Best Practices for Creating Effective Employee Training Videos
Employee training can be time-consuming, particularly when the same information needs to be explained repeatedly…
There is no guaranteed formula for making a video go viral.
Some videos rack up millions of views seemingly overnight, while others that have taken weeks to produce barely get noticed. Sometimes the difference comes down to the idea, the audience, the timing or simply being in the right place at the right time.
That does not mean you should leave everything to luck.
There are plenty of things you can do before, during and after filming to give your video the best possible chance of being watched, shared and discovered.
If you are planning a video for your business, social media channel or YouTube account, these ten tips are a good place to start.
Before you think about cameras, locations or editing, think about your audience.
Who do you actually want to watch the video?
A video aimed at business owners will probably look very different from one aimed at teenagers, football fans or people interested in cooking. The more you understand about your audience, the easier it becomes to create something that they will genuinely want to watch.
Think about what interests them, what problems they have and what kind of content they already engage with.
YouTube itself recommends starting with an understanding of your core and potential audience when developing content ideas. Its recommendation system is based heavily on how individual viewers respond to content, rather than simply rewarding a particular type of video.
This might sound obvious, but it is probably the most important point on the list.
A beautifully filmed video cannot rescue an idea that nobody cares about.
Before you start filming, ask yourself a simple question: why would someone want to watch this?
It could be funny, surprising, useful, emotional, unusual or simply something people have not seen before.
You do not necessarily need a huge budget or an incredible location. A strong idea can be much more valuable than expensive production equipment.
Getting someone to click on your video is only the beginning.
You then need to give them a reason to stay.
The opening few seconds are particularly important. If someone does not understand what the video is about or why they should care, they can simply move on to something else.
YouTube’s own guidance recommends making the opening concise and delivering on the promise made by the title and thumbnail. Its analytics tools also allow creators to see where viewers are dropping off during a video.
So rather than spending the first 30 seconds explaining what the viewer is about to see, get to the interesting part.
Even a short social media video can benefit from having some kind of story.
That does not mean every video needs a complicated plot.
It could simply introduce a problem, show what happened and reveal the result.
People naturally respond to stories because they give us a reason to keep watching. A customer testimonial, for example, could start with the problem a customer was facing, explain what they did about it and finish with the outcome.
If you are developing a more involved production, it is worth thinking about the story before you pick up a camera. Our video production brief template can also help you work through the purpose, audience and key messages of a project.
There is a temptation to believe that viral videos always need to be extremely short.
Short videos can certainly work well, particularly on social media, but there is no magic length that guarantees success.
YouTube’s current guidance specifically says there is no universal ideal video length. The recommendation is to make the video as long as necessary to deliver the information or entertainment without adding unnecessary filler.
If your idea works in 20 seconds, great.
If it needs five minutes to tell the story properly, that is fine too.
The important thing is to keep the viewer interested throughout.
Your title and thumbnail are often the first things someone sees.
They need to give people a clear reason to click without misleading them about what they are going to watch.
YouTube recommends accurate, concise titles and points out that thumbnails and titles work together to help viewers decide whether to watch. It also reports that 90% of its best-performing videos have custom thumbnails.
Think about the difference between:
“Our New Company Video”
and:
“What Happens When You Put 50 Years of Experience Into One Product?”
The second gives the viewer a reason to be curious.
Just make sure the video actually delivers on the promise.
If you want people to share your video, give them a reason to do it.
People tend to share content that makes them laugh, teaches them something, surprises them, makes them feel something or reflects something about themselves.
Think about what someone would say when they send your video to a friend or colleague.
“Have you seen this?”
“Look at this.”
“This is exactly what I was talking about.”
“You’re going to love this.”
If your video naturally creates that kind of reaction, you have already made sharing easier.
You can also make the request directly. A simple prompt at the end of a video or in the accompanying post can remind people to share it if they found it useful.
Publishing your video once and forgetting about it is unlikely to give it the best chance of reaching an audience.
Think about how you can use the same production in different ways.
A longer YouTube video could become several shorter clips. A customer interview could produce a full testimonial alongside shorter social media videos. A behind-the-scenes shoot could provide additional content for your website and social channels.
This is one reason it is useful to plan your content before filming.
Our video shoot checklist includes practical considerations that can help you prepare for filming and make sure you capture what you need.
Where you publish your video matters.
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok all have different audiences and different ways of presenting video.
That does not mean you need to create a completely different video for every platform. It does mean you should consider how people are going to watch it.
For example, a vertical short-form clip may work well on one platform, while a longer version could be more appropriate for YouTube.
The latest Wyzowl video marketing research found that 69% of surveyed video marketers had created social media videos in 2026, making them the most common individual video use case in its survey. YouTube was also the platform respondents most commonly identified as effective for video marketing.
You can read the full Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2026 for more data on how businesses are currently using video.
Your job is not necessarily finished when the video goes live.
Look at what happens afterwards.
Are people clicking on it? How long are they watching? Are there particular points where viewers leave? Are people commenting or sharing it?
These numbers can tell you a lot about what your audience responds to.
YouTube’s audience retention tools can show where viewers are staying, leaving, rewatching or sharing sections of a video. That information can help you make better decisions about future content.
If a particular section performs exceptionally well, think about why.
It could be the subject, the presenter, the editing, the opening, the length or simply the fact that you have found something your audience really cares about.
Use what you learn when creating the next video.
There is no secret button you can press to make a video go viral.
Even YouTube’s own guidance makes it clear that recommendations are influenced by viewer response, personalisation, the subject being covered and the level of competition for viewers’ attention.
What you can do is give your video the best possible starting point.
Have a good idea. Know your audience. Tell a story. Get to the point. Create a strong title and thumbnail. Make the content worth sharing and think about how you can use it across different platforms.
And perhaps most importantly, do not create a video simply because you want something to go viral.
Create something people actually want to watch.
That is a much better place to start.
