It is the dream of any video marketer to have content that goes viral. One contagious video clip can change the course of a company’s trajectory. But how does this happen? The following tips offer ways for marketers to resonate more with their audiences and lead to more engagement:
Don’t Be Limited
Oftentimes, marketers in industries like finance, consulting and healthcare feel like they have to stick to serious video content. But this is not the case. Consumers like entertaining content, no matter what industry it is created for. For example, take the #EpicStrut campaign from MoneySuperMarket in the UK. This advertisement features a businessman strutting around a city and dancing in booty shorts — not what normally comes to mind when most people think of financial services. This campaign works because it focuses on the emotional reward of the company’s service, namely being that its consumers will have the confidence to strut down the street.
Marketers that feel constrained by their company’s work should look at things from a different perspective. Instead of just talking about what their product does, they can appeal to customers‘ emotions or sense of humor.
Be Honest
In a world filled with marketing content that glosses over the dirtier details of life, it can be refreshing to see completely honest content. HelloFlo is a great example of this. As a company focused around sanitary products, traditional ads usually keep the visuals of blood and actual period talk to a minimum. HelloFlo took the opposite route with its viral “First Moon Party” video. This advertisement features a mother throwing a party to celebrate her daughter’s fake first period. It takes a humorous tone and opens the opportunity for a conversation with its core audience. It does not shy away from reality, which gives it a charming quality.
Honest marketing can also invoke deep emotion. Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches have been shared all over social media by those who identify with them. They take a deep look at how women are often their own worst critics and how they can learn to love themselves. For a beauty and skincare company, this is a great tactic. By appealing to insecurities, but also adding reassurances, the company is promoting the simple beauty regimen that it provides.
Pull at the Heartstrings
Sentimental videos are often some of the most popular. No matter what the advertisement is actually for, it seems that consumers cannot resist the sentimental, sad and cute. Budweiser is certainly not a sentimental product, but its commercials have some of the most emotional content. Its 2014 Super Bowl commercial, “Puppy Love,” has a staggering 58 million views. Stories of love, loss and care are ones that most people can relate to and want to see on their screens. Budweiser is an expert in portraying these heartfelt moments.
Add a Memorable Touch
If you are looking for a simple way to jazz up a video idea, focus on a single feature that will make it unique. Take Morphsuits, for example. Adding in a crazy costume can be just enough of the unexpected to make a video successful. Recombu Cars, a car comparison site, used crash test dummy Morphsuits in one of its videos. The purpose of the video was to test a new pedestrian-sensing feature, and this easily could have been done with regular pedestrians or regular crash dummies. Adding in the Morphsuit component helped make this video one of its most popular and memorable.
Viral videos vary greatly in their content, but marketers should look at trends among the most successful to get started in the right direction.
