How to Create Viral Videos – The 3 Fundamental Rules

Now, there are few things you need to know about the system before we try to create a viral video. So lets start from the beginning.

First, what is a Viral Video ?

“A viral video is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages”

-Wikipedia

Widespread popularity means getting insane amounts of  : Views, Ratings, Comments, Friends and Subscribers. IF your video is really good it can get more than million views. The best part about this is that the results can be seen really, really fast. Some videos even get 10 million views over just one month.

So, how does the system work ?

• Publish a cool video
• Few people see and like the cool video, thus they share it with friends
• More people come to see the cool video
• Now Even more new people like and share the cool video.
• The loop goes on until virtually everyone has seen the cool video.

You can see that 80 % of the work will be done just by having a cool valuable video. So the main focus should be directed on creating it.

First Rule : Focus On Creating and Giving Value

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Value is a Magnet

All people are hardwired to gravitate towards higher value, PERIOD.

Less cool kids want to hang out with the cool kids. Why ? because the cool kids have higher social value.

Having a video that gives advice on how to solve premature ejaculation problems can be really valuable to some people. (good example I know…) Why ? because you have a solution to their problem, plus it is free.

Value is :

1. Something that people want/need
2. Something that will make people feel positive emotions

Some common values in a video would be :

• Connecting with their wants – How well do you know what they value/want (This should be the first thing they see on your video).
• Simplicity/clearness - How good is your language(English), easiness to understand, concepts, analogies, examples.
• Emotional spikes – Fun/humor/Wow effect/Energy
• Entertainment – Pictures, effects
• Uniqueness – Your logo, How deferent is your video from the videos in the same category?
• Certainty – How certain are you that the thing you speak about is true /social proof – how did other people succeed with the thing you are talking about.

Research

Now its time to find out what your audience values specifically so you can DELIVER exactly what they want to know. Good place to learn what people value is on forums, Google answers or other cool videos.

DELIVER

Now it is time to forget about what YOU want for a second and  just focus on creating the most value possible, think about how your video will save people hours and hours of research, trial, error and confusion. Tweak it until it is becomes outstanding.

Second Rule : Be the first one to share the video.

I am talking about social bookmarking here, if you don’t know much about it you should first watch this video

Now, to completely understand how it works I recommend you try using Stumble Upon for a week (you will probably love it)

You can also use Social Marker to quickly bookmark your video the most popular social bookmarking websites.(free service)

You don’t have to put it everywhere, just make sure that you share it on the most popular places:

• StumbleUpon.com
• Digg.com
• Mixx.com
• Propeller.com
• Del.icio.us
• Reddit.com

And make sure that you put the video in the correct category. Its a common mistake, so think twice before making a choice.

You can also share your video on other places where it could contribute.

Forums and blogs are really good places to start. Just create a account and embed the video in a new thread.

Third rule : Build a Brand

What is branding ?

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.

The way i see it is Quality +Logo / Time = Brand

This is not only about your videos, its about everything else. Its about life. YOU are a brand, if you give value constantly people will start forming good opinions of you, they will trust you and will want to be around you. They will want to give value back to you.

Lets get back on creating viral videos now… If you really want to get the most out of rule 2 you will have to build high value profiles on the social bookmarking websites, or at least on one of them.

You can do this over time by constantly sharing the noteworthy material you find over the Internet,  connecting with people that have similar interests and building friendships.

What do you get from branding ?

• People will want to see more videos from you
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes trust and loyalty

How to create a brand :

Quality video  + Logo  /  Time  =  Brand

When people see your logo in the end of one or two quality videos they will ask : who is this guy ? lets see if he has more cool stuff ? Then they will visit your profile to see more.

Boom they are now your fans. They are subscribing and leaving comments on every video. They now trust you.

Create or recommend a product and they will buy it.

Thanks for reading

-Alex

PS. I really appreciate your feedback.