How our Video went Viral on Reddit
April 7, 2021
How our Video went Viral on Reddit How I took the #1 spot in r/bitcoin N.B. Don’t read this if you’re not willing to experiment
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It’s been true on the web for 10+ years: If you want to make money online, you need to learn how to capture, and keep, attention.
We’re all learning how to do it consistently. Whether it’s on social media, a landing page, product page, advertisement, or YouTube, the goal is always the same. Get someone’s attention quickly, then make sure the content engages them enough so they hang around to see what you have to say.
Videos are definitely at the top of the list now. Even a plain text video with the exact same content you’d put in a post or page copy catches the eye with movement, and it can easily be augmented with images and videos. You always know exactly how it will look to every user.
So what are the top video styles early this year?
Close to my heart, from working with Shopify store owners, are e-commerce product videos. When I see a product online, the first thing I do is look for a video. Whether it’s a pair of socks or a high-end laptop, I want videos that tell me about the product.
Generally, marketers say to start with the benefits the product provides – how it improves the purchasers life. Luckily, with video, you can do that and link it to things like quality, comfort, and specifications.
An opening scene can be used to intrigue the viewer using questions or a statement with a solution. Use media, whether an image or a video, to intrigue them by showing part of the product, or blur/darken it as a background.
If you use high quality materials, be sure to highlight it in your video – just a single close-up, in-focus image or 2-3 second recording can work wonders on convincing a viewer that you backup your claims.
Have happy purchasers? Show testimonials! New to the industry? Create quotes from you or your employees that show you know what you’re doing. And if at all possible, show a human face – it gives a huge boost to credibility!E-Commerce videos do a few things really well: They are fast attention grabbers, they build trust and authority, and they get viewers interested enough to see what else is on the page – the product information and Buy buttons.
We like to think that our tagline is enough to get people to read what’s on our landing page, but that visitor may have just looked at 10 similar products, and their mind might’ve turned to goo.
If there’s one way to overcome that, it’s with video. You can easily mix text, images, audio, and video clips together to make your explanation clear and concise.
As usual, you can make a clear problem statement or question that speaks to your visitors, and affirm that you can solve it.
Follow it up with clear examples of it being used, the results it provides, how it benefits them, or other pertinent information.
Just like e-commerce, quotes and testimonials always help inspire confidence with social proof.
Don’t worry if you can’t fit your entire app, service, etc, into a single video. Hit the high points so they are encouraged to find what they need on your website.
A social media account that is just trying to sell something is hardly social at all! Talking about your industry and interests helps remedy that.
Maybe there’s some new tech you’re using where you can explain how it makes a product more precise, last longer, or cost less. What about exposing issues that you believe should be addressed? Is the industry making progress to be more clean or promote social welfare?
News and editorial content can help keep your followers interested in what you post, rather than feeling worn down.
And if you like, you can use it to encourage comments. It’s always nice to see “What do you think about this?”
We live in a crazy, inter-connected world, and that drives all of us to seek out information about what we care about.
A behind the scenes look at part of a process, a quick explanation, or even catching a glimpse of employees or CEOs can make us feel more connected to who we buy from or listen to, and helps humanize you.
Keep watching this space. While some strive to show an almost robotic public face, customers are increasingly seeking out authenticity.
Just like the behind the scenes style videos, inspirational quotes and stories connect us to those we’re following and purchasing from. It shows a human side.
These style videos may not be new, but they’re still very effective.
To some, inspirational quotes just seem like a cheesy poster on a wall, but if you get the tone right and hit at the right time, they can truly change someone’s perspective, and do exactly what they say – Inspire them to do something.
Stories may have some of the same effects, but they can also be used to simply engage your social media followers and help give them a reprieve from what is often a feed of worries and cynicism.
If you’re the one who consistently brightens someone’s day or inspires them to action, they’re going to be fans for a long time to come.
Sometimes, we don’t just want to have a horde of followers, but also want to learn from them, and show that they’re engaged with you to someone new.
Asking questions, hinting at a solution (or multiple solutions), and encouraging curiosity can trigger the “I. Must. Respond.” response.
Visually demonstrate a problem you have and show some potential solutions. Ask what their favorite feature is, or what their biggest problem is with a product, industry, etc.This is a quick way to get to the “talk to, not at, your audience” frame of mind. Video is the icing on the cake that gets them to stop and think instead of scrolling past.
The next cliche to get through is “show, don’t tell.” Especially so if you’re a content business. These videos are often simple and easy to produce.
Take existing content, add a clip to a video, maybe an intro/outro scene, and you’re done! Make sure it’s a great clip – if you show a clip of the dull parts so the juicy bits are buried deep, somewhere else, they’re more likely to think you don’t produce interesting content.
But it’s also fine to cut out the resolution, or the most exciting part. Cliff-hanger dramas are being mass-produced now for a reason. Our version of “In the next episode…” is “Listen to the full podcast episode” or “We’ll show you exactly how this is solved in our full course!”
As has been mentioned already, your brand has a running equity with your users on social media and elsewhere. Is the end result of watching or reading your posts a feeling of despair, guilt, and anguish? No way! No matter what happens, you want your followers to feel happy, excited, or up-beat about how you’ll help.
One way to do this is to show you have a conscience. Similar to other methods of giving your business a touch of humanity, this shows that you care and you want to give back.
Obviously, depending on your audience (or audiences!) and culture, you can do this in a myriad different ways. Greenness, serving your locality, helping individuals, etc, there are plenty of ways to highlight that you are looking forward to great things to come.
Let us know if we missed a key trend or style of video that you think is going to be popular in 2021. This is isn’t an exhausted list and we love the opportunity to add to articles and learn something new.
The key takeaway for 2021 video trends and ideas is that it’s going to as important as ever (if not more so) to engage your audience with your authentic voice.
In the vast ocean of content it’s more and more difficult to stand out from the crowd. People are over-exposed to videos and they want to see content that resonates with them and their beliefs.
So whatever video content you end up creating, make sure that it speaks to your values and gives your audience the opportunity to engage with you at a level far below surface impressions.
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