A YouTube strategist breaks down why one fish-cooking video got 28 million more views than another. The difference: one builder creates tension with a stick-and-rope contraption while the other just uses a rock. Adding visible obstacles and uncertainty makes viewers stay to see if it works.
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These videos have the exact same concept, but the one on the left got viewed 28 million more times because of a simple strategy that anyone can use, including you. The viral video has two obstacles. When watching, you'll notice right away that they create a contraption with sticks and rope to help smoke the fish over the fire. This gives the video two goals. Number one, successfully build a contraption that works, and number two, cook the fish. Now, this creates a challenge in the viewer's mind because what if the contraption breaks or catches on fire and burns the fish? All that effort, it would have been for nothing, while the low performer uses a rock to cook the fish, making the premise of the video feel too easy. Now think of horror movies. There's always been that trope where the people in the horror movies open doors that they shouldn't, and our minds were always thinking about how much trouble that they would avoid if they walked the other way. Now, if that were the case, though the movie, it would lack tension and end early, making it extremely boring. So here's how you can apply this strategy to get even more views. Make sure to insert obstacles that make the task of your video more challenging, like walking across an entire country, but barefoot. If you'd like to learn similar strategies, comment the word fish for your free access to mindvalley's Social Media Mastery Summit.
