The 6-step checklist for creating viral videos like e.l.f. Cosmetics 🧝‍♀️

Summarize with AI:

In 2019, the American brand e.l.f. Cosmetics, made a radical decision: to permanently close all its physical stores.

Their goal? To focus entirely on online acquisition and reach a younger audience through social media.

Three years later, the brand has 1.8M followers on TikTok and 7.2M on Instagram, its hashtag #elfcosmetics has generated over 3.1 billion views, and it has been voted Gen Z’s favourite in the United States.

A meteoric rise, driven mainly by highly viral organic content.

To help you boost your views (and sales 🤑) on social media, here’s a 6-step checklist for creating viral videos like e.l.f. Cosmetics 🧝♀️.

✅ Step 1 - Perfect your hook

All platforms have the same goal: keeping users engaged.

Since not everyone comments or likes posts, algorithms rely on one main metric: watch time.

Your ultimate goal is for your content to be watched 100%.

To achieve this, you need a hook that immediately captures attention and quickly provides context.

And let’s be honest, your audience’s attention span is no longer than the one of a 6-week-old puppy... 5 seconds max 🐶.

To hook your audience every time, I recommend:

• •⏱️ Be brief and impactful: Your hook should be under 5 seconds and clearly show what the viewer will discover in the video.
  
  
• •🦸 Prioritise face-to-camera: We’re naturally drawn to someone speaking directly to us.
  
  
• •🔡 Add visual and audio elements: Complement your spoken hook with on-screen text and/or a voice-over to reinforce the message.
  
  
• •👀 Use captivating visuals: Such as mouth-watering food, dance moves, or a recurring gimmick.
  
  
• •💡 Think beyond the first hook: Add a second hook midway through your video to keep your audience engaged until the end. 

Here’s a prime example of a powerful hook that pushed the video beyond one million views ⤵️

💡 3 hook ideas to adapt to your business:

• •"I kept struggling with [pain point], so I tried this instead!"
• •"2 signs that show you should start doing XX"
• •"Here’s why people keep asking when our product XX will be back in stock…"

✅ Step 2 - Eliminate dead space

To keep the user engaged, it’s essential to remove anything that could distract or unnecessarily extend the length of your video.

For this, I recommend:

• •🏴☠️ Cut out filler words like "um," "and," or pauses that slow down your pace.
  
  
• •⏱️ Keep it concise by removing any parts of your script that don’t add value or move the story forward.

✅ Step 3 - Polish your ending

This is the moment when you deliver on the promise of your hook.

Timing is key to maximise viral potential:

• •🤓 Place the payoff in the last 3 to 5 seconds to encourage viewers to watch until the end (and please the algorithm).
  
  
• •🤏🏻 Opt for a very short format: 15 to 20 seconds max, to hold attention without losing your audience along the way.
  
  
• •🤤 Satisfy the curiosity of your viewers: Your payoff should resolve the questions raised by the hook to avoid frustration and encourage interaction. 

✅ Step 4 - Create a sense of belonging

To truly connect with your audience, they need to see themselves reflected in your content.

I recommend taking the time to identify the niches and topics that resonate most with them.

For example, you could:

• •🔎 Analyse your data and customer reviews to identify the most popular products and understand your audience’s needs.
  
  
• •🕵🏼♀️ Study the competition: List the types of content that generate the most engagement (and views!) to spot underused niches or new angles to explore.
  
  
• •🙋🏼♀️ Run surveys to understand your audience’s interests, challenges, and what kind of content they’d like to see more of.

To foster a sense of belonging within its community, the brand used the simple yet effective hook, "You asked—we listened," to introduce its latest product launch—and it racked up over 2M views ⤵️🔥

✅ Step 5 - Encourage sharing

Sharing and interactions are some of the key criteria algorithms consider when promoting your content to a wider audience.

But for your audience to want to share, your content needs to resonate with their identity ☝🏻.

Think about what defines people: their generation, their consumption habits, their interests...

When creating content, keep these factors in mind to encourage your audience to share with those who share similar values.

A perfect example of a hook from e.l.f. that strikes a chord with (almost) everyone ⤵️

✅ Step 6 - Focus on what works

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel: instead of constantly searching for new hooks, double down on what already works.

Identify the hooks that capture your audience, and reuse them with slight variations to keep your content dynamic and engaging.

This approach will save you time while maximising engagement 🤩.

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This newsletter is brought to you by Bigblue, Europe’s #1 3PL. We’re at the heart of operations for 600+ brands, which lets us spot the best e-com trends out there. Every two weeks, we break one down for you.

I’m Evan. Before Bigblue, I built DOSE TUE: 244M organic views, 300K+ cans sold, 3K+ supermarkets, zero ad spend, all in one year. Now I break down what other great brands do so you can steal it, too.