All video and content marketers strive to make the next big thing. The first step toward achieving that goal starts on social media. Namely, your brand will want to get their content out there and get users to engage with it actively and share it. Getting to that point takes time and hard work, but there are things you can do to maximize your odds of getting the ball rolling as soon as possible. And what better way is there to drive social engagements than by making shareable videos?
Luckily for you, videos are already one of the most engaging and shareable types of content, so you will already get an edge over the competition just by deciding to pursue video content creation. According to HubSpot, videos are currently the second-most used type of content to boost social media engagements. Videos were also found to generate twelve times more shares than other types of content combined. When you take these two factors into account, it’s evident that videos are the optimal choice for anyone looking to up their social shares and maximize their odds of going viral.
However, just because videos have the potential to be so engaging doesn’t mean they will be without putting in some work! There are plenty of things to consider when starting with video content to make it more shareable. But that’s why we’re here! Let’s take a look at the ten things you should do to make your videos more shareable.
10 Tips to Follow to Make Your Videos More Shareable
Here are our ten tips for making videos more shareable in no particular order:
- Tailor Your Video to Your Audience
- Tell a Story
- Evoke Emotions
- Be Funny
- Don’t Make Your Videos Too Long
- Be Innovative
- Pick the Right Platforms for Your Videos
- Include a Compelling CTA
- Promote Your Video
- Optimize for Mobile
Now let’s get right into it!
Tailor Your Video to Your Audience
The key to the success of every content creator is knowing their audience. Regardless of whether you’re a business looking to raise your brand awareness or an independent creator, you want to make content your viewers will want to watch. But how do you do that? It’s pretty straightforward — do a thorough analysis of your current audience and make a target persona. In other words, create a prototype of your ideal viewer!
After you do that, you will have a much easier time identifying your audience’s needs and wants, which will help you tailor your content to them. You will get a much better insight into what types of video content your viewers will want to watch and will have an easier time adapting. And what happens if your content is more to your viewers’ liking? They share it!
Tell a Story
Many would say that storytelling is as old as humanity, and they’d probably be right! So should it be surprising that telling a story in your video can make it more shareable? After all, stories are compelling, and viewers love them.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.”
Seth Godin
Brands all over the world are realizing the power of storytelling and are changing their practices. And stories aren’t just a powerful tool for marketers! Even aspiring content creators can use them to increase their engagement rates. After all, if people want to see it, it’s worth doing!
Evoke Emotions
Emotions influence our behavior, whether we are aware of it or not. That is why they are a potent tool you can use to make your videos pack quite a punch, so you’d be wise to use them. Namely, emotions are actionable, which can boost your videos’ shareability significantly. Also, including emotional appeal is one of the best methods to persuade your viewers if that’s one of your goals.
But which emotions are going to make your videos easy to share? Unfortunately, there is no single answer to that question, but here are some of the most effective ones you can use:
- Happiness
- Surprise
- Admiration
- Satisfaction
If your videos evoke any of the above, they are sure to stick in your viewers’ memories! Oh, and here’s an excellent example of a video that does just that:
This Ariel India commercial from 2016 evokes a perfect mix of emotions to bring tears to your eyes with its punchline. That is precisely what makes it so memorable!
Do note that your video doesn’t necessarily have to evoke positive emotions to succeed and get shared. However, using emotions like anger or controversy is a slippery slope. We would advise against it unless you have years of experience and are positive you know what you’re doing.
If you decide to go the risky route, check our article on the most controversial ads of recent years. It will hopefully help you learn what might work and what to avoid. Tread carefully! Not all shareable videos went viral for the right reasons. And the last thing you need is bad publicity; trust us!
Be Funny
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”
Mark Twain
We can’t but agree with Mark Twain on this one! Humor can be an incredibly potent tool regardless of what styles of videos you’re creating. Making someone laugh is a surefire way to break the ice and get on their good side.
You do have to be careful, though. Whenever using humor, make sure it’s appropriate for your target audience and don’t overdo it. And yes, that applies to both video marketers and content creators! If you want an excellent example of well-placed humor, look at this video ad:
It’s well-paced, hilarious, and has a fantastic punchline! So if you want to take your video-making game to the next level and make more shareable content, consider doing something similar.
Don’t Make Your Videos Too Long
We cannot emphasize enough how essential it is to keep your videos short if you wish them to drive social engagement! We live in a fast-paced world nowadays, and peoples’ attention spans are getting shorter by the day. Fewer and fewer viewers are willing to stick around and watch longer content.
As you can see from the graph above, by the 30-second mark, most videos already lose 34% of their viewership. By the first minute, that number goes up to 53%! With that in mind, you should keep your content short but sweet if you want to make your videos more shareable.
This widespread popularity of short-form videos is why particular platforms like TikTok are so successful nowadays. So if your goal is to boost your videos’ engagement, perhaps you should consider the value of social media marketing on TikTok? Who knows? Maybe that platform could be your big break!
Be Innovative
Innovativeness is a one-way ticket to stardom! Nobody wants to watch the same old concepts over and over again. Repetitive content gets dull quickly, so remaining on top of your creativity game is essential to making your videos more shareable.
Nobody expects you to make something mind-blowing, though. After all, most of the things that could have been said or done already have nowadays. However, you shouldn’t put out low-quality recycled content from other creators or brands. Nobody will want to share that!
Instead, make something impactful, memorable, and different! If you need some inspiration, take a look at this short gem of a video:
Pick the Right Platforms for Your Videos
Another crucial aspect you have to consider is picking an adequate platform for your videos. You have plenty of choices, regardless of your objectives. Here are some of the platforms that have active video sharing and viewing communities:
- YouTube
- TikTok
So depending on your target audience, different platforms will be more suitable for generating video shares. Also, there are various social media video types you can use to attract viewers, but they do depend on your platform of choice. All of these support different video and content formats, so settling for the right one is essential.
Oh, and here’s another tip for you — consider using video content syndication to your advantage. By getting your videos on multiple platforms, you increase your odds of generating social shares and getting your content noticed! And if you are unsure where to start, we suggest you read our article on various video syndication platforms for some ideas!
Include a Compelling CTA
Since your goal here is to encourage people to share your videos, you will need to give them a little nudge in the right direction. And by that, we mean to ask them to share! That’s right; you will need an actionable CTA for your videos.
By including a CTA asking to share your content, you will improve your share rates significantly. Why? Because many people don’t have a practice of sharing the content they enjoy. However, if you ask them to do it, some of them will! And the viewers who do share content regularly will do it regardless of whether you ask them or not. So it’s a win-win scenario!
Promote Your Video
This tip should be pretty obvious! How do you expect to get any social shares on your videos if you don’t promote them? Although this tip is not related to the contents of your videos themselves, it’s an essential part of making your videos shareable.
There are many ways you can promote your video, but here are just a few useful suggestions:
- Include them on a high-traffic page on your website.
- Post them on your social media accounts.
- Send them to your mailing list.
- Use paid advertising to get your videos on other people’s content.
If you combine all of these methods, you will get an excellent start, which will maximize your chances of getting the ball rolling.
Optimize for Mobile
Last but not least, optimizing your videos for mobile devices is vital if you wish to drive many social shares! And why is that? Because the mobile market is huge nowadays and is only growing by the day. According to WordStream, more than 50% of video clips are viewed on phones!
And did you know that about 92% of people watching videos on mobile devices share them with others? That’s right! So if you’re missing out on such a huge social sharing opportunity, you should re-evaluate your strategy.
Go Get Those Social Shares!
Now that you have these hacks for making shareable videos under your belt, it’s time to get to work. Go create some content and propel your brand to stardom! As long as you stick to our tips above, you’re sure to find success eventually. It might take some time, but persistence is key here!
Good luck on your journey!
