What makes a video go viral? While it may seem totally random which videos make it big, there is some rhyme and reason to what makes a video something that people actually want to share. At Next Day Animations, we work with you to craft a script that is persuasive and engaging. In doing so, we keep in mind many of the characteristics that make up a video that is highly shareable.
Last month, we read “Contagious” by Jonah Berger for our inaugural monthly work book club! In it, Berger discusses many examples of viral content and provides several reasons why things go viral. It was exciting to see how many of his reasons we already think about when creating videos for clients, and to dream up ways we can apply new strategies to our work as well. Here are some of the qualities he discusses that we always keep in mind when creating an animation.
Remarkability
This may seem self-evident, but it’s worth thinking about when creating content. What is special or unique about the message we’re communicating? How can we make this the focal point of the video? People share things because it makes them look good, so we want to create content that will make people look interesting, smart, fun, cultured, compassionate… the list goes on.
Practical Value
Think about the day to day struggles of your audience. Can your video provide some kind of practical knowledge that might be genuinely helpful for the people you are trying to reach? If someone finds a video truly helpful, they will be motivated to share it with friends and colleagues in the hope that they might find some value out of it, too.
Compelling Story
A video that keeps the viewer’s attention is more likely to be shared, and we know that one of the best ways to keep attention is by telling an emotionally compelling story. What kind of work do you do? How does it impact real humans on a daily basis? How can you bring this emotional connection to life using a narrative? A strong narrative will keep people’s attention and motivate them to act, in this case by sharing your video.
Triggers
A trigger is something that causes someone to think of your product. Building in triggers to your video can help your audience create mental connections between your message and something else they experience frequently (such a coffee break, or sitting in traffic, or going to the gym). This helps lead your viewer back to your video/product, and increases the likelihood that they’ll share.
Emotion
Content that creates an emotional connection with your audience tends to be more persuasive and powerful. But have you ever thought about which emotions drive people to share? In the book, Berger talks about high arousal emotions — emotions like anger, anxiety, awe and excitement. These are feelings that drive people to act. Using appeals to these emotions in videos increases the likelihood that the viewer will share.
Our priority is to deliver you a video that makes you look good and that gives your audience plenty of reasons to share it. We also can help you with coming up with strategies for sharing and spreading your video.
With these qualities in mind, and a little bit of internet magic, you can create a video that is shared widely, spreading your message to the people who you want to reach. We can help make it happen.
