The War Wagon

Someone recently asked for ideas on how to create a viral video for his new social network. This can be a challenge for several reasons:

• Most people create mini-sales-pitch videos. They talk about themselves and their offering, rather than about a hot topic their viewers are interested in.
• The most popular videos that go viral on the net are typically: controversial, very short, funny, and often at the expense of the person(s) in the video
• Though less viral, the other videos that go viral within their perspective niches are highly informational and chock-full of actionable content, usually with an instant gratification element (”How to Make $1,000 in the Next 24 Hours” or “How to Get Rid of Your Pimples Before Prom Tomorrow Night!”)
• They’re created by people who are deeply involved in the video niche, meaning they make tons of videos, are on the video sites all the time, and they have tons of friends who all watch and comment on each others’ videos.

That’s why it seems that myspace kids and aspiring directors have no trouble creating popular videos. But how can a company or entrepreneur create a successfully viral video?

Create a magnet.

This runs in line with Frank Kern’s effective Mass Control methodology. If you like, to make the most of the Viral Video Strategy I’m going to give you, you may want to watch Frank’s free video below for some basic training on how and why a video goes viral (and you make a ton of money).

VIRAL VIDEO STRATEGY

Step One. Identify Your Target Audience
This isn’t necessarily your ideal visitor, but the type of visitor that would be an early adopter. For example, let’s say you want to become an authority and thought leader in weight loss, and your methods teach the secret to lasting weight loss…but it’s not nearly as glamorous or “instant” as many of the not-so-magic pills out there.

WAR STORY EXCERPT
Well I have a client facing this exact issue right now, and what we had to do was create some free videos, special reports, and articles that DID give actionable information and tips that would create instant weight loss.

She wanted to teach them how to have lasting weight loss (these instant techniques would drop fast pounds in water weight and initial inches, but they’d gain it back without her lasting methods.

This became a perfect upsell from the free content into her paid programs and products, PLUS she promoted free content that had her market tackling her like a football on Super Bowl Sunday.

Step Two. Identify What is HOT To Them Right Now
This means two things: what is their primary need, and what is their primary want. This can be two VERY different things. What they need is for you to solve some problem, address some issue, reveal some secret or quick fix that’s been bugging them. But what they want is something entertaining, that transports them out of their daily grind, and that allows them to feel connected.

Videos seem to get viral when they foster a conversation in the marketplace and allow everyone to talk back and forth about something they’re passionate about or about something that makes them feel like one of the ‘in crowd’ or the ‘included.’ So right off the bat, you know the one thing your video should NOT be about…YOU.

The key in this step is to find out what it SHOULD be about. Here’s some pointers:

• Find out what the most popular videos are right now. What are they about and how are they taped?
• Find out what the most popular videos in your niche are - what your target audience is currently getting excited about
• Find popular sites that target your same market and make note of how they promote themselves and what their messaging is
• Visit the sites where your audience spends most of their time. What are they talking about? Use Quantcast and other tools to find out which pages, articles, and forum threads are most popular to your audience.

Step Three. Package Want and Need Into a HOT Conversation Starter
Create a video your audience will sink its teeth into and want to talk about. It doesn’t even have to be directly related to how your products operate or how well you improve your customers’ lives. In fact, make sure your video has absolutely nothing to do with you and is about your target audience. You can mention your site/company at the end or have it as a link at the bottom of your video.

Examples of video topics:

“Fool-Proof Popularity: Even the Cool Kids Will Be Shocked!”

“The ONLY Social Network That Gets YOU VIP Access To the Hottest Parties”

Also, here’s a quick tip to go viral:

Find the most popular people in your audience– big bloggers, the top 10 profiles on myspace, experts in your space, best selling authors, etc. Contact them and say you want them to be one of the faces of your company/website for a special launch campaign you’re doing. Ask them to review your site/product and shoot a video for all their fans and colleagues.

If you find a couple major figures in your niche who have a lot of blog or site visitors, or enormous friend lists, imagine how quickly something will go viral when they send it out. Trust me, when you make them feel famous, they’ll pass those videos around like nobody’s business!

Also remember that your video can be live, voice over a Camtasia video, or even voice over a still image.

Step Four. Go Beyond YouTube
Make sure to utilize video promotion software to blast your video to the major media networks and get the most mileage out of your video. Traffic Geyser is a popular choice for this. You could also use TubeMogul or HeySpread. This will also help you get your site to the first page of Google and other search engines relatively quickly if you do some keyword research and tag your videos right.