So, you’ve decided you need to go viral, have you? You’ve felt the twinge of jealousy seeing other brands blow up with their bright, slightly edgy ads that have taken over the internet and now you want in.
You’ve done the research. You know that cat memes are still in. You know what song is #trending on TikTok. You’ve watched 75 videos from Instagram influencers who have told you their secret sauce to securing followers and how to make the cutest thumbnails. You are a well of viral knowledge. You can’t fail. You’ve got this.
Except, it doesn’t work.
Why didn’t it work?
You did everything right…WHY DID IT ONLY GET 253 VIEWS?!
Sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, friend. And you’re not alone! You’re part of an (ironically) new trend where marketers, content creators and social media specialists are constantly chasing that golden moment, that sparkling opportunity for greatness and recognition on the World Wide Web, for better or for worse…
But before you go chasing that next viral moment, let’s talk about what it actually means to “go viral,” shall we?
Defining Viral
Going viral often happens way more naturally than we give it credit for. It’s when people are drawn to content and share it over and over again, boosting its visibility and engagement. It’s what happens when a mom posts a cute video of her puppy and a baby playing together with a Taylor Swift song in the background, then posts it on Instagram for her grandparents to see, only to wake up the next morning to 1.8 million views and 750 thousand comments. Cause here’s the thing, everybody loves a dog and a baby and she might have chosen the hottest new T-Swift beats, so it caught fire! But, like most viral content, it wasn’t planned; rather, it was completely random.
This is usually how virality happens. You could publish one strategic thing and think for sure it’s going to catch and then…crickets. You could publish something else entirely new and off strategy, and that, THAT takes the internet by storm. Algorithms, amiright? It’s infuriating and weirdly magical due to its unpredictability.
Our hearts cannot handle this level of cuteness.
But, if you do suddenly hit that jackpot, while it can be fun and exhilarating, it’s not sustainable. In actuality, going viral is anything but strategic. It means you’re not targeting the right audience, you’re just getting an “audience”, kind of like seat-fillers at a comedy show. They’ll laugh, but will they stay if they’re not connected to you or your brand?
When you create consistent, trustworthy content, your audiences show up because you’ve tailored a strong brand identity that fits their algorithm. When it’s viral, the people you attract are often hearing of your brand for the first time and have no loyalty to what you’ve built. Trust is the key to retention, and while viral marketing can boost short-term metrics, it doesn’t cultivate lasting connections. And you can’t rely on constantly gambling with content that will retain those spontaneous viral numbers.
When Viral Becomes the Villain
Have you watched the infamous Pepsi video with Kendall Jenner? Yeah, you’ve seen it. Everyone has. You couldn’t miss that video when it dropped, but probably not for the right reasons. In fact, due to its viral status, it lives rent free in the minds of content creators as the pinnacle of “bad” viral material.
If, for some reason, you were pulling a Tom Hanks and were cast away on an island for the last few years with nothing but a volleyball to keep you company, check it out:
Let’s break down why Pepsi’s team thought it would work and why it ultimately didn’t.
The Idea:
It’s 2017. The election has just ended, Black Lives Matter protests are happening all over North America. Keeping Up with the Kardashians sits among the highest echelons of reality TV. Pepsi decides this is a golden opportunity to utilize what is “trending” to build an unstoppable viral campaign. They enlist Kendall Jenner, someone who’s hot in the young millennial market, bring in a ton of young, diverse talent showing off their artistic side and build a campaign around the idea that Pepsi is something that everyone enjoys so much, it can create literal peace.
In theory, it sounds like a slam dunk.
The Reality:
Unfortunately for Pepsi, when the ad aired it came off as completely tone deaf to the harsh realities of the current political climate. They seemingly took advantage of a deeply impactful and important social movement to sell a product and trivialized the experiences of those who have faced violence at the hands of authority for centuries by claiming all they needed to do was hand an officer a Pepsi.
This viral moment ended up costing the company millions of dollars due to the public boycott of the brand. Heck, Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter Bernice weighed in. They ended up pulling the ad from the market, stating “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize…”. Clearly, indeed.
The Outcome:
Ultimately, Pepsi realized that they’d made a mistake in trying to be trendy vs. authentic and it backfired in a major way. It also proved that producing expensive content or partnering with famous people to promote your product doesn’t always come with the guarantee of success you think it does. You should always have your brand’s identity at the heart of your work and be aware of what the larger current trends are about before using them for your content. We are living in an age where people can see through those kinds of tactics in your marketing, especially the Gen Zers and young Millennials who grew up surrounded by an ever-expanding ad space. They sniff out inauthenticity like bloodhounds, which leads us to our next point!
Quality as a Differentiator
We’ve talked about why you shouldn’t be chasing viral, but let’s cover what you should be attempting when you’re building your content. Here are some of our favourite staples!
- V is for Value, not Viral: At Patch, we want our clients to build audiences that genuinely care about the brand’s message and want to engage with their content! It’s important to shift their mindset from solely pursuing virality to prioritizing quality and meaningful engagement.
- Long-Term Sustainability: There are long-term benefits of consistent content planning, such as fostering trust, building brand reputation, and driving sustainable growth. Unlike viral spikes that may be short-lived, value driven content creates a lasting impact and strengthens your brand’s position in the market.
- Authenticity and Audience Connection: Authenticity and relevance in content creation is KEY. Authenticity resonates with audiences on a deeper level and leads to genuine connections, which are essential for sustained success in a digital landscape.
Now that we’ve covered some points, here’s an example of these practices in action…(imagine epic theme music underneath the next part for added effect.)
Patch & Casillero del Diablo: A pairing so strong, you’d think they’d sold their souls for the metrics!
Back in 2023, Patch began working with Casillero del Diablo Canada, a global wine brand known for its quality varietals and recognizable brand story. (You’ll know it by it’s devilish logo, of course.) They approached us knowing they had an untapped audience on social, and it was time to dig in! Enter Patch…
The Challenge:
- They wanted a glow-up for their Social Media in Canada, with the aim to grow brand awareness through Instagram and Facebook.
- They have a traditionally older customer base that isn’t as active on social channels.
The Solution:
- To grow their under-40 audience and launch a sales-focused strategy, we moved away from leveraging global brand content and created tailored, home-grown content based on audience demographics and interests.
I mean, they’re not wrong!
Some of Patch’s strengths are digging into a brand, researching its demographics and creating stunning content (if we do say so, ourselves!) that connects on a human level with our audiences. So, knowing that our target was Gen Z, who are highly active on social media, our strategy included building compelling, sassy reels, interactive stories to encourage audience interaction, utilizing user-generation content (love some UGC) and crafting fun contests to snag those new followers. One of our biggest wins happened when we ran a Valentine’s Day contest that saw thousands of entries accompanied by authentic comments and positive brand sentiment. (Those were some great numbers to strut into our client meeting with, not gonna lie!)
Our Valentine’s Day giveaway produced devilishly good (and tasty) results.
The Result
The refreshed strategy led to a month-over-month increase in engagement and audience growth of 5-10% across social platforms! Yes, you read that correctly. Month-over-month growth, baby! Building an engaged community that included a combination of direct messages, monitored mentions and shared purchase links, we curated the brand’s human element and it paid off! Sustainable, active growth with an ever-expanding audience, including Gen Z, young Millennials and further engagement from our 45-65+ demographics was a win-win strategy!
So, what have we learned?
You’ve done it! You’ve reached the end of the article. And now you might be thinking “Huh, maybe going viral isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…BUT I STILL WANT IT!”
Hey, we get that. Let’s be honest, it would be AWESOME to have a piece of content go viral in a positive, beautiful way that ended up reaching all the right audiences, that grew so huge you were asked to be interviewed by Stephen Colbert about your marketing genius, that created enough revenue that you were able to start a cat sanctuary for all those sweet kittens Sarah McLachlan sang about, THAT BROUGHT ABOUT WORLD PEACE, just like Pepsi dreamed!
But…it’s not likely. And that’s okay! World peace- errr, growth, happens best when you stick with a strategic plan that’s manageable every day. Your audience will stick by you if you create meaningful, authentic content that is targeted to them, and building those lasting, impactful relationships with your people should always be end goal.
Just remember, V is for Value, not Viral. And if you ever need someone to help you grow your brand in a strategic but fun, sustainable, exciting way, in the words of Charlie Puth, we’re “only one call away.” 😉
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