Social shares have changed the way companies look at their online content. Now that marketing campaigns are so easily disseminated, it has become more common for companies to plan a campaign or post with the aim of it achieving viral success.
However, ‘going viral’ isn’t something that you can plan – if only it were that simple. We’ll take a look at what it means to go viral and why this shouldn’t be your end goal…
‘Going viral’ – what does it mean?
Going viral refers to content that is rapidly shared from person to person at an exponential rate – similar to how a virus would rapidly infect a large group of people. Fun!
There’s also a similar lack of control involved; once the ball starts rolling, the idea is that it mostly takes care of itself.
Although most commonly associated with video, almost anything can become a viral success. In 2012, an image of a now-famous grumpy cat was posted to Reddit. The cat, named Tardar Sauce, took the digital world by storm. Its official Facebook page now has over 8.7 million ‘likes’ and the cat has its own waxwork model at Madame Tussauds, as well as a range of popular merchandise.
Grumpy Cat is one of many internet celebrities, but online virality isn’t just about giving fame to funny-looking animals… The ‘ice bucket challenge’, which had people throw ice water over their heads to raise awareness and money for Lou Gehrig’s disease, saw millions of people take part. In the end, over $155 million was raised for the ALS Association.
With the massive audience reach and success stories that follow the phenomenon, it comes at no surprise that some companies set this as their goal.
How do you go viral?
Although successful viral content can have a number of similarities, there’s no exact formula. It mostly relies on good timing and good luck.
If you want to increase your chances of getting your social content shared, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Tell a story. Stories tend to be more powerful drivers of action and a great way to connect with people. This works especially well if your story is entertaining. educational or inspiring.
Keep it upbeat. Most shared content online evokes strong emotions in the audience, with positive emotions outperforming negative. So to increase shareability, it’s better to be upbeat.
Keep it short. Keeping things short and sweet means you lessen the risk of people losing interest. Try utilising video platforms like Vine, that specialise in 6-second videos.
Negatives of going viral
Although going viral has the benefit of massive reach, there is a chance you can go viral for the wrong reason.
If your content is being shared online for negative reasons, it can amount to a lot of bad press. For example, this tweet to Whole Foods which negatively highlighted their packaging of oranges.
If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn’t need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D
— Nathalie Gordon (@awlilnatty) March 3, 2016
Depending on the nature of the content you’re sharing, occasional negativity can be unavoidable, but in other cases it may just come down to a lack of research. This is true of DiGiorno Pizza who tweeted using a #WhyIStayed trending hashtag not realising it was part of a domestic awareness campaign.
Why you shouldn’t try to go viral
Despite the number of articles that claim to have the ‘secret’ of going viral, it really isn’t something you can plan for. It’s a product of good luck, good timing and social media-friendly content.
Even if you’re able to avoid negative virality, it is worth noting that most positive posts are often meaningless. The most shared content online are rarely branded products or marketing campaigns. This is shown in TIME’s list of the 50 best YouTube videos, which features no planned videos from companies.
Most of the time, viral content is more like this video of a cat chasing a duck while riding a ROOMA in a shark costume. It’s completely empty of meaning and it’s 9 million views are entirely unplanned.
Going viral is the exception, not the rule. Digital marketers continue to point this out as an industry oversight, emphasising the need for more long-term, attainable goals, rather than looking for a one-hit wonder.
By focusing too heavily on ‘going viral’, you run the risk of alienating the part of your audience who are seeking genuinely worthwhile content. You’ll also waste time and money that could have been better spent elsewhere.
What should you aim for?
Instead of trying to appeal to a mass audience, focus on your target demographic.
By understanding your ideal customers, you will be able to understand the content that is relevant to them. These are the people who will turn into leads and sales, so produce content that they will engage with and share with that audience.
And if your marketing efforts naturally lead to a bit of social media virality, there’s nothing wrong with shouting about it…
Conclusion
There is no ‘secret’ to going viral and it isn’t something that can be planned in advance. If it were, every business with a marketing budget would be seeing millions of shares for each social media post and the novelty of viral marketing would soon wear off.
Even with content that you’re sure will be gather momentum, there’s still an element of good timing and good luck, so don’t be fooled by companies offering viral content as a service.
Instead of focusing on how to go viral, you should think about creating consistent, valuable content for your target audience. For a start, this goal is much more achievable, but it will also serve you better in the long-term and is more about attracting the right kind of customer to your business.
For more information on how to engage your audience through content, get in touch today!
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