positive buzz.
4. Dove ‘Turn Your Back' campaign [March 2023]
This ad is emotion-evoking as it features women tired of being photoshopped. The powerful ad is being shared millions of times online. It had one simple message to these women, to remove filters and embrace their natural beauty. In the video, women turn their backs on the filter and stand up for natural beauty.
5. Uber Eats ‘Raise Your Arches' campaign [January 2023]
This popular viral marketing campaign by Mcdonalds' and Uber Eats was launched in January 2023. The campaign involved people raising their eyebrows when they were craving a Mcdonald's. Customers would get free meals using Uber Eats or Mcdonald's app promotional codes. The videos featuring people raising eyebrows in different situations boosted McDonald's and Uber Eats sales. The video gained over 100 million views on Youtube.
Conclusion
Successful campaigns like the ones mentioned above showed the demand for honest and transparent brand voices. Viral marketing is unpredictable, so coming up with the best marketing strategies is of great essence. The features and guidelines above are useful if one aspires to attain a successful marketing strategy to make your content go viral with more views.
