In 2023, social media marketing is king. If you want to stand out, it’s essential to employ viral marketing trends to put your brand on the map. But what is viral marketing? And how can you employ it in the right way to ensure your business is seen positively?
What Is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is a tactic that relies on your social media audience to promote your post. Unlike traditional marketing methods, viral marketing is organic. You aren’t paying for an ad to play on television or be printed in a magazine. Instead, you utilize popular social media trends in the hope that your audience will engage with your content and do the heavy lifting for you.
“Using popular social media trends the right way can help you get millions of new eyes on your business,” says Yusuf Shurbaji, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Prismfly, “If you do it right, viral marketing is an inexpensive way to reach thousands of customers in a short amount of time.”
An example of a successful viral marketing campaign would be when IHOP posted on Twitter they were changing their name to IHOB. People everywhere were retweeting the post, wondering what the B could stand for. IHOP remained the International House of Pancakes, but their little trick got their brand in front of millions of people quickly.
Pros and Cons of Viral Marketing
Content doesn’t always go viral for the right reasons. A post or video could have a negative effect if users see your content as offensive, tone-deaf, or a direct copy of a competitor’s ideas. In that case, you’ve gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
“Not all press is good press,” reminds Ubaldo Perez, CEO of Hush Anesthetics, “Going viral for the wrong reasons could seriously harm your brand. Take risks, but be cautious. Choose trends that naturally fit your brand’s aesthetic and allow you to put your best foot forward.”
The pros of viral marketing include that more people will recognize your brand, which can lead to pretty significant audience growth. You’ll hopefully also notice increased organic engagement and potentially higher sales as you become a household name, all for a fairly low cost.
The cons of viral marketing, however, include a potentially negative reception, as well as a loss of control over the content since anyone can comment whatever they want on your post. It’s also important to note that audience growth doesn’t always translate to an increase in sales.
However, don’t let fears of cancel culture prevent you from utilizing viral marketing to grow brand awareness. A solid understanding of the pros and cons of viral marketing can help you select the trends that will bring you success.
Why Does Something Go Viral?
If you want your next post to go viral, you have to understand why content goes viral in the first place. What made the corn kid so engaging? He was just a kid who loved corn—but that love connected with millions of viewers. He became an overnight sensation because people saw a bit of themselves in him.
“Viral content is shared because it resonates with people. If you want to curate a viral video, you need to get in touch with who your audience is at their heart,” explains Marcus Hutsen, Business Development Manager at Patriot Coolers, “When what you post is authentic and engaging, people want to share it. That’s when a post goes from 1,000 views to a million overnight.”
Going viral is about reaching beyond your target audience. They are the spark that will cause your post to explode online. If you can touch their hearts, they’ll help you reach the hearts of millions.
How to Spot Upcoming Trends in Viral Marketing
Social media moves quickly; today’s trends may be out tomorrow. You have to jump on trends early to ensure your post gets noticed and your brand goes viral. But how can you spot trends when they are first heating up?
“You’ve got to stay plugged into current trends on social media if you want your content to go viral,” states Ann McFerran, CEO of Glamnetic, “Follow influencers within your niche and keep an eye on trending hashtags and sound clips. When you see a trend that fits your niche, jump on it so you don’t miss your moment to shine.”
You don’t have to spend all day scrolling on social to spot upcoming trends. Utilize analytic tools like Tik Tok’s creative center and Google Trends to see which topics are gaining traction with your audience.
Stay Authentic to Your Brands Voice
You’ve likely spent a lot of time developing your brand identity and establishing a unique brand voice online and on social media. Stay true to that voice when utilizing viral marketing trends.
“Don’t change who you are just to fit a trend you think will help you go viral,” warns Miles Beckett, CEO and Co-founder of Flossy, “Not every trend is worth attaching yourself to. You’re more likely to go viral when you select specific trends that fit within your niche and speak to your audience.”
Seek to create an engaging and conversational brand voice you can use on social media and beyond. You want followers to feel like you are speaking directly to them. When they connect with your content authentically, they are more likely to share it with a friend.
Set Goals and Track All Your Campaigns
It’s essential to track the metrics on your social media accounts to stay in touch with your audience and find the trends that will help you go viral. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok put the metrics into the creator’s hands. Use that to determine which type of post is most likely to succeed.
“Not every campaign you launch on social media will go viral,” expresses Brianna Bitton, Co-Founder of O Positiv, “But if you analyze your data, every single campaign can help you get one step closer. Track which posts your audience engages with. Combine the best of them … and boom, you’re in business.”
Tracking your success becomes infinitely more manageable when you set specific goals. Do you want to reach a wider audience? Increase sales of a particular product? When you have a clear goal, the data becomes easier to translate, making it easier to track the trends that can launch your brand into viral success.
Utilize User-Generated Content
User-generated content, or UGC, is created by consumers rather than you, the brand. Think of posts where you see beauty bloggers try out a product or a fashion influencer doing a try-on haul of new clothes. These posts don’t read like traditional ads and can garner much higher audience engagement.
“You don’t have to be the one to post it for your brand to go viral. If you share your product with the right influencer, their post could go viral and bring your brand way more awareness than you could ever achieve from posting on your own page,” states Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Nugenix.
Influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers could help you go viral, but it can be expensive to work with them. Consider working with smaller micro-influencers within your target niche. If the content they curate is relatable, it still has a chance to go viral.
Curate Unique Content for Each Social Media Platform
You don’t want to recycle the same content on Tik Tok, Instagram, and Twitter, even though it can be tempting. It’s more effective to curate specific content for each platform that better reflects that unique audience.
“Each platform has a very different user base. Instagram tends to promote more polished and aesthetic videos. In contrast, Tik Tok content skews towards more raw, authentic clips,” explains Den Montero, Marketing Director of Moeflavor, “You can develop one campaign and shoot your video in different ways to fit the platform you plan to post them on. You’re still sending the same message, but now it’s optimized for the audience who can make it viral.”
The end goal when creating viral marketing is to encourage audience engagement. If you take the time to learn the content your audience will likely engage with on each platform you prioritize, you’re more likely to make a big splash.
Prioritize Short-Form Vertical Video Content
Most people nowadays are scrolling on their phones. They aren’t watching videos on their desktop computer or their television anymore. TikTok and Instagram have shown that short-form video content is king.
“You want your content to pop when people are scrolling on their phones,” says Trina Johnson, CEO of Blue Forest Farms, “Shoot well-lit, vertical videos of your product and find fun and unique ways to engage with your audience. Get them to hit that share button.”
Think about what questions you could answer for your audience. Short-form video content that provides quality information is more likely to be shared.
Keep It Human
Ultimately, staying human is the most essential ingredient to going viral. Social media is all about engaging with the people around us. Find ways to connect with your audience, and the viral results will come.
“Content goes viral when people connect with the message you’re sharing,” says Dan Potter, Head of Digital at CRAFTD London, “Going viral is all about starting a conversation. Most content that goes viral connects with people on an emotional level. Go for it, make people laugh and cry—be human.”
You can analyze all the data in the world, set a hundred goals, and still fail to connect with your audience if you don’t curate content from a human place. User-generated content can be a great way to help your audience see your brand in an authentic way.
Get Into Viral Marketing
Utilizing viral marketing trends on social media doesn’t have to be complicated. Get in touch with your audience, set clear goals, use your data, and stay true to who you are. Even if you don’t get the desired engagement, each campaign will have you one step closer to going viral the right way.
