After that things slow down considerably. A study from Unruly Media revealed that about 10% of shares happen on the second day and that 25% of shares happen within the first three days. But not all videos can expect to get a spike like that and that spike isn’t the most important thing anyway. Topical videos or frivolous videos may grab a lot of attention quickly, but then they fall off the radar. The best type of video is the kind that incrementally amasses many views at a steady pace. Remember, most shares occur after the first week after publishing.
Too many people are obsessed with having a viral video. But most of those videos are either of animals or crude sexual jokes and the rest are breaking news stories. If you are uploading any other kind of content then you really shouldn’t expect a spike like that, what’s more, you should be thinking in terms of the quality of the viewers instead of the quantity. A viral spike only represents 10% of a video’s social shares, the rest happen afterward, so keep checking those statistics and you may be pleasantly surprised later on.
Even YouTube’s most shared videos accrue most of their views through social media shares that happen long after publication. Take the long view when it comes to video marketing because it pays off in the end and is much better than going for a cheap viral option that fizzes out over a weekend. Make sure your video content delivers something useful to clients or consumers and they will surely find it. Is your video content an accurate depiction of your business and how you want to be represented or have you aimed to the lowest common denominator in the hopes of the video going viral? It’s obvious that the former is a better business plan in the long run.
Paying video production companies to make you a viral video is a high-risk investment, not just because no one can guarantee the video will go viral but also because even if it does, it might not translate into sales conversions for your company. If you run a home insurance company, cheap viral videos then it’s no use having tweens sharing your video all over social media channels because they will never make a purchase.
If you are using a promotional video for a long time then it doesn’t matter how many views you acquire in a week, as much as how many views you acquire in a year. You should have clearly defined objectives prior to investing in video production, and make your goals clear to the creators. Don’t just say, “We want a viral video” because you will probably be met with rolling eyes.
If you are promoting an event or a temporary offer then you do have a more urgent need to get shares, and perhaps a viral video is what you’re after. Most marketing scenarios do not have this same timeline, so it’s worth considering what kind of video would best serve your needs. In any case, you should remember that the majority of a video’s shares (58%) happen after the first week.
