5 Steps to Make Your Ad Go Viral

These days, it seems like every marketer wants to create the next viral video hit like Evian’s “Baby&Me” (88 million views), Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” (63 million), Dollar Shave Club’s “Our Blades Are F***ing Great” (14 million), or the most viral brand video of 2013, Turkish Airlines’ “Kobe vs. Messi” (137 million).

But according to Virool.com CEO Alexander Debelov — the viral video expert who helped spread the Kobe vs. Messi ad — most ads fall flat online because they don’t follow five proven steps:

STEP #1:  ENHANCE VIEWER ENGAGEMENT

Show the video to a smaller sample of viewers and optimize it using analytic tools such as a heatmap of mouse movements and clicks.

STEP #2:  TIME YOUR RELEASE

Pick a day and time to release your ad when you’ll need less views to reach the top of YouTube leaderboards (such as when other ads in your industry aren’t releasing theirs).

 STEP #3:  SEED YOUR INITIAL VIEWS

Before a video can be shared, a core group needs to see it first. Use a platform like Virool.com — or reach out to others on your mailing list — to get these initial views.

STEP #4:  ACCELERATE THE FIRST 24 HOURS

Create additional marketing spikes during the first 24 hours to show YouTube algorithms high rates of views, likes, comments, and shares.

STEP #5:  FUEL THE FIRE TO KEEP IT GOING

When you see the pace of video views starting to slow, use more paid ad views and reach out to your biggest fans with new incentives for social sharing.