4 Simple Steps for Making Viral Videos

If you are planning to put a video on the web, you obviously want people to see it. Otherwise you might as well just keep it on your computer at home. With the millions of videos that already exist on YouTube, it is hard to come up with something that is going to get as many views as Surprised Kitty or Chocolate Rain. Nevertheless, there are a few things you can do to increase the chances for your videos to explode in popularity. You just have to put a little effort into making them right for the web. Here are four simple steps you can take to make a viral videos online.

Step 1 – Pick a Good Topic

The subject matter of your video is going to make a big difference in the amount of views you get on it. There are several types of videos you could choose to make, including:

• Question and answer: You answer questions that people give to you
• News: You discuss a hot news topic for the moment
• Review: You give a review about a product or service
• Music: You create a music video for a popular song
• How-to: You provide a guide that people can follow
• Talent: You show off a certain talent for all the world to see

Some of these video themes work out better than others, so you just have to think about what you would logically want to see online. Then you have to come up with a way to make that kind of video for the internet. If you wouldn't watch it or look for it, chances are no one else will.

Step 2 – Film with an HD Camera

If you are going to make a video of yourself or someone else doing something on camera, you need to make sure you have a good camera to do that. Otherwise you may turn off a lot of viewers because of bad video quality. You have probably bypassed videos in the past because of their quality. I know I have. I don't care how talented someone is or how awesome a clip is supposed to be. I won't watch a video if it was filmed with a child's toy video camera. Invest in some good equipment, and you'll have a much better chance of creating a successful video in the future.

Step 3 – Create a Good Title

The title of your video needs to be enticing and easy to remember. You should think about keywords people would use to look up your video, and then you can work those into the title. You don't always have to do this though because some videos take off without having a keyword-ed title. This video has over 15 million hits on YouTube, and it is simply titled "this drummer is at the wrong gig." It just goes to show what you could do with good content and an interested audience.



Step 4 – Promote, Promote, Promote

You may get a few views on your video just from people discovering it, but you need to put effort into marketing it too. That will ensure that your video gets the attention it deserves. You should put a link to the video on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites you use. You could also bookmark it on Digg, Reddit, Fark, or StumbleUpon to generate as many views as possible. Then all you have to do is cross your fingers and hope people like what you put out.