Top tips for making your viral video a social success

Social video is one of the hot buzzwords flying around, but what does it take to make a viral video truly social rather than just a lonely clip embedded in a website?

Fancy creative and placement on the major social networks is not necessarily enough. A report posted on reelSEO.com slammed those agencies and big brands that continue to treat online video as traditional marketing whacked up online.

Coming under fire was T-Mobile’s Valentine’s Day promotion featuring reality television star Khloe Kardashian. While Kardashian reportedly contributed to the social aspect of the campaign, posting the video to her Facebook and Twitter profiles and her own blog, the report critiqued the ad for seeming inauthentic and failing to engage.

Celebrities don’t automatically add value to video ads, so consider using real people to communicate your message, such as company employees or real customers.

 

What social video should be:

Social video is about using video to design a real, authentic social experience between you and your audience. It should feel real to them.

Social video shouldn’t be equated with doing entertaining video advertisements. An ad creates a wall between the company and the consumer. Social video should include having a real dialogue with your audience, utilising social networks, getting feedback, or letting others participate in and around your video (and your video campaigns).

Social video should integrate the creative, placement, distribution, and conversation right from the start. It shouldn’t treat these components separately or after-the-fact.

Social video should involve paying attention to, and responding to, people who are engaging with your video. It should serve as a conduit for showing you are paying attention to your customers, showing that you are listening to what they are saying, and letting you talk to each other – not just business-to-customer, but customer-to-customer.

Social video is not about the number of views you get; it is about the quality and enthusiasm of the feedback you get.

Social video is not about talking at people, it is about talking with people. You use it to engage with your audience on a direct, equal level with no corporate barrier.

And finally, social video is using video as the medium for building a participatory audience, culture, and community that’s good for both business and consumers.

Tips by Grant Crowell, www.reelseo.com