Why do viral videos work

Berger wanted to trigger the symptoms of arousal directly—the number of people who emailed a news article to their friends more than doubled. He also boosted levels of "social transmission" by showing his subjects frightening and funny videos first. Berger says. This builds on previous work by Mr.

Berger in which he analyzed 7, articles that appeared on the most-emailed list of the New York Times between August and February While Mr. Berger initially assumed that people would share articles with practical implications—he imagined lots of pieces on diets and gadgets—he discovered instead that the most popular stories were those that triggered the most arousing emotions, such as awe and anger.

We don't want to share facts—we want to share feelings. Why does this desire exist? Decades of research in social psychology have shown that people often share strong emotions as a means of fostering connection and solidarity. Whether your marketing team decides to pursue a full blown production or a simpler video, these elements add depth and likeability to your video.

Going viral is a bonus. Something that comes after creating a quality video. Before beginning the video creation process, determine what it is you want the video to accomplish.

Is it a tutorial? Will you explicitly promote a product? In other words, these elements cannot help the video unless the purpose of the video can stand on its own. Since approximately 80 percent of the U. How to Make a Viral Video. Elicit emotions. Share strategically. Keep it short. Consider your timing. Align with current events.

Stay engaged. Alexa Nizam. Phone number. Anything else you would like to share? Get Started Create Video. There was a fever pitch of fans searching for any word on the film, and any reactions from cast and filmmakers about the poor reviews. The main reason for this is that knowledge of these stars and their work is so universal that it plays upon our shared cultural knowledge. This is the same way that some of the best comedians in the world can make so many people laugh, they recognize frustrations or bits of information that everyone has or knows and plays with their expectations.

In other words, it was inescapable. If you can tap into pop-culture in this way, your video is much more likely to go viral. That is certainly the case with the advertisement from Moutain Dew above. You may even show it to your friends or family to ask them if they understood it. Now, this is not your traditional viral video. This advertisement ran during the Super Bowl, the most-viewed sporting event in America, so millions of people all saw it at once.

But, the ad did become viral as soon as it was done airing. Thousands of people turned to social media to discuss PuppyMonkeyBaby, and it became the first ad from the Super Bowl people shared. It got a huge kickstart sorry for the pun from the money spent on the Super Bowl spot, but it became viral because it was just…so… weird. The lesson you should take away here is that viral videos are conversation starters. Sometimes it takes some truly off-the-wall creativity to start a conversation.

This ad accomplished that in spades.