10 Tips to Creating Better Viral Videos

With the exploding popularity of video sites such as YouTube, Veoh, GoogleVideo and the countless others which are springing up every day, the opportunity for marketers to create viral videos to promote their business or website has not been met with idle hands.

The videos on these sites can generate thousands of views in a matter of days, which also brings in the opportunity to funnel that traffic to your website. When a visitor finds videos on one of these sites that are of particular interest to them, they have the chance to share them with their friends, which most people do.

This is a terrific time to create your own video and upload it to kick off a huge wave of viral promotion! To get the most out of your video, it must be original, and have some type of quality to it that makes people want to share it with their friends. It could be something that’s comical, shocking or something of intense value.

This part you’ll have to work out for yourself, but I can give you some surefire tips to make your video a quality production, giving it the best chance to take off and receive plenty of viewers.

Start off with a plan.

If you simply sit down and create a video on the fly, that’s exactly how it’s going to look to your viewers. You should map out a definite plan of what it is you wish to convey, and take the time to write out all the points you want to cover.

This is also the time to decide what other tools and resources you’ll be using, such as a web browser or computer software. You don’t want to be fumbling around throughout the presentation because it’ll make you appear like an amateur.

Create an outline for the information you’re going to cover.

Now that you have everything in mind that you want in the video, it’s time to make a proper outline. This will allow you to align your thoughts and arrange the order of sequence the video will follow.

Professionals call this a story map. You can do it with text or images – just something to keep you on track with your order of events in a sequence that makes the most sense.

Divide your video into sub topics so the viewer can skip to each section as needed.

If your video’s going to cover a lot of ground, you should break it up into chapters so that they can skip to a desired section. For instance, if I’m teaching you all about how to use Squidoo, and you’re a complete newbie, you might appreciate a start to finish detailed map.

But someone who already has an account there and only wants to see the advanced settings, or one particular step like how to hyperlink an image on Squidoo, would probably want to bypass the account set-up details and all the other beginner components.

Consider creating a script.

Sometimes creating a video is short and sweet project, where others take more time. If your video’s going to be lengthy, it may be a good idea to create a script so that you can follow it loosely.

A script can help keep you on topic, and keep the viewer’s interest. But if you feel like you can’t follow the script without reading it in a dull manner, skip it and go for a more “off the cuff” presentation so it’s not apparent that you’re reading.

Before recording, make sure all unnecessary items are out of the way.

Keeping all unnecessary items out of the recording will give it a more professional look, and won’t cause the viewer to be distracted by things which are not related to the video. If you’re filming yourself in your office, for instance, have a nice, clean desk without a lot of clutter.

Likewise, if you’re doing a screen capture video, clean up your desktop! You don’t want them seeing all of your files on your computer. Sometimes you might have sensitive folders that are for your eyes only, like joint venture partnerships or product creation ideas you don’t want competitors seeing.

Make your recordings in an area where there’ll be no distracting noise.

I can’t tell you how annoying it is to watch a video where I have to concentrate on filtering out background noise like a baby crying, the toilet flushing (yes, it’s happened), or people’s phone conversations.

Find an appropriate area, or make the spot you have appropriately quiet. Get pets out of the way, too. A barking dog wouldn’t be inside your office, so it shouldn’t be in your home office when you’re trying to appear professional.

Take a short pause.

A newbie mistake when recording is to begin speaking right as the record button is pushed. You should give a pause to make sure that the start of the audio isn’t cut off at the beginning.

The problem here is that we usually introduce ourselves and our website address right up front. If you have that important information cut off, then your branding is ruined, and that’s the whole reason you’re creating viral video productions in the first place!

Accurately narrate your actions.

Describe what you’re doing. Don’t just rely on the video to get your message across. By telling the viewer what you’re doing in a step-by-step manner as you’re doing it, your video will be much more informative and well received.

Plus, if it’s something they’re watching while they’re taking action steps (like setting up a Squidoo lens in one browser while watching your video in another), they may only be listening to your video while following along on the side.

Slow down!

Try this: Speak as you normally do for about three sentences. Now speak slowly and listen to your own speech. Which sounds better to you? Sometimes when we speak, we tend to speed through what we’re saying, resulting in a condition called mush mouth.

Pay attention to your speech when recording to avoid speaking too quickly or too slowly. Adjust the speed and tone of your voice so that it sounds good to you on play back. You don’t have to have a monotone voice, but don’t zip right through a presentation because you’ll lose your audience.

Practice your presentation.

I’ve heard it all my life – “practice makes perfect” - and it seems to be pretty much true the majority of the time. You should make a complete trial run of the video before you decide on releasing anything to the public.

This will allow you to be confident on your final run, as well as help you catch any mistakes you’re making. Viral videos are creating waves of completely automated traffic for those who are savvy enough to step up and take it. If you follow my ten easy tips, you’ll be making waves of your own!