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It seems that everyone is trying to become the next viral sensation these days. I mean, it totally makes sense right? The more people who see your content, the more doors that open? From a business standpoint, such a massive reach could greatly boost ROI and brand awareness. Isn’t this what marketing is all about? We want more eyes on our content. With the growing increase in video marketing, more businesses are turning to video to get the word out about their products or services. However, the vast majority are not getting the results they seek. If you have been trying to figure out why your video hasn’t become the internet’s latest obsession, you will definitely want to check out these 3 Reasons Why Your Video Hasn’t Gone Viral.
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What is a viral video anyway?
Here is the definition of a viral video according to Technopedia:
A viral video is any clip of animation or film that is spread rapidly through online sharing. Viral videos can receive millions of views as they are shared on social media sites, reposted to blogs, sent in emails and so on. Most viral videos contain humor and fall into three broad categories:
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Unintentional Viral Videos: Videos that the creators never intended to go viral. These videos may have been posted by the creator or shared with friends, who then spread the content.
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Humorous Viral Videos: Videos that have been created specifically to entertain people. If a video is funny enough, it will spread.
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Promotional Viral videos: Videos that are designed to go viral with a marketing message to raise brand awareness. Promotional viral videos fall under viral marketing practices.
Why Hasn’t Your Video Gone Viral???
1. It’s too salesy.
Your video is just too much of an ad, and you know how people can get about ads. . . There’s a reason why people used commercials as a bathroom break when watching their favorite show on cable. There’s a reason why people skip over ads at the beginning of a YouTube video. We don’t like feeling like the only reason for showing us the video is to get us to hand over our money. Sometimes we just want “sales pitch-free” entertainment.
Now, I am not saying don’t advertise your product and service in your video. I mean, that is the whole point right? However, take a more natural approach. More and more people are developing an interest in authenticity. Just tell a story. Tap into those emotions: excitement, humor, fear, sadness, whatever emotion you are seeking to evoke. Set the tone of your story, and let the video act as the visuals. Take the viewer on a journey.
2. You forgot all about SEO
*Gasp* SEO applies to my videos as well??? Heck yeah it does. YouTube is a search engine that is owned by an even larger search engine . . .Google. YouTube is currently trailing behind Google as the second largest search engine in the world. And with the growing popularity of video-viewing online, YouTube will continue to flourish.
Treat your videos like you would an article on your website. Research popular keywords, tag it appropriately, use power words in the title. You will also want to get your video to start ranking in Google to increase your viewership. Look at keywords that are already pulling up videos in Google. The more people who search your keyword and click through to your video, the higher your click-through-rate will be.
Add value into your videos. Teach people something. Give them a glimpse into a particular lifestyle. Solve a problem for them. Once you capture the viewer with your title and keywords, you want to keep them watching. Keep it interesting to keep people engaged and to maintain high retention. YouTube looks at this as well. Encourage viewers to leave a comment, hit subscribe, and/or share.
3. Lack of promotion
Sure you created this awesome video that is perfectly tagged and fun to watch, but uhh . . . nobody knows about it. It is up to you to introduce this awesome video to the world. You can’t just create it and wait for the people to show up. Put it in front of them! Share it on your social channels. Share it with your mailing list. Share it with your friends and family. Any opportunity you have to promote it (without being spammy), take it! Create an incentive to those who share it. Share it in an engaging way so that others will also want to share it without you even asking. Promote, promote, promote! The more eyeballs on your video, the higher your chances of it getting shared . . . and getting it shared again and again and again. . .
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