Every video producer dreams of having their marketing videos going viral (that dream may also involve supermodels and a garage full of Lamborghinis). Theres no magic OR scientific formula to follow to create a viral video hit, but most viral videos have a few things in common.
This post isnt about how to make a viral video. That particular combination of content, skill, timing, and luck cant be boiled down into a simple how-to list. However, you can take some lessons learned from the webs most famous viral videos, and use them to make your marketing videos infinitely more interesting and shareable.
Well look at examples of each, and tell you what you can take away from these viral videos to help create marketing masterpieces of your own.
1. It Contains Insider Information If you scroll through your Facebook feed right now and pay attention to posts containing videos (exclude funny videos for now), many of them will have a sentence like this:
Did you know ?
What do you guys think ?
I already knew, but
People love to share information to be helpful, to provoke discussion, or to prove theyre knowledgeable about a certain topic.
Example: Squatty Potty Unicorn
Marketing a product designed to help people go to the bathroom doesnt sound like the most glamorous task. But Squatty Potty knew they created an advantage of knowledge for their customers going number two in a certain position does, in fact, they claim, lead to a superior evacuation. Now, buying the Squatty Potty isnt something to be embarrassed about. Customers equate the use of this product with superior scientific knowledge about the mechanics of something as commonplace as going to the bathroom.
Put It To Work: Does your product or service create an advantage for your customers? You can bet theyll want to tell their friends and networks about it. Make your customers look smart, and theyll make you look like a genius.
2. It Causes An Emotional Response Your video doesnt have to be a tearjerker to cause an emotional response. It can be funny (humor can be a hard target to hit because its so subjective), inspiring or even frightening. People tend to share videos that cause an emotional response because when we feel an emotion, we want others to feel it, too.
Example: Jill and Kevins Wedding Entrance Dance
Theres an ocean of elaborate proposal and adorable wedding videos on the web, but Jill and Kevin have a special place in everyones hearts. They danced down the aisle six years ago, and their choreographed entrance has been viewed over 90 million times.
Whether youre a sucker for weddings, get goosebumps when you see a perfectly executed piece of choreography, or just like music, this video probably elicits an emotional response when you watch it and thats why its so shareable.
It may not be a marketing video, but it did motivate people to do something. Jill and Kevin urged everyone who watched their video to donate to the Sheila Wellstone Foundation, which works to prevent domestic violence, and their efforts raised over $50,000 for the charity.
Put It To Work: People tend to equate spending money with positive emotions (unless the electric bill is due), so make them feel good about your product. Use your marketing video to illustrate how using your product or service makes your customers lives better or more enjoyable. Tell a story with a happy ending. Those good vibes will be way more shareable than a straight-up sales pitch.
3. Its Timely If asked to name a popular viral video ad, how many of you would instantly think of the Smell Like A Man Old Spice commercial? It was a huge hit (and for good reason), but would you try to parody or reference it now, over five years after its release? No, of course not. Its old news. Theres nothing wrong with piggybacking on current events, trends, or popular memes in fact; it can help get hundreds (or thousands) more eyeballs on your video. Just make sure theyre still current by the time your video is produced and released.
Example: Keyboard Cats Wonderful Pistachios Commercial The Keyboard Cat video was uploaded to YouTube in 2007 but didnt become wildly popular until referenced by Stephen Colbert in 2009. Wonderful Pistachios hopped on the bandwagon with this timely ad in 2010 short, relevant, and memorable.
Put It To Work: You dont need to create a 5-minute masterpiece of a video to hook on to the popularity of a meme or cultural moment. Keep trendy videos short (the Wonderful Pistachios commercial is only 16 seconds long), and make sure you have a finger on the pulse of whats popular. Check Twitters trending topics or the front page of Reddit daily for inspiration.
4. It Gives Viewers Something To Do Creating engagement is more complicated than simply slapping a CTA on the end of your marketing video. A video that viewers want to share is great. A video that viewers want to participate in is awesome (and will get you even more shares)!
Example: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Again, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge wasnt a marketing video per se, but it raised well over $100 million for the ALS Association. Why was it so successful?
Other than the fact that its incredibly fun to watch your favorite celebrities get ice water dumped on their heads, people participated because: it was easy, it was time-limited, and it was designed to spread. Each person had to nominate three other people to take the challenge within 24 hours. You dont have to be a mathematician to see how it spread like wildfire.
Put It To Work: Youre probably not going to make $100 million off of your first marketing video but if you make your videos engagement-friendly, you might see an increase in conversions and sales.
You can create a contest, ask for photo or video submissions, direct people to a landing page where they have to enter a code from the v
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
Every video producer dreams of having their marketing videos going viral (that dream may also involve supermodels and a garage full of Lamborghinis). Theres no magic OR scientific formula to follow to create a viral video hit, but most viral videos have a few things in common.
