What Is A Viral Video?

Viral content is made popular through organic sharing on the internet via social media, YouTube or even email. These posts have the ability to cut through all the noise online to reach millions of people in just a short period. We probably don’t need to tell you that more views means more leads and sales; however, a viral video can also increase your brand recognition long-term. As a result, you’ll have a shot against much larger competitors. But how should you go about making one, and where does social listening fit into all this? Here are 5 ways social listening can help to create a viral video:

1. Make A Plan

What do you want to achieve with this video? Your first action should be to create a strategic brief outlining goals, messaging and tone, as well as length and where it will be distributed. Having a clear plan will work to guide everyone involved towards the desired outcome. It also helps to ensure strategic consistency and strengthen your brand’s online presence. Social listening is a great way to measure the success of other brand’s campaigns. Competitor analysis will help you to identify what has and hasn’t worked in the past, saving both time and money.

2. Do It Quick

This doesn’t refer to the actual making of the video, but rather getting the message across. Studies have shown that the average attention span is around eight seconds. Consequently, failure to captivate your audience within the first few moments will mean they’ll likely move on before you get the chance. The aim is to provide maximum value in minimal time while staying on topic, and videos should rarely exceed two minutes in length. Social listening is one of the most effective ways of getting to know your target audience. For that reason, it’s a powerful tool for building content. Identifying their likes, dislikes, and what they are most reactive to will help you keep them engaged.

3. Get A Feel

For something to go viral, it needs to have mass appeal. According to research, psychological response and social motivation are the two main drivers of viral success. This refers to how the content makes someone feel, and why someone would want to share it. The greater the psychological response, the more motivated a person is to share it. Though negative viral content does of course exist, it will likely do more harm than good for brands. Using social listening to identify your audience’s likes and dislikes will help to tap into positive emotions and invoke a ‘good’ reaction. Studies show that addressing the viewer directly using “you” within the first few seconds improves retention rates. 

4. Stay Ahead

Aligning your content with current topics can also be effective for capturing consumer attention. Monitoring online conversation around your industry is a great way to keep up to date with trends, and even predict new ones. It’s important, however, that this subject matter is relevant to your brand and its values. Relatability is one of the top reasons for sharing content. This can be achieved in a number of ways, from using new music to updates within your target audience’s areas of interest.

5. Keep Track

Social listening isn’t just helpful during the development stages. When a video goes viral, brand awareness increases as does the amount of people talking about it. It would be a waste to go to all that effort only to miss out on all those valuable insights and chances to connect with potential new customers. Remember: it doesn’t end when after pressing send (or publish)! Tracking the online conversation around your brand will enable you to respond quickly to any questions your audience may have, or keep the dialogue going to build momentum.   Social listening can be used to track the success of your viral video and enhance the amount of opportunities it can bring. Get in touch today to find out how RILA GLOBAL CONSULTING can help.