How would I replicate what happened in September

I'm curious... did you take most of the elements of that viral video and try to
incorporate it into your Facebook ad?

A lot of times, something that causes a video to go "nuts" can be reverse
engineered and parts of it used in paid advertising.

It's totally about the message and what resonated with your video audience.

I've taken videos and articles that were a bit hit... and turned them into
good performing paid ads by keeping the unique hook.

Also, why not dig into the parts of that video hit and try to create
a similar video with a new hook or new positioning... but trying to
keep a lot of the same things that caused it to spike?

I can make some suggestions, mate.

I disagree here:

To shed light on why I say that, I'll just explain one of the things I do for a living.

I replicate spikes.

And I do it in several different ways.

To explain . . .

I have no idea of your niche, so let's say that we're working in the sheep clothing niche.

(Hugely profitable, BTW; more and more sheep have credit cards nowadays.)

I have a channel, say, of 100K subs. A brand that does this:

- Pumps out sheep-related videos.
- Promotes my own sheep clothing merch.

The channel pumps out a video a week and, on average, each video will see about 15K views for the run of it's first week.

And then I get a spike.

It does 150K views in its first 5 days, 1,000% spike.

I obviously notice the spike but it's not the only spike I notice.

Since I run a sheep-oriented brand, I'm constantly monitoring competition, large and small.

- High sub sheep channels

- Low sub sheep channels

I have their video sections bookmarked under the two heading above.

So, periodically, I'll look at their video sections and be ON the lookout for spikes.

Side note . . .

Spikes from low-sub channels are the most valuable spikes for me.

I'm looking at, say, a channel with 10K subs. It's videos, in the first week of publishing, are seeing an average view count of around 6K or 7K views.

Then, on a Tuesday, I notice it has a 120K spike.

That little channel should, no way, no how, be pulling 120K views.

Not with 10K subs.

Especially not with a solid average, over the past 3 months, of 6 or 7K views in the first week of each video's run.

Obviously then . . . it's an important spike.

It's important because, that little channel has almost done the impossible. So just imagine what the views might have been like for my much bigger channel.

Nutshell time . . .

I'm looking here for spikes:

- My own channel
- High sub channels
- Low sub channels

And the duty here is . . .

1. Find out the WHY behind each spike

2. Replicate it (emulate, not copy)

So what you're doing is attempting to optimise the menu of content on your channel by using spike data from the above 3 sources.

(There are other ways we optimise our content menu, but we won't go down that lengthy rabbit hole.)

So what makes a video spike?

Well, these are the key elements where you'll find your reason, which will usually be a combination, not just a single element:

- Primary keyword / topic
- One or more of the secondaries / topics
- Title
- Thumb
- Piggybacking a successful video (so it's like a sequel to it)
- The video structure

In the case of those low sub channels, the reason is usually because they've tapped into a topic that YouTube wishes to promote, and the channel's video in question is seen by YouTube as a great representation of that topic.

So that, combined with good viewing metrics (impression to view ratio, watch time, retention, etc) convince YouTube that it should shop that video around, exposing it. Hence - the spike.

So, going back to your situation.

Do I think FB Ads is the only solution?

Hell no.

I think FB Ads is an excellent ADDITION. But it sure as hell isn't the only answer.

Mate: your spike, the one that spiked your sales by 500% or more, is GOLD.

You shouldn't overlook it. You can't!

You need to pour over that video. Examine it.

- Was it the topic?
- Was it some tag?
- Was it a word used in the title?
- The entire title?
- Something in the thumb?
- Did it get shared somewhere with a big population? (Usually Reddit)
- Is it getting recommended (piggybacking) a popular video?
- Have you hit on a micro-niche that YouTube needs to fill?
- Was it how you structured your video? (A certain grab? A list format? Etc?)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaX...BZBk3qlIlc2HRg

See that channel?

Her first couple of videos did millions of views. She didn't so much spike as BLOW A HOLE through the atmosphere.

It was one of few times in living memory where YouTube reveal something huge about their ranking system without actually spelling things out for us.

And it was something we've long thought to exist.

YouTube favour some topics above others and when their vision of the IDEAL VIDEO is made - for a topic they wish to be covered - they'll expose the hell out of it.

Hence the atmosphere smashing views of Jennelle's first videos (from a channel with only a smattering of subs).

Nutshell #1:

Maybe you hit on the right micro-niche and filled it with a video that YouTube deems ideal, or close to ideal.

Nutshell #2:

More likely, maybe you hit on one or more of the elements I mention above, bringing about your spike.

SO!

What I'd do . . .

1. Learn why it spiked.

2. Learn why your competitors are spiking.

3. Try to replicate the spikes (but without delivering repetitive content)

4. Emulate, never copy.

5. Certainly learn FB Ads, they're a good tool obviously to master.

Anyway! Before you write off your chances on YouTube, become a master of spikes.

All the best, matey,

Tom

Don't waste your time on finding faults in the marketing strategy of your product.
Try modifying your product according to customers' needs.
Use the USP of your product and make a Youtube video around it.
There's no use of changing the marketing strategy of your product, if your product doesn't live upto the mark.
So rebuild your product and sell it's USP.
Regards.

Is there any chance this could just be a seasonal downturn t? This part of the year in various sales environments can be huge, or can cause a big decline. Do you think the holidays help your product?

You have customers, a lot of 'em it seems. Those people watched your video. They liked it. They clicked a link. They went on to buy it. That's arguable the most valuable data you have right now.

Ask questions.

Isolate recurring points.

Refine.

Create new ad.

I read the OP again and i felt excitement for you, those are amazing numbers. Its smart to try and replicate and maximize what you had achieved and ask the questions you are asking, but have you taken the time to really enjoy the success. if you are averaging 1k-2k that max 24 k a year.You made 26 k in 2 months that is incredible! bask in that! Enjoy it! remember those emotions as you saw those numbers every day, there are very few feelings as awesome as making money on autopilot because of the hard work you put in. You now have a huge amount of data to extrapolate from. You are going to see something that you missed some key to replicating and honestly beating previous performances, but those Eureka moments often happen in a still happy and content mind.

OP, make sure you study your video's analytics info

The answer might be staring you in the face

Also, you might want to change your video's description to call viewers to action so you can get some CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE

Use this info to make EDUCATED guesses for content creation purposes

You may have cleaned out the market for your product, worldwide.

You have in your hands a list of people interested in buying your topic, right?

So you, if you didn't spend your profits on drugs, then you should spend them making a
$200 product, a $600 product, and a $1200 seminar presentation.

I don't appreciate upsells either, by the way. But people say they work.

Do you have an affiliate program for your product? It could be a good way to bring traffic and sales to your site. This is paid advertising, and you don't pay unless a sale is made.