At first glance, his YouTube viral videos seem normal, following the natural course of every vlog, but in reality, they have a real plan that is especially created to make attractive content for users.
But first, let’s talk about who Ryan Trahan is. He started his YouTube journey back in 2013, so more than 10 years ago. What made a difference in his videos was the fact that all of them featured a sense of adventure and humor. Think about those vlogs about limited budgets, interesting YouTube challenges, and adventures in different cities. They sound attractive, right?
That is exactly what he aims for. To attract viewers and, at the same time, connect with them using relatable moments or situations. Now he has 21M subscribers collected after posting about 450 YouTube viral videos. That is a lot of work and effort coming from him.
Probably the most YouTube viral video series is the one where he travels to all 50 states in the U.S., aiming to discover amazing places in the most unexpected cities. With this series, besides the travelling part, he also prioritizes fundraising for St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital of $1,000,000. Now that this series has recently been completed, he announced that they managed to raise much more money than planned initially. After completing the “50 states in 50 days” YouTube challenge series, Ryan Trahan raised $11,500,000, which represents a huge amount of money, considering his first goal.
Now let’s talk about the formula that makes his videos go viral.
Starting from the video title, Ryan introduces the main idea of what users will see in a vlog. So, users will know exactly from the beginning if they want to watch it or not. This is a great way to attract users, especially if they are searching for something to watch.
Think about the time when you searched for a video, and you didn’t know what to pick. This is the specific reason behind this approach: to help users decide almost immediately.
Also, in the first seconds of the video, he talks about what will happen during the entire video. This is a great opportunity to attract views while convincing them that it is the perfect vlog to watch.
Here comes the part where he can demonstrate the actions promised in the first seconds of the video. There are many YouTubers who talk about their adventures, and end up only describing what they saw without engaging in video.
So, to avoid these situations, Ryan includes a short glimpse of the entire video. If you want to follow this idea for your next vlogs, this is an important step that you should follow, because this way, users will know exactly that you’ve done those things, making your video a real proof.
Maybe you heard about this before, and you don’t really know how to implement it. But Ryan Trahan mastered this step. It’s important to follow a structure for every video, especially if you have many followers and views as he does.
When you post a couple of videos with the same structure, the recurrent viewers get used to it and will expect to see it in almost every video. It's like a signature for you and your reputation. When you choose to avoid it, they will feel that that specific video doesn’t belong to you, and they will reconsider all the past decisions regarding your YouTube channel.
This is exactly what Ryan does in his videos, following the same structure with context first, proof, and then the rest of the video. He gives his followers a sense of familiarity with every video that he posts.
Of course, in order to make all his videos and vlogs attractive, he has invested in high-quality editing tools, cameras, and other equipment, so that he can deliver awesome videos for his viewers. This step is more than important for every YouTuber, not only for Ryan Trahan, because a great story without a high-quality video doesn’t have such a remarkable impact.
Also, editing skills play a crucial role in YouTube viral videos. Ryan Trahan has a great team of editors who are focused on making sure that every shot, every cut, every sound, and text keeps the audience engaged from the start to the end of the video.
So, it’s true that not everyone can do what he did, because it needs a lot of time and effort, but at least you can try. See what works for your audience, and don’t be afraid to test different types of topics and structures until you feel that it is the right one for you and for your subscribers.
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