Like a viral video ad, we won’t bother with a long intro: let’s cut to the chase. You’ve landed a partnership or someone’s asking you to promote a product. Even though they’ve given you a brief and some guidance on what to do, you’re still scratching your head wondering how you can make a viral video ad. Because viral means more sales, more eyes on the product (and you), and a very happy partner.
We’re here to help. Here are your seven steps to creating a viral video ad! And yes, seven. It’s a lucky number. 🍀
One Quick Note 🙋
While we’re mainly discussing ads that come with a brief, you can also apply these tips to sponsored or partnered posts without a brief. Or, to those of you new to the influencing game, to videos where you’re just trying to sell a product.
1. Review the Brief 📑
“Review” isn’t exactly the right word. You should know it really well and have a clear understanding of it. What is the company looking for? What do they want you to do? The better you know the brief, the better your ad will be.
Why? First, you’re better at selling something you know well. Second, the company you’re working with designed the brief to be successful. Their marketing team spent time creating an ad strategy that will be engaging. Knowing the brief will help you stick to it. Use it as a (really solid base) to build your ad off of.
Research the Company 🤓
While not a necessary step, we recommend taking some time to see how else the product or company markets themselves. You can check their social media, peruse their website, and even Google them. See if there’s any language you can use in your video or any campaigns they’ve done that can inspire you.
2. Put Your Spin on It 💃
Once you understand the brief and what the company is looking for, you can alter it to suit your content style. The brand reached out to you because they’re interested in your style! Or, if you’re responding to a general brief, they’re going to be interested in unique videos.
Tailoring the ad to your personal brand will also make it feel more natural. We’ll go more into this point later, but it’s worth mentioning here. Your ad will be more successful and be more likely to go viral if it feels authentically you.
3. Find a Hook 🪝
The key to a successful ad is an enticing hook. You can literally think of it like baiting a hook for a fish; they’re more likely to bite if there’s a worm on there. Think of an interesting way to start your ad; grab the audience’s attention so that by the time you spring the ad on them, they’re invested. Just make sure your hook and the ad go together!
Here are some hooks that might work. We’ll use an ad for Clapper as an example!
FYP Scroll ✨
Screen-record an interesting video from your FYP and use that as the start of the ad. Just be sure to cut it off before it gets good! Then you can pop in and tell us more about the platform.
Value Proposition ✨
Hit us with an offer right away. Think of something that makes the item you’re selling original and talk about it like a new discovery. This might look like:
- “You guys, I just found the ultimate social media platform.”
- “Looking for the new TikTok? I got you.”
- “I can’t gatekeep this anymore. I found an app where you can make money on day one.”
Tell a Story ✨
Humans love stories and they’re a very effective selling tool. Don’t believe us? Take a look at almost any Super Bowl commercial. Tell the story of how you found this product and why it’s effective. Start with a problem (“My content was going unnoticed on other platforms”) and how the product fixed it. (“Then I found Clapper. My first video got a lot of views: my second went viral!”)
4. Think About the Target Audience 🤔
Who are you selling to? What do they like or what are they more likely to be interested in? This will help you tailor the language and selling points of the brief to be even more interesting. Thinking about them will also get your creative wheels turning. You might discover a new idea for your ad or a creative way to sell the product.
5. Act Natural 📸
Believe it or not, the best-performing ads will look like your regular content. People don’t want to be advertised or sold to, and they’re more likely to pause and listen to a creator who feels genuine and authentic. Unless you’re told to film and edit the video in a specific, stylized way, try to make it feel off the cuff. There’s a few go-to ways to accomplish that:
Walking 🤳
Try walking around your house or backyard while filming your ad. Don’t be super crazy or run around; just pacing will work. To the audience, it seems like you just realized something, opened the phone, and started talking.
In general, movement at the start like sitting down makes the ad seem much more casual. As if you’re stopping your day just to tell us about this thing.
In Your Car 🤳
The car is a kind of liminal space; it’s a visual queue that you’re in the middle of doing something. It makes your video feel more casual – like you just heard about this thing and had to tell us.
6. Make It Engaging 🤯
If you’ve already been thinking of the target audience and included a hook, you’re halfway home! But a good hook alone isn’t enough: the key to a viral video ad is to make it engaging. The entire video has to be interesting. You’re a content creator, so you already know how to create engaging and exciting content.
For those of you that might be new, it’s a lot less scary than it sounds. Here are a few easy ways to make your ad more engaging.
- When filming an ad for something, include b-roll of the product and/or you using it.
- Keep your video short and sweet, giving your audience less time to swipe away.
- If you can, do something while you talk about the product. Make a coffee, crochet something, decorate a cake – do something that looks like it will have a final product. Even if your audience isn’t in love with what you’re selling, they might be interested in what you’re doing and stick around.
Can’t include something like this? Keep your clips short and edit them well! Snappy edits and quick cuts will draw the audience in. A well-placed or unique editing technique can work wonders.
7. Double Check the Brief ✅
Once you’ve finished the whole video, go back to the first step and review the brief. Did you meet all the criteria? Is there anything you missed or said wrong? This also gives you a chance to review your video one last time. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to meet your standards!
And with that, you’re good to hit post or submit your ad for approval! Once your ad is running, keep an eye on it. How’s it performing? Are there any comments about what people like or don’t like? If you’ve been in contact with someone from the brand, you can even follow up to ask how they think it performed. This will help you optimize your process and create better ads moving forward.
Don’t be discouraged if your first ad doesn’t catapult you to Super Bowl status. Keep working, keep getting creative, and you’ll be generating viral video ads in no time.
Clapper is a short-form video and Livestream app for creators 18+. Our goal is to give creators a platform to build communities and express themselves freely without judgment and censorship. To learn more, download the app or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.