What Makes a Youtube Video Go Viral?

TommyCarey

Length of the video: The length of you video will usually make or break it if you're trying to go viral. Have you ever seen a 10 minute go viral? Probably not, and if you have, it's only been once or twice. Try to make your video short and sweet and keep it under 3 minutes. Making a video just 2 minutes long, or 2 1/2 minutes, will increase the chances of it going viral because people will watch it to the end and decide if they like it or not. People don't share a 10 minute video when they get to the 3 minute mark, right? So keep it short to increase the chances of it getting shared because people will watch it to the end.

Make it funny: If your video is funny there is a higher chance of getting it to go viral. If you can invoke an emotion and get them to laugh you'll increase the chances of the person liking the video and sharing it for their friends and family. People do share videos that aren't funny, but the chances of people sharing a funny video are much higher than a sad or scary video online.

Publish it everywhere: You need to publish your video everywhere. Don't just publish it on youtube, you need to focus on more websites like vimeo, liveleak and dailymotion to name a few. You'll also need to publish your video on smaller websites that are privately owned, like your own website or video sharing websites that aren't well known. By publishing your video everywhere it will increase the chances of it going viral because some people may not use the popular platforms and those people may be more willing to share than others.

Marketing and SEO: Trying to go viral isn't as easy as it looks. You'll need to do some marketing and SEO to your videos in order to increase the chances of it going viral. Get a press release out there and see if you can get a few shares from that. You'll also need to focus on how your titles and descriptions of the video are set up in order to increase the chances of ranking for specific keywords in order to pull in traffic to get views on your video. Share your video to your own followers on facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc.

In the end, if you don't go viral right away, you'll need to get your video out there in front of the masses. Above are a few ways you can help increase the chances of going viral.

Just remember that getting a video to go viral isn't easy and you may fail your first 10 times

But keep at it and you should be able to weed out all the things that aren't needed to go viral and eventually you'll hit the right formula

[u][b]Length of the video:[/b][/u] The length of you video will usually make or break it if you're trying to go viral. Have you ever seen a 10 minute go viral? Probably not, and if you have, it's only been once or twice. Try to make your video short and sweet and keep it under 3 minutes. Making a video just 2 minutes long, or 2 1/2 minutes, will increase the chances of it going viral because people will watch it to the end and decide if they like it or not. People don't share a 10 minute video when they get to the 3 minute mark, right? So keep it short to increase the chances of it getting shared because people will watch it to the end. [u][b]Make it funny:[/b][/u] If your video is funny there is a higher chance of getting it to go viral. If you can invoke an emotion and get them to laugh you'll increase the chances of the person liking the video and sharing it for their friends and family. People do share videos that aren't funny, but the chances of people sharing a funny video are much higher than a sad or scary video online. [u][b]Publish it everywhere:[/b][/u] You need to publish your video everywhere. Don't just publish it on youtube, you need to focus on more websites like vimeo, liveleak and dailymotion to name a few. You'll also need to publish your video on smaller websites that are privately owned, like your own website or video sharing websites that aren't well known. By publishing your video everywhere it will increase the chances of it going viral because some people may not use the popular platforms and those people may be more willing to share than others. [u][b]Marketing and SEO:[/b][/u] Trying to go viral isn't as easy as it looks. You'll need to do some marketing and SEO to your videos in order to increase the chances of it going viral. Get a press release out there and see if you can get a few shares from that. You'll also need to focus on how your titles and descriptions of the video are set up in order to increase the chances of ranking for specific keywords in order to pull in traffic to get views on your video. Share your video to your own followers on facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc. In the end, if you don't go viral right away, you'll need to get your video out there in front of the masses. Above are a few ways you can help increase the chances of going viral. Just remember that getting a video to go viral isn't easy and you may fail your first 10 times :( But keep at it and you should be able to weed out all the things that aren't needed to go viral and eventually you'll hit the right formula :D

9 years ago

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Lynne

Thanks Razzy. Most of my videos so far are reviews of making money online opportunities so they are all quite long... but they are being viewed. The one with over 12 000 views is about 13 minutes long and the average view time is 10 minutes on that video so I must be doing something right?

I will most definitely focus on some shorter videos soon. It will be so much easier to get done anyway!

Thanks for all these great tips. I am doing everything you have suggested here, except I don't post my videos anywhere but Youtube. Would I use all the same SEO for all those other websites or would I reword my descriptions? Would this not be duplicate content?

9 years ago

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TommyCarey

In terms of SEO you'll want to vary your titles and descriptions so they are seen as unique. This way you can flood the top search results with all your videos. I've done this plenty of times and it's worked extremely well. The best I've done is get 9 out of the top 10 spots and they were all mine. Well, they were on all different websites, but the videos were mine lol

Upload your video to multiple platforms and when it's live you'll want to copy and paste the URL into a .txt file. After you upload your video to a bunch of platforms and get the URLs you'll want to then go find a good seller here on SeoClerks who will do a month long package and also accepts unlimited URLs for their service. You won't need the service to accept unlimited keywords because each of your URLs will be targeting the same set of keywords. I've used this service multiple times for exactly what I'm talking about - https://www.seoclerks.com/Link-Bui...-and-Maintanance
I've ordered this service 12 times already and it's worked every time for what I needed it to do

I only use this service for my tier 2 links, I won't aim it directly at my home or sub pages unless my website is old and already has thousands of backlinks.

Another thing, if your video is 13 minutes long and the average time on the video is 10 minutes it shows that the majority of people aren't staying til the end. If you can, remake that video and get it to 9 minutes and you'll see your time on video increase a lot more ;) But ideally people won't watch a review video that is more than 5 minutes long. If you can compound your video and take out any filler talk, you'll reduce the length and increase your conversions

9 years ago

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Lynne

Oh wow Razzy thanks for such great tips.

Yes I get that, ok so not duplicate content but similar. Perfect.

I haven't bought any services for Youtube videos before, that is certainly something to look at now that my videos are taking off.

9 years ago

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Everett

Have you ever seen a 10 minute go viral? Probably not, and if you have, it's only been once or twice.

I've seen more than one or two Youtube videos going viral. Not many do go viral, unless it's a popular Youtuber. I would like to also mention that the Youtube algorithm apparently prioritizes lengthy videos instead of short two to three minute videos. I've seen a couple of popular Youtubers make this statement in regards to a select few Youtubers who ramble on in their videos, upload the video and the videos receive one million views. Not too sure how credible this rumor is, however it does have some weight to it.

9 years ago

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TommyCarey

I've seen plenty of youtube videos go viral, but most of them are under 5 minutes ;)

A 10 minute video is extremely difficult to go viral, unless you have a large user base, because people don't have long attention spans when they're online and they just want the funny, not the filler.

This goes for informational videos as well. Don't add too much filler and you'll increase your conversions.

9 years ago

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Everett

I guess we shall actually indicate what exactly is a "viral" video? Compilation videos of funny stunts, or basically any "compilation" video will go into a "viral" state and receive millions upon millions of views. Do we mean viral status videos such as "Charlie Bit My Finger", ‎"Evolution of Dance" or videos that just appear to get millions of views? This then brings up the question that the asker asks us "What makes a youtube video go viral". However one can also ask a similar question: "What is the science behind viral videos".

9 years ago

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Lynne

Great questions there Everett. Because my video went "mini-viral" - certainly not millions of views... but it is now sitting on 20 000 views which for me is insane.

9 years ago

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Lynne

See now this is where everything gets interesting... there are always so many different viewpoints on what makes things goes viral.

Like my video was I think about 13 minutes! Most of my videos are about that long. I get an ok amount of views on all my videos I think for a newish Youtuber....

And my videos always rank well.

9 years ago

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hitmeasap

Hello Lynne,
There are several factors that plays a major role to make a Youtube video go viral. PewDiePie for instance, one of, (or even the biggest?) youtuber, are playing video games for himself, commentating and do fun things (even crazy things perhaps), and people seems to like that sort of things. Another example would be summit1g, a big streamer on twitch. He's streaming whenever he play different games and he's interacting with his viewers. After that, he uploads some "highlights" from his streaming sessions and all of his videos are viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

With that being said, these two are both in the gaming niche, they have a huge fan base so their videos get views automatically. Without them doing anything at all. However, there is still a few things you can do, at least to build up your fan base, which is the major thing, at least in my opinion.

First of all, you could comment on related videos. This is time consuming but it usually does the trick and you'll get subscribers by doing this. You can set up a website or facebook fan page where you share your videos too, and you could also share your videos in large Facebook groups, if they are related obviously. All these things will build your fan base, even though it will take time. Suddenly when you upload a new video on youtube, you'll get views from your subscribers, but you'll also get views from new people as your subscribers will most likely end up sharing your video on several social platforms, in case they like what they see. And there's the thing, to get people who's really interested in your content. People who truly like your videos. Those people will share your videos and that will make your videos go viral.

Also regarding this:

By more popular I don't mean that I am popular, far from it actually. It seems the majority of people that watch my videos don't like me very much!

That's probably more or less the same with PewDiePie. I don't personally know even one person who likes his videos. And I don't like them either. He's one of the most annoying and boring youtubers to watch in my opinion, but I still watch one of his videos every now and then..

So the thing is, if you keep going with your controversial videos people will most likely think you're some sort of jerk or whatever, but they will still watch every single video you upload, because they "hate" you.. Haters are usually sharers too. They share whatever they find from people they "hate" or things created by "idiots"... Which ultimately gives you more views with these kind of videos.

Best Regards,
hitmeasap Hello Lynne, There are several factors that plays a major role to make a Youtube video go viral. ?PewDiePie for instance, one of, (or even the biggest?) youtuber, are playing video games for himself, commentating and do fun things (even crazy things perhaps), and people seems to like that sort of things. Another example would be [i]summit1g[/i], a big streamer on twitch. He's streaming whenever he play different games and he's interacting with his viewers. After that, he uploads some "highlights" from his streaming sessions and all of his videos are viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. With that being said, these two are both in the [b]gaming niche,[/b] they have a huge fan base so their videos get views automatically. Without them doing anything at all. However, there is still a few things you can do, at least to [b]build up your fan base[/b], which is the major thing, at least in my opinion. First of all, you could comment on related videos. This is time consuming but it usually does the trick and you'll get subscribers by doing this. You can set up a website or facebook fan page where you share your videos too, and you could also share your videos in large Facebook groups, if they are related obviously. All these things will build your fan base, even though it will take time. Suddenly when you upload a new video on youtube, you'll get views from your subscribers, but you'll also get views from new people as your subscribers will most likely end up sharing your video on several social platforms, in case they like what they see. And there's the thing, to get people who's really interested in your content. People who truly like your videos. Those people will share your videos and that will make your videos go viral. [b]Also regarding this:[/b] [quote]By more popular I don't mean that I am popular, far from it actually. [b]It seems the majority of people that watch my videos don't like me very much![/b][/quote] That's probably more or less the same with PewDiePie. I don't personally know even one person who likes his videos. And I don't like them either. He's one of the most annoying and boring youtubers to watch in my opinion, but I still watch one of his videos every now and then.. So the thing is, if you keep going with your controversial videos people will most likely think you're some sort of jerk or whatever, but they will still watch every single video you upload, because they "hate" you.. Haters are usually sharers too. They share whatever they find from people they "hate" or things created by "idiots"... Which ultimately gives you more views with these kind of videos. Best Regards, hitmeasap

9 years ago

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Lynne

LOL are you calling me an idiot?

Yes I am sharing my videos and I am commenting on other people's videos too. I have now got about 140 subscribers so slowly I am getting my viewers building up.

I quite enjoy Youtube though, I do have viewers that appear to love my channel but yes I have a good number of haters too

I guess you can't really get out there into the public eye and have everyone love you. If you are making an impact you will have lovers and haters!

9 years ago

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hitmeasap

Haha, no no, of course not!

It wasn't my meaning to call you an idiot or anything like that at all. I just simply wanted to point out that haters (which you seem to have, as you said yourself that the majority of the people doesn't seem to like you) are usually sharing a lot of videos because they "hate that idiot" etc. I didn't mean to call you one. Sorry for that

So, you have 140 subscribers and 1 video with 12,000+ views? That's awesome results so far! I wish you the best of luck further on to

9 years ago

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Lynne

Heehee

Yes totally. That is the beauty of it. They comment on my video telling me what an idiot I am which increases my rank because of the engagement, then I reply and they almost always reply back... so it is a great ranking factor. And then like you say they tell all their friends to check out the idiot they hate.

I think it is funny because they are helping me so much. They do all my work for me.

9 years ago

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MasterA

This is a good question. The important factor is quality. You need a quality video if you want it to go viral. It needs to be something interesting to every personality. The length of the video don’t matter as much as the quality of the video. I will watch a video for 20 minutes if every minute of it is different and interesting. However, simple videos do tend to do well because it is not easy to make a long video that has that “wow” factor every minute. For example, it may be as simple as a video of someone proposing to their girlfriend. It will go viral if it is unique and gives every audience that “wow” factor.

9 years ago

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Lynne

Yes that sounds logical to me.

I do need to get myself a better camera and I also need to find someone to edit my videos for me. I suppose I cold learn myself but I don't want to be bothered with that. I have too much on my plate as it is. How much do you think people charge on average for video editing? Are those services offered here at all?

9 years ago

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MasterA

Yes, there are definitely people who offer video editing services. Prices vary; some people may be willing to do is for as little as $5-$15 while others will charge $100. Some may also charge by the hour so it may depend on how long your video is. I don’t recommend you hire people that charge $5-$15 because often, their quality is very bad. You should look for people who can do the job properly and be sure to look at their past work. If you want your video to go viral, then you need to invest into the editing side.

9 years ago

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Lynne

Yes I am starting to think I should invest in video editing software and getting some skills. It may be better for me in the long run.

I was just checking out some recommendations on another question I asked specifically about video editing.

9 years ago

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EliteWriter

Good for you

I think it is ultimately all about the topic you discuss or explain in the video. If it hits a nerve, is funny or controversial, you are going to increase your chances of going viral. You mentioned that yours is regarding opportunities to make money online. There is no doubt that many people look that up, and even though it is a bit lengthy I do not think it matters as some people will be willing to get that extra explanation or tip. I suggest you create shorter videos as a summary of the longer ones.

9 years ago

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Lynne

Yes, what I have found also works quite nicely is following up a while later with hot scams and just updating on what's happening, whether people are being paid or not and those are shorter and quite popular too.

I've found it is also really easy to rank for a Youtube video on a topic when I have already done one previously.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

A video going viral is the conundrum of the times. I don’t think there is an easy answer for that. But for a logical approach, I have to agree that a controversial video has a greater chance of going viral than a video that is artistically done with an entertaining story. The effect of a controversial video is interest. I don’t know why people are so interested in controversies and intrigues on people. That’s the main reason why the movie industry is thriving. Take away the intrigues and controversy and you will have a ho-hum Hollywood.

7 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Most so called viral videos are just fakes they just bought views from multiple sources. For legit viral videos you need to post something out of the ordinary or something everyone wants to see.

6 years ago

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SEOClerks

What Makes a Youtube Video Go Viral?