What makes a post “VIRAL” and how will it benefit your brand?
Today in social media, one of the most thrown around terms from brands and creators is “viral.”
“How do we go viral?”
“Will it go viral?”
“Why isn’t our content going viral?”
According to a study at Stanford University the chances of going “viral” is one in a million.
Now, what determines if something is “viral?”
That’s hard to say. For the most part I would say it’s subjective. Buuuuuuut with that being said, going viral can change your business overnight. Especially with platforms like TikTok that have given everyone the opportunity to go viral overnight.
Personally, as a social media manager, I HATE the term viral.
Why?
Because it distracts from the important foundation of what brands really need to do to succeed on social media.
Now don’t get me wrong. Creating GOOD content that CAN go viral is great and should be a part of every social media strategy, however more recently when people think of social media they immediately go to the idea of “How do we go viral?”
What do I think should change about that? The approach brands have about social media.
A social media strategy that is solely based around going “viral” is the equivalent to a baseball player who only swings for the fences. Would you rather bat .200 with 35 home runs, or .330 with 20 home runs, 5 triples and 24 doubles. Personally, I’d rather bat .330. Which is what I believe most brands who win do. Like I said, it’s great to create content that can go viral, it just should not be the sole purpose of everything you do on social media.
With that being said, here are 3 of the most important things you need to do to win on social media. And don’t worry, if you do these things there is a good chance you’ll go viral once or twice as well.
Consistency
When it comes to winning on social media, consistency may be the most important factor. If you aren’t consistently posting and trying new things your chances of being successful are not going to be very high.
What does this mean?
It means you have to be posting daily, trying new video/content ideas, posting stories, responding to comments and DMs. All of it. People need to get used to seeing you on their feed. The more often they see you, the better chance you have of getting their attention.
Think of this as the base layer. Without it, you’re all over the place.
Forming an emotional connection
When it comes to going viral, this is one of the most important things. Just in general, getting people interested in your content. Wanting to know more about you or your brand.
Without forming any type of emotional connection it becomes a lot harder to get them to stick around.
Use your content to make them feel like they can trust you and you understand them
If you spark an emotion with people, they’ll start to think differently of you or your brand. They’ll want to follow you, engage with you and possibly buy your product.
According to the Sprout Social, company alignment with personal values is 74% more important to consumers than it was in 2021.
Is your brand and the content you make around your brand authentic? If it is, you’ve got a much better chance of forming a strong brand community.
Benefit/Providing Value
Does this play into forming an emotional connection? Yes.
Is it different from forming an emotional connection? Also yes.
If your product solves a problem, LET PEOPLE KNOW!
People aren’t just on social media for entertainment. They want to learn (and shop) as well. Think of all the “Amazon stuff I never knew I needed” TikTok’s you’ve probably seen.
The more you show off how beneficial your product is in your content, the more likely people are to probably share that with a friend or family member. More shares lead to more views, which leads to more, you guessed it. VIRAL content!
Ultimately it’s nearly impossible to go viral with everything you create on social media. Unless you are Mr. Beast. However creating a strong brand identity on social media can set you up for success and give you a much better chance at doing so.
Moral of the story: Don’t worry about going viral all the time. Build an online presence by being consistent, tapping into consumer emotions and providing value.
“If you build it, they will come.”