How to Achieve Internet Virality

After putting out hundreds of different videos I've realized I'm terrible at determining what people are going to like. Sometimes I'll put 10+ hours of work into a video and post it only for 50 people to view it, while others will go semi-viral with minimal work and editing. For a long time this was INFURIATING and I would dread hitting publish on a video that I put a ton of time into creating. But over time I realized that this is simply the way of the internet, people wont appreciate or care about most things you create. But if you want to be viral, you have to make them care.

The Hook

If there's one thing I can attribute my success to in creating semi-viral videos it would be adding a catchy hook. I read somewhere that if you don't get the attention of your viewer in the first two to three seconds the video wont be successful. In my experience this could not be more accurate.

Attention spans have been getting progressively worse over time, and this trend has certainly been noticed in the world of social media. The human mind is constantly trying to maximize the amount of dopamine it can get in a short period of time, and one way your brain releases dopamine is by completing tasks. So every time you finish a video and feel you've gained a piece of information, your brain rewards you by giving you a rush of dopamine. So when people want to maximize the amount of dopamine they receive they watch shorter videos.

That was a bit of a tangent, but my point is that you need to quickly tell people that your video is worth watching in a short period of time before they move on.

Other Helpful Tips

1. Establish a sense of purpose - Start off by setting up the aim and context of your video.
2. Use compelling visuals or sound effects - Consider adding dynamic imagery or audio elements that will draw the viewer in and make them interested in watching further. People are attracted to movement in videos, so add moving pieces and visuals that keep their attention.
3. Make it relevant - Ensure that your hook is relevant and interesting to the topic at hand.
4. Keep it short and simple - Your hook should be concise, using just enough words to get its message across without overstaying its welcome.
5. Build suspense - Try to create an air of intrigue by leaving the viewer with unanswered questions about what could happen next.
6. Use Captioning - Depending on the medium of the video you're doing captioning can be very helpful. Instagram Reels and TikTok videos are often watched with the sound off, so one thing I often do before publishing is watch the video without the sound on and see if I can still understand what's happening.

Even if you do all these things perfectly there's still a good chance it doesn't go anywhere. But this is the nature of the internet, people won't love everything you love. But over time as you post more content you care about, you will find fans and grow your account. It's almost always a slow process but over time you will find success.

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Hope you learned something!

Dylan