Insights from Jenny Hoyos on Creating Viral Shorts

Introduction

• Speaker: Jenny Hoyos, 18-year-old YouTuber with over 600 million views in the past year.
• Goal of the Lecture: Discuss how to make videos go viral, particularly focusing on YouTube Shorts.

Key Principles of Creating Viral Content

• Every Second Counts:

  • End videos right after delivering the promise of the hook.
  • Retention might not matter as much as commonly thought.

• Importance of Story:

  • Adding a story and a twist makes any topic engaging.
  • Personal investment in content increases viewer engagement.
  • Example: Cooking for strangers to raise money for a broken kitchen.

Characteristics of a Good Short

• Strong Hook:
  • Needs to be visually appealing and understandable without sound.
  • Should be simple enough for a 5-year-old to grasp.
• Rewatchability:
  • Good shorts encourage viewers to watch again.

Process of Creating Hooks

• Visual Planning:
  • Sketch visual ideas for the video and hook.
• Check Readability:
  • Use tools like readabilityformula.com to ensure content is at a fifth-grade reading level.

Content Analysis

• Research Methodology:
  • Analyzed thousands of shorts by copying transcripts and checking readability.
  • Found that successful shorts often have content at a lower reading level (e.g., Mr. Beast’s scripts at a first-grade level).

Retention and Viewer Engagement

• Scroll Through Rate:
  • Aim for a scroll-through rate higher than the average of 70%.
  • Jenny’s average is 85%.
• Retention Benchmarks:
  • 90% retention is ideal for virality, especially with high impressions.
• Last Second Impact:
  • Small changes (like trimming a second) can significantly affect retention rates.

Structuring the Video

• Hook, Foreshadowing, and Pacing:
  • Hook followed by foreshadowing for the video’s conclusion.
  • Transition phrases should maintain pacing without breaking viewer engagement.
• But, Therefore Storytelling:
  • Introduce change in storytelling to make it engaging.

Video Length and Optimization

• Average Length of Shorts:
  • Jenny’s shorts are approximately 34 seconds long, aiming for high retention.
• Content Structure:
  • Write down the hook and the last line at the beginning to structure the video.

Audience Considerations

• Understanding Your Audience:
  • Focus on younger viewers (e.g., 10-year-old nieces) to inform content decisions.
  • Tailor content to engage a broad audience while keeping it understandable.

Cross-Platform Content Strategy

• Different Platforms Require Different Strategies:
  • YouTube favors longer, more mature content while TikTok prefers shorter, denser videos.
  • Instagram reels are visual and shareable with a different audience dynamic.

Long-Form Content Aspirations

• Desire for Growth:
  • Jenny is aiming to transition into long-form videos for growth and challenge.
  • Building a deeper connection with the audience through longer content.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

• Sharability and Retention:
  • Hunch that sharability impacts virality significantly.
  • Retention alone may not be a reliable indicator of success; viewer satisfaction plays a crucial role.