What Are The Key Drivers In Sharing Online Video?

This is an extract from my upcoming book ‘Viral: The Social Video Handbook’.

Sharing an online video is guided by a number of factors: emotion, perception, the brilliance of an individual video. And luck. The science of emotion in marketing is a complex and well-trodden subject, but let’s take a brief look at each of these as they relate to viral video.

Emotion: This is probably the most important reason that a video is shared. How does it make you feel? And within the wide range of emotions that we all feel at different times of the day, happiness is by far the biggest driver in shareable videos. We talk about joy a lot in this book, but its importance cannot be underestimated in making a video shareable. Joy, amusement, delight: they are all key drivers in making something shareable. That’s why comedy (making people laugh), children and animals all feature in many of the most highly shared videos. Sure, other emotions come into play in the scale of sharing (there is, for example, still a place for shock horror videos — if they are done correctly such as the Carrie video we discuss elsewhere. Fear is also high on the list of emotions that promote sharing). This also may account for the reason that the charity world finds it so tough to create videos that are highly shareable: because of the content matter (which people may see as something of a downer), viewers are unlikely to want to pass it along to their friends. Inspiring videos have a better chance. Awe-inspiring ones even more so. That’s not to say charities should abandon the notion of making emotional videos completely: but these are much better used in a fundraising or call-to-action environment rather than a sharing one.

Emotion is also widely recognised as a key driver in decision-making: studies have shown that accident victims who have a diminished emotional side take a lot longer to make decisions than the average person. Therefore when it comes to a purchase-related decision, emotion is again hugely important: which is why videos aimed at making someone purchase will have a much higher impact if they tap into the viewers’ emotions.

But because people also think, and like to learn or be surprised, a video that successfully creates both an emotional and rational reaction may even stand a better chance of doing very well.

Of course anger is another strong emotion that can lead to online sharing — but it is usually aimed at antagonising (or being antagonised by) someone or something. Facebook feeds are increasingly full of outspoken commentary on world affairs. Associating with disgust or antipathy is probably not something a brand wants to do.

Perception: What does the kind of video you share say about you? We are 10 years into the Facebook age now, so people are a little more discerning when it comes to sharing video. They may have had the odd comment in real life from someone about a video they shared, which in turn may lead them to think twice about sharing the next time. They may not, for example, want to be pigeonholed into being ‘that guy’ or ‘that girl’ who always shares ‘that kind’ of video. So, as people have become accustomed to realising that what they share may say a lot about them, perception becomes more and more important. And this, in turn, may lead to the development of ‘sharing fatigue’: the notion that ‘videos are so prevalent anyway, why should I bother to share this one’, or ‘if I share another video like this, what will people think about me?’

How is it shared? Nevertheless, as we have seen, people are much more likely to respond to a shared item if it comes from a person rather than a brand. Studies have been done on the open rates of tweets which come from a brand compared to those which are shared by an individual, and they show that tweets containing links which are sent by an individual have a higher open rate than tweets sent by brands. Of course, brands themselves need to share their content, but it’s only when this content is deemed significant enough to be shared by individuals that it can really take off. So, personally shared videos on Facebook usually have a higher view-rate, as the audience has already bought in to the sharer (unless they are ‘that guy’ or ‘that girl’ as above. And email share rates, if sent by an individual to a small core group, can still be very strong. The key aim for companies in video is to both have a video that delivers the message in a way that’s clever and engaging enough not to alienate their audience (or a new audience) and to magically infiltrate these core sharing groups.

Brilliance of an individual video: This is usually the once in a lifetime incredible moment that everyone in the world has to see right now. Felix Baumgartner’s freefall on to the planet for example. These are rare beasts, the Holy Grail of shareability.

Luck: ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ contains several of the above elements: it provokes a great feeling of happiness, it’s funny, has children and anyone who shared it was likely to be perceived as a kind-hearted or good-natured soul. But luck of course played a massive part: for the person to be there to film that moment at that particular time.

The Age and Sex of the Person Who Is Sharing: There are various studies into the breakdown of who is more likely to share a video, A female teen? A male 30-something? Studies show that there are a few groups that have higher sharing rates than others — but bear in mind that they are likely to be sharing certain types of video. Focussing on one group as a target may support your individual market interest, but it may also be easier said than done, and ignoring, or worse still, making certain groups feel excluded, may have a detrimental effect. However, there is evidence that while females are more active in actually sharing content, the content that they are sharing is more likely to come from a male account: there exists a social network gender bias, possibly because somewhere deep down in the male psyche there is a trigger that makes them less likely to share something that originated from a female-held account.

The overall trend of the types of videos that are shared is likely to change year-on-year: whereas a few year ago humorous videos led the way, the more emotional/joy-filled videos have more recently come to the fore. But it has to be genuine emotion and joy — as we have seen again and again, viewers will see through anything fake straight away.

We make all sorts of viral content for all sorts of companies. To have fun and work with us, call 00 44 7779780 736 or email paul@handface.co.uk.