Are you waiting for your brand to go viral, but can’t seem to get that mega breakthrough moment for your business? It is not easy to hang on and patiently wait for your company to take off one day.
120 Million. That is the number of users Spotify claims to have accessed their Wrapped(Campaign) in 2021, which is four times more than the 30 million users who supposedly did so in 2017. 60 million users posted their Spotify’s Year End Wrapped images on social media in 2021.
McDonalds campaign reached 22.6k unique new users with over 31 million+ reach in India through influencer marketing. The campaign received over 1 million likes, more than 20,000 comments and a reach of 31 million resulting in 3.4K + orders per month in South and West.
While some brands like Spotify and McDonalds get it right, why do most of the businesses struggle to leverage the power of viral marketing?
You must be aware of the Ice bucket challenge that went viral back in 2015.From Movie stars to next door neighbours everyone took part in it to raise awareness for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) research.
Why did it go viral? It was for a good cause, it was fun and it brought people together both offline and online. From big brands to individuals-Everyone jumped in and made the campaign a huge success.
And that’s how your marketing campaigns should be – Strategic, Creative and Different.
If you are not sure about how viral marketing can become a force to drive your business’s growth, earning attention at incredible speed-Read this post so you wouldn’t have to struggle to get a global reach.
What is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is all about getting people talking about a product or service. It relies on the power of word-of-mouth and sharing through the Internet. The idea is to get individuals excited enough to share the marketing message with their loved ones and beyond, leading to a rapid and explosive increase in its reach.
Just like a virus, viral marketing spreads from person to person and from channel to channel, gaining massive visibility and attention. Because it is designed for sharing, social network is ideal medium for viral marketing.
Decoding Viral Marketing
Viral marketing as the word suggests refers to the marketing message that spreads quickly and widely across the audience.
Viral Marketing is an intentionally crafted strategy but the distribution of message happens organically. Viral Marketing earned popularity in early to mid-2000s,majorly due to the internet boom and the rise of countless online businesses.
Thanks to social media, viral marketing is still very relevant to this day and is used by several internet-based businesses to target customers online.
Three-Step formula for Killer Viral Marketing Strategy
Customer centric approach acts as a foundation for Viral marketing. The key to building best campaigns that have potential to go viral is to understand below things
What kind of content do people want to see?
When it comes to content that the audience likes to see, Gen Z prefers short-form videos, story posts, or content from influencers they follow. Short-form video, sponsored content, and feed postings are what millennials like to see. Short-form video, online communities, and feed posts are what Gen Xers like. Online communities, feed posts, and sponsored content are preferred by Baby Boomers. You need to make content that your audience truly desires.
Why do people share content?
According to the NYT study, posts that evoke emotions such as awe, anger, positivity are most likely to be shared. Most of the time people also share content to express who they really are. Make sure your content speaks to your audience and reflects their mentality so they share your content to their community.
How do people share content?
People share content to their community on social media platforms. Here are few platforms which have high engagement rates that can make your content go viral and reach millions of audience.
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Spotify Podcasts
- New York Times
Pros and Cons of Viral Marketing
Though there’s no guarantee that something goes viral, there are a lot of pros to take into account in case it does. These are some of viral marketing’s key benefits.
Cost-effective
Because a successful viral marketing strategy depends on people spreading a message for free, it won’t cost much money. Since social media sites make content sharing quite simple, most marketing teams won’t have to put in a lot of extra effort if a piece of content begins to circulate naturally among online users.
Massive reach
The whole idea of a viral campaign is that people share a piece of content across their network. This might include people that are already familiar with your product, service or brand, but it likely also includes individuals that were not part of the original target audience. Hence, your campaign reaches a larger section of the audience increasing the brand visibility and reach.
Rapid growth
Viral content can reach a large audience, which means that a company’s online presence can expand. In light of this, a brand that has access to a larger audience can customize its marketing approach to keep up momentum.
Brand Awareness
The impact of viral content goes beyond promoting products or services, it also raises awareness about brands. Take an example of a viral funny video – people are likely to remember the brand behind it just as much as they remember the message. This is a highly effective marketing strategy, particularly for startups and small businesses.
Non-invasive
Unlike traditional advertising, which is often intrusive and demands customer attention, viral marketing relies on fan engagement to share the message or brand. As a result, consumers may view the brand in a more natural and authentic perspective, rather than feeling bombarded by aggressive sales tactics commonly used in other forms of digital marketing.
Viral marketing might be popular currently for many content and digital marketing strategies. However, one must know about the disadvantages that come with it.
Hard to measure outcomes
Choosing the right KPIs and metrics for a viral marketing campaign can get tricky. The outcomes are difficult to predict since viral marketing strategies rely more on customers spreading the message.
Measure ROI of your referral campaign using Referral Rockets ROI calculator.
Reliant on Luck
For marketers seeking to launch a successful viral marketing campaign, the key lies in leveraging their expertise and skills to produce top-notch content on the most relevant platforms. However, the ultimate determinant of its success lies in the hands of the audience, as they are the ones who have the power to make it go viral (or not).
Negative PR
There are instances where viral marketing might not be the right approach. When the audience does not like the campaign message or when it’s viewed negatively by customers, viral marketing can backfire and ruin a company’s reputation.
Your next marketing campaign should have following traits
- Humor
Humorous advertising strategies have a high success rate. Joy and Happiness are two of the top-rated emotions people enjoy. People like to share funny content and therefore it’s great to infuse humour in campaigns for them to go viral. Witty content always works.
- Attention grabbing
There is a high possibility for your campaigns to go viral if it’s got a catchy tune or hook step attached to it. This helps in increasing brand awareness and people remember your business because of catchy campaigns.
- Simplicity
Keep your message short and simple which encourages quick sharing. Do not confuse the audience by stuffing too much information about your brand.
- Timing
Release your content at the right moment to maximize its impact. Consider big events like IPL or a mega movie release and tap into the market at the right time.
Stay away from these viral marketing mistakes
We all have had times where we were super pumped about an idea and imagined it to rule the internet, only to see it flop making its way into disaster category.
Before you hype yourself to create the next viral campaign, let’s look at the mistakes one should avoid.
Do not go behind trends blindly
Before you hop on to a trend that everyone’s doing, make sure it aligns with your brand. Choosing wrong trends can ruin your brand’s message.
Ignoring cultural research
Remember that when you are targeting a diverse audience, it is important to have a great grip on the audience pulse. A campaign that is super successful in western countries might not work in countries like India because of its distinct audience.
Do not over promote
Audiences do not like brands that talk about themselves. Your content should be customer-centric. Focus on finding a good balance between diverse content and frequency.
Actions matter
At the end of the day a marketing campaign has to reach the goals and expectations. It doesn’t matter how catchy or successful your campaign is, always include CTA(Call To Action) to encourage the audience to take action which drives conversions and engagement rate.
Viral Marketing Success Stories
- Dove Real Beauty Sketches (2013): Empowerment and Emotional Connection
Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches aimed to challenge beauty standards by illustrating how women perceive themselves versus how others see them. The emotional impact of the campaign led to widespread sharing and discussions on body image.
- Wendy’s Twitter Roasts: A Spicy Approach
Wendy’s gained attention by adopting a sassy and humorous persona on Twitter. Responding to followers with witty comebacks and roasts, the brand created a buzz, making Wendy’s a social media sensation.
- Dollar Shave Club: Disruptive Marketing with Humour
Dollar Shave Club disrupted the razor industry with its humorous and straightforward marketing approach. The viral video featuring the company’s CEO humorously pitching the subscription service showcased the brand’s personality and value proposition.
- Blend Tec’s “Will It Blend?”
Blend Tec’s viral marketing campaign, “Will It Blend?”, showcased the power of blending unusual items using their blenders. The entertaining videos not only demonstrated the product’s strength but also created immense curiosity, leading to widespread sharing.
- L’Oréal – Because You’re Worth It
You’re Worth It campaign, a timeless tribute to both L’Oréal as a brand and women as a whole. For more than half a century, this campaign has championed the cause of women’s empowerment rather than just promoting a product. As a result, L’Oréal’s mission of celebrating and uplifting women has been achieved over the years. The origins of this powerful slogan can be traced back to 1971, when it first emerged on the scene as one of the first campaigns to centre on women’s self-confidence and strength.
Viral marketing is a powerful and cost-effective strategy to build brand awareness and promote products. However, selecting the right platforms and optimizing content for easy sharing is crucial. Seek inspiration from success stories and build a fans favorite marketing campaign that breaks the internet.
Checkout these top 10 examples of businesses that used viral buzz to grow their customer base.
