For nearly 20 years society has been using the term “going viral” to describe the phenomenon of online content becoming wildly popular in an extremely short time.
Most people are familiar with the concept of images or videos spreading, quite literally, like a virus. The content creator posts videos for their friends and followers to watch, like, and share. Then those followers follow suit until hundreds of thousands of people have interacted with the media.
But what once was considered viral may not be anymore.
What Does Going Viral Mean?
Like the ever-changing landscape that is social media, the definition of the phrase “going viral” has shifted over time.
While the concept of going viral is the same – quickly racking up multitudes of views across social media platforms – the numbers have changed. And while there are no hard and fast rules as to exactly how many views it takes to reach viral status, the numbers continue to increase.
Virality is a relative concept. You may ask, “Are 1000 views viral?” Maybe not to some, but consider getting 1000 views yet only having 100 followers. That’s pretty significant reach.
But in this day and age, with 4.9 billion internet users in the world, for a video to go truly viral, we’re looking at anywhere from one to five million views.
Some videos found online reach millions of views over a few years, but for a truly viral video, that million mark can be reached in a matter of days.
When Is A Video Considered Viral On TikTok?
With over a billion active users on TikTok, you’d want to hit 250,000 views to reach a “moderately viral” status. One million is better and will garner you quite a few new followers. But to really make your mark on the platform, aim for five million views within a week to be considered viral.
What Is Considered Viral On Instagram?
Regardless of the platform, engagement is key to reaching viral status. On Instagram, a post is considered viral with over 100,000 likes and views. But you also want to consider comments. Reaching 1000 comments is a great indicator that your post is viral.
What Is Considered Viral On Facebook?
Again, there is no set number for content to be considered “viral.” But a general assumption is that one million to five million views within a week would make a post viral.
What Is Considered A Viral Video On YouTube?
YouTube is a giant in the land of videos. In fact, it is the second-largest search engine in the world, preceded only by Google. With over 2.6 billion users, it takes a lot of views to be considered viral. On this platform, a video that reaches 5 million views within a week, has definitely gone viral.
Factors Affecting Viral Success
While there is an element of luck in a post or video going viral, there are some things you can do to give your content a jump start.
Creating Catchy Hooks
To capture an audience’s interest you need to grab their attention. A good hook does this and motivates your audience to keep watching.
Staying On Top Of Trends
Keeping up with what is trending on social media is key. Trending hashtags, songs, and visuals can be taken into consideration while developing your content. Add your personal flair, and perhaps you’ll become a trendsetter yourself.
Evoking Emotions
As humans, we are driven by emotions. Emotions guide our decision-making and influence our memories of a particular experience. Evoking emotions in your videos will automatically make your content more memorable and shareable.
Delivering Unexpected Content
Variety is the spice of life! People love new and unexpected content in their feeds. It’s easy to scroll past copycat videos that everyone has “done.” So look to add a little creativity to your content.
Optimizing Content For Sharing
Just like other varieties of marketing, video marketing relies on more than just slapping a video together and posting it on social media. For it to be successful, there has to be a goal in mind. Who is your target audience?
What calls to action can you implement? Consider SEO and other key information. After posting the video, analyze the process and begin the cycle again.
Analyzing Video Metrics
After posting your video, make sure you analyze its success. Consider things like the view count, engagement, play rate, and watch time. The number of social shares is of course important when your goal is to create a viral video.
FAQs
Do you still have questions about video virality? Have a look at our most frequently asked questions about going viral.
Are 1 Million Views Considered Viral?
One million views is the gold standard for going viral. But the older social media gets and the more inundated we are with content, it becomes increasingly difficult to stand out. Content that reaches 5 million views within a week has undeniably gone viral.
Do You Get Paid For Going Viral?
You don’t get paid just because a video of yours goes viral unless you have enabled monetization on whatever platform you are using. And you may not be able to monetize your account until you’ve reached a certain number of followers.
For example, to join the YouTube Partner Program, you need to have at least 1000 followers. But having your video go viral can greatly impact your number of followers, which in turn can increase your earning opportunities.
How Does A Video Go Viral On Tiktok?
It all starts with an algorithm. TikTok takes into consideration a variety of elements, such as videos you’ve engaged with, profiles that you follow, the type of content you create, and your profile’s demographics. T
ikTok will push your video out to a small “test” group based on video content like hashtags, sound, title, and captions. If it does well with a sample audience, then it might be pushed out to a larger audience. Of course, user engagement, such as reposts, is a crucial aspect of creating a viral video.
Conclusion
While there is not a definite number of shares, views, or comments that determines whether a post or video has “gone viral,” the essence is the same: content that is quickly spread throughout social media and reaches a high number of views.
