Make a Viral Kitten Video

There are never any absolute guarantees about what will cause a video to go viral online but when the subject matter is cute, the likelihood of its chances of being shared across cyberspace increase phenomenally. In the case of kittens, you have a ready-made bundle of cuteness and it's very hard not to find something cute to shoot around a kitten. However, whether or not your video will go viral will still very much come down to your unique angle or elements, your dedication to sharing it widely across the internet and a huge dose of wait-and-see!

This article attempts to give you some nudges in the right direction––by choosing the kitten as your subject, you're already ahead of the rest!

Steps

 * 1) Have an affinity for cats. People can spot the person lacking passion for their subject matter a million pixels away, so be sure that your venture into kitten fame is one filled with your own good intentions and love for cats. Preferably you'll be someone who is already known for championing the cause of feline love and adoration in the online sphere as well as in real life. If you've already got online connections who know how cat-crazy you are, this provides for a purr-fect start to your endeavor.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 1.jpg|center]]
 * 2) *Know your kitten. However long you've spent with your kitten, you're bound to know her personal traits already and those are something that you're in the best position to focus on. If you don't know enough yet, spend some time just watching her and learning from her habits so that you know what makes her look her cutest, most interesting, etc.
 * 3) Have an affinity for your viewing community. If you're trying to make a viral video just because you want to–be famous; get more subscribers; sell more widgets, etc.––then you're missing the point of it all. Viral videos work because people are treated with respect and you're aiming to connect with them by sharing something that is authentic, genuine and really tugs the heartstrings. Anything that has an ulterior motive will be spotted. So, bear in mind that your kitten video needs to reflect both your love and adoration for all things feline and your respect for your viewers and a desire to excite your viewers' interest.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 2.jpg|center]]
 * 4) *Having an affinity for your viewing community also involves knowing how to make a decent video. Videos with noise (distorted picture), bad sound, poor angles and fuzziness aren't likely to become viral unless what's on it is so compelling that the video quality is kindly overlooked. Do your viewers a big favor and use good quality filming equipment.
 * 5) Spend some time looking at existing top viral cat and kitten videos. What about these videos makes them so attractive to viewers? This varies between videos and it can be a combination of factors or it might be just one thing that the kitten does. Do an online search along the lines of "top kitten videos" or "top viral kitten videos", etc. and spend some time checking out what other people have done to get successful kitten or cat videos shared around. And here are some things that make these videos so popular:[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 3.jpg|center]]
 * 6) *Just plain cute. It's really hard to go past a video of a mother cat hugging her kitten or a kitten totally absorbed by something that really excites her.
 * 7) *Funny. Humor is an important element of viral communications because people want to feel uplifted and excited by what they're seeing. (Note: if the humor is at the expense of the cat, it is never harmful or demeaning––such a video wouldn't be appreciated or sent virally.)
 * 8) *Clean (just like cats). This means they can be emailed around the workplace and usually shared with the kids too. A few curse words now and then in print don't seem to affect the viral nature but they're certainly not necessary to create the humor.
 * 9) *Objects are involved. Such things as the cat or kitten playing with a ball/toy/household item, playing an instrument (pianos seem popular), moving game pieces, looking as if they're using something a human would use such as kitchen utensils or tools, etc.
 * 10) *Things cats don't like. Like water––this is a very popular theme! And it's even more interesting when the cat proves that it does like something people think cats aren't supposed to like, such as a cat enjoying water, or cooperating with a dog.
 * 11) *Surprise: The element of surprise can often catch a cat reacting in a really fun and amusing way, such as when you pounce on her around a corner or throw a toy at her when she's totally unsuspecting. These make for great "set-up" opportunities (see below).
 * 12) *Antics of a cat watching the TV or computer screen. For some reason, viewers never tire of watching how a cat responds to the things we just sit back and veg out over! A fish tank can also provide fascinating cat watching viewing. And cats interrupting their owners trying to use technology is a very popular theme, such as the cat snoozing on the laptop, trying to play the video game or trying to type.
 * 13) *How noisy a cat can be. Think the world's loudest purring cat, the world's loudest water-slurping cat, the world's loudest meow, etc. and you're onto something.
 * 14) *A cat doing something that comes naturally to the cat but looks absolutely hilarious to us. This might be catching a toy, fetching a piece of paper, scratching away, running like a "scaredy cat", pouncing or staring. For example, the "OMG WTF" cat that just stares at the camera for a full 20 seconds.
 * 15) *A cat's eating habits. These can be amusing, depending on what is being eaten, where and even from what container (such as getting cat biscuits out of theme park-like feeding bowls).
 * 16) *Another species is involved. Some of the cutest kitten or cat videos involve puppies, dogs, horses, ducklings and other species of animals interacting gently and affectionately with the cat or kitten. If you have this opportunity and you film it well, you're probably sitting on a gold mine of "virality". (And all the better if you manage to show the kitten putting a feisty dog in its place!)
 * 17) *Entire episodes of a cat story. Some people even go to a great deal of trouble to make an entire story out of their cat's nine lives and create a cult following. Often it will be one of the videos in this lot that goes viral and wins the creator a dedicated following thereafter.
 * 18) Spot the pose or action sequence and react––fast! Your kitten is going do whatever she feels like; after all, she's not aware that your video camera means that she needs to perform in some way. The discovery of great poses, movements, action sequences and cute moments is going to be all down to your attentiveness to your subject and having a total readiness to grab the video camera at any time when your kitten does things that you know are going to make great film. Playtime is a always a good time to have the video camera ready but so are other times when your kitten is around you in the house, such as when you're watching TV, playing video games, relaxing in the hammock, cleaning the house, making a meal, etc. Your kitten will be interested in all sorts of activities in the house, and any one of these could be "just that moment" to capture on film forever.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 4.jpg|center]]
 * 19) *If other members of the household are keen to help out, fill them in on being ready to film the kitten any time she looks like she's doing something film-worthy. That way, you get more opportunities to capture her antics on film and perhaps even edit them into a funnier sequence of your kitten's day-at-play.
 * 20) Set up opportunities. As well as being ready to capture your kitten on film any moment, set up moments as much as possible. A kitten is naturally extremely playful and this can work right into your needs. Use toys, balls, scrunched up paper or foil and other goodies in the house to throw her way, roll at her, tease her with, etc. and have the video rolling all the time (you can edit it later). It's even better if you have a helper who can either entice the kitten into playing or hold the video camera. A team approach is likely to result in a much better video and makes it easier to set up action sequences with a keen kitten.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 5.jpg|center]]
 * 21) *It's important to be patient as your kitten may end up doing something really entertaining for some time. Have a steady hand with the video camera and try to keep alert to the fact that you're filming even though you're also thoroughly enjoying watching your kitten's antics. Keep in mind that the viewer wants to see the kitten at the center of the action, otherwise it can easy to accidentally lower or skew the angle of the camera.
 * 22) *Can your kitten sit still long enough to play a game? If she likes games, especially one that interacts with you, this could make for great video footage. One great example is that of the "gambling" cat who plays with the owner's mixed about walnut shells and still guesses where the hidden item is under the shell. Something like that can really engage viewers. Games of skill would probably be best suited to an older kitten.
 * 23) *Consider combining something super popular with your kitten. For example, have you got a video of Lady Gaga strutting her stuff? Think how cool it'd be if your kitten tried to join in dancing with Lady Gaga on the screen behind her or perhaps she might jump up and attack Lady Gaga with her wee paws. Whatever way you work in someone famous or something popular, this gives you an incredible angle with both the title for your video and the search keywords!
 * 24) Be alert to the surrounds or background. Your kitten may be cute but that dirty carpet, shabby sofa and screaming child in the background won't do the video any favors as a whole. Either use editing to fix anything unsightly (or noisy) or only film in parts of your home or garden where the video is picking up clean, neat, pretty and viewer-considerate background and noises.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 6.jpg|center]]
 * 25) *Viewers want to see your kitten, not shadows, thumbs, elbows or a flash of a kitten. Always be conscious that the lighting, angles and camera movements are going to result in quality, smooth videos.
 * 26) *Most of the time, unless you're visually amazing (and interesting) for some reason or other, keeping yourself out of the video and focusing purely on the kitten is the best idea. Keep the kitten central to the video.
 * 27) *If your house is a pigsty, vlogging is a great excuse to get it cleaned up. It's also better for your kitten to live in an uncluttered environment.
 * 28) Be prepared to spend time editing. Editing doesn't necessarily mean adding dialog or other snippets of info, nor does it mean making an entire show out of the kitten video––unless you want to do these things by way of enhancements. It does mean making sure that the video is interesting and the slow and less interesting parts have been kept to a minimum or removed and any fuzziness or other quality problems such as bad sound have been sorted before uploading the video.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 7.jpg|center]]
 * 29) *Think outside the square. What added value can you provide your audience beyond the kitten? While the kitten's antics alone may be enough to make the video viral, sometimes adding elements such as speech timed to the kitten's mouth movements, speech bubbles reflecting the kitten's thoughts, music, introduced cartoon characters that interact with the kitten, etc. can all add more to the video's interest. Of course, while being creative is fun, it should also be viewable, so run your changes past some friends to be sure they like or "get" what you've done before unleashing it on the world.
 * 30) *Adding popular music to the background might increase interest but be aware of copyright laws in your jurisdiction or you may find the video is removed, leaving you entangled in a loss of viewers and disappointing viewers who visit your link. A lot of free music is available but be discerning because a lot of it isn't very good at all. And bear in mind that if the kitten video is good enough on its own, then music will simply be a distraction.
 * 31) *Keep it short and sweet. The longer the video, the more likely it is you're including portions where the kitten started wandering off or just stared into space and your viewers only want to see what is action paced or mega cute.
 * 32) *Beware shots of the backside. The kitten wandering off with her backside to the camera isn't the best looking angle; change angles or edit out the kitten rear shots.
 * 33) Select a good place to upload the kitten video. YouTube is one obvious place to put your video but there are other video channels too that are worth adding the video to, such as Google Video, Metacafe, Veoh.com. etc. The idea is really, the more the better, to increase your potential for exposure to as many viewers as possible. Also consider adding the video to your blog, website or other form of internet social networking opportunity that you already use and maintain. It is important that you stay around to answer all comments (and vet any trolling ones), so that people know you're receptive. And don't forget to use Facebook and Twitter as the place to encourage people to view the video; your followers and friends will be glad to help spread your video through these social networking sites if they enjoy it.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 8.jpg|center]]
 * 34) *Use tags, lots of search-friendly keywords and other relevant ways to help people searching find your kitten video. If the site allows both tags and keywords, make the most of them. Don't just write "kitten". Also add in the elements that make your kitten video so special, such as "attack kitten", "kitten licking ice cream", "cute kitten", etc., whatever describes the actions or elements that define your content.
 * 35) *Use a catchy title to get viewers' interest aroused. Find something that really will draw in a viewer; if you can't think of a good title, ask your friends to make some suggestions, such as "giant leap for tiny cat" or "kitten defies toilet flushing hedgehog".
 * 36) *Email is still a great means for sending around viral videos, either by embedding the video into the email or adding the URL for clicking on. Just be sure it's sent to people you know will appreciate it though.
 * 37) Be patient. You might need to make lots of kitten videos before you hit the sweet one that almost every viewer clicks with. Until that point, keep adding your videos featuring kittens and slowly building up subscribers to your blog, channel or whatever else you're creating so that people know your work and can critique and share it. Understand that all constructive criticism should be welcomed because your viewers are telling you––free of charge––what you need to do to improve the videos they're watching on their time for you. Setting aside blatant abuse and trolling comments, be sure to take on board constructive comments that will help you to refine the kitten videos you're sharing with everyone. All those refinements are actually tweaks to greater alignment with what the audience is looking for and ultimately, you'll provide what the audience is looking for and they'll be wowed by it.[[Image:Make a Viral Kitten Video Step 9.jpg|center]]
 * 38) *Most viral videos go viral as an accident––having the intention to make a viral video is great but be realistic about its chances. It just might not happen and sometimes, the harder you try, the less likely the outcome. Viral videos need to be authentic, in-the-moment, amazing experiences that reach out and touch the viewer in a way that they didn't expect or have been so uplifted by that they can't help but share it with others. Do your best, be genuine and enjoy the process rather than sweating it. If it happens, it happens; if not, at least you're having fun!

Tips

 * If your cat isn't interested in performing for you on camera, please do not force them to do anything. Poking them with sticks, yelling at them, or squirting them with water to get them to do something is not considered an acceptable way to treat your cat, especially for entertainment purposes.
 * Be inspired by cute photos of kittens also; don't just limit yourself to videos of kittens and cats. A viral kitten photo might give you an idea for a great video on the same theme.
 * Use a microphone if capturing sound such as mewing. It will work much better for your viewers.
 * Make sure to reward your cats with treats!
 * Be careful if using dress ups on a kitten. Some props can be funny and aren't likely to arouse too much ire in viewers, like sunglasses or a necklace but forcing a kitten into a baby's jumpsuit or the like will probably upset many viewers who are concerned for the cat's welfare and dignity above desires to infantilize the cat or make it look cuter––bear in mind that kittens are cute enough without human clothing.
 * Did you know that there are proven health benefits from staring at images of animals? Looking at an image of a cat can help to decrease heart rate, increase endorphins and decrease blood pressure and anxiety. It might help to share this information in the comment area along with your video, to encourage viewers to really enjoy their viewing!
 * Some popular cat videos that you might like to check out include:
 * The Mean Kitty Song
 * Very Angry Cat
 * Cat Mom Hugs Baby Kitten
 * The Two Talking Cats
 * i are cute kitten
 * Kitten Surprise!
 * Cat Shower 2

Warnings

 * If filming the kitten with other pets or animals, never place her in a situation where she may be harmed. If you think that while Fido is boisterous, he's ultimately lovable and won't harm a fly, then that's great but still supervise very closely. In fact, having a helper when another animal is involved is an absolute must in case quick action is needed to separate the animals if things go wrong. If in doubt, don't place your kitten into such a situation.
 * If you film a kitten doing something dangerous, albeit cute, such as playing with computer cords or climbing up the Christmas lights, be prepared for the internet community of feline lovers to chastise you. You will be reminded how dangerous such actions are and there may even be calls for the video to be taken down.
 * Don't wait too long. Kittens grow quickly and soon you'll find yourself holding a cat. Of course, the cat is still cute but the more kitten videos you make while the kitten is still young, the more material you'll have to keep drawing on later.
 * Avoid having your video camera low on charge! It should be ready to shoot film any time and if this means having back-up batteries, then get them. These precious kitten moments will all pass fast.
 * Never harm or degrade an animal when making a video. Not only will this fail to go viral but any actual harm done to an animal deservedly risks prosecution.

Things You'll Need

 * Good video camera
 * Photoshop or similar photo program
 * Kitten or kittens
 * Cat toys
 * Good lighting

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