How Not to Go Viral
Using a targeted strategy to build your video audience
When we say a video is a “viral” video, what do we really mean? Beyond the statistical definition (which can vary, but is generally based on a high number of views over a short period of time), we can ask, “How has it infected our collective conscience?” Whether humorous, political, or heart-tugging, we’re really just talking about a measure of extreme impact. The impact on our day, impact on our communities, and in some cases, impact on our very souls. If nothing else, the “viral” video is an awesome display of communicative power.
What percentage of all online videos would you think to have this kind of impact? It’s got to be pretty small, right? Consider this: 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds. That’s roughly 12 days worth of video every 24 hours. That’s a lot of videos, folks. Do you see the stars in the night sky? THAT’S online video and your business’s three-minute “positioning” video is but one of the billions in an ever-expanding universe. Sooo… it’s pretty dang small.
Where am I going with all this? Sometimes, like a lobster boat squaring off against a battleship, we hold ourselves up against those massive odds when we try to measure the impact of our video content. With half a billion people watching video on Facebook every day, surely one could lure a few thousand (or tens/hundreds of thousands for that matter) eyes to our content, right? It’s possible, but you won’t get there without a rock-solid strategy.
Bottom line: You need to make yourself seen without selling yourself out.
Don’t approach your video content by thinking that casting the widest net will get the most fish. As any great fishing person will tell you, you don’t just drive to the middle of the lake and throw out a line - you fish where you know the fish are.
Video strategy is not simply deciding you’re going to use video to promote your product or service. It’s not determining how people will see your video (there are so many ways to distribute video now). It’s not even figuring out what you mean to say and to whom. Video strategy is how you develop that message, and how you know people will listen.
So, how do you develop that message? Some say to start with the target audience. I say start with yourself. I’m sure you’ve heard about brand before. Brand is knowing (as a business) who you are and what you stand for. Your video strategist will then ask, “What does the world need to know about you and what you stand for?” The words “and what you stand for” are critical here, because who you are can be limited to simple recognizability (a slick logo, tagline, location, etc.), but what you stand for is the thing that creates a bond between your business and your audience.
Once you’ve got a handle on your brand, your video strategy will become that much easier, because as you begin researching the kinds of people that resonate with your business’ brand, you will also be developing the ways you will create that bond with your viewer. Will it be humor? Will it be reason? Will it be compassion? Whatever it is, an informed brand will make it more likely that your message will be heard and will have the right impact on the right people.
So what have we learned today? Don’t make a video just for the sake of making a video, and for the love of Pete don’t make a video thinking it will go viral. The secret to video success isn’t lots of views in a short period of time. It’s developing a bond with your audience that keeps them coming back and makes them want to tell their friends.
