Short answer: No!
If you are sitting in a conference room, planning with your marketing teams to literally create content with the goal of “going viral,” it’s time to pull the plug on the idea. Run for the hills. You’re wasting time.
Here is why.
Planning viral content is just like you trying to make somebody love you. And that is exactly what going viral means. Your audience, and audiences you haven’t even dreamed of, LOVE your content so much they’re willing to share without thinking twice. It may bring you only 15 minutes of fame. But in some cases, such as Oreo’s “Dunk in the dark” tweet, it can bring immortality in the digital space.
Viral content is spontaneous. Planning campaigns is calculated.
Viral content is authentic. Planning for viral is flat out the opposite.
But let’s rephrase that question just a bit: What can brands do to increase the chances of going viral?
1) Be authentic!
That means one thing. Real people. Real people are authentic, brands are not.
The Case Study: This week’s laugh heard round the world. Candace Payne posted this Facebook video with the caption, “It’s the simple joys in life…” It was simple. A dash cam view demonstrating what makes her laugh with pure joy. Watch it. Dare you not to break into joyful laughter!
Candace’s Facebook video of the Wookiee mask purchased at Kohl’s (How do we know? She made an authentic brand mention in the video. No payment, just an honest-to-God unscripted mention) has been viewed more than 140 million times, spreading her joy to all of us in the process.
The Social Media Strategy: Kohl’s proved it’s social team has the savvy to listen to what is resonating about their brand. When Candace made a simple reference to her clearance purchase at Kohl’s, within 24 hours their internal social team responded with a 2 minute video of their visit with Candace’s family, and were rewarded with more than 30 million views for the surprise corporate response.
The Takeaways:
- It’s the simple joys in life that go viral
- People are authentic, brands are not
- Listen to what people are saying about your brand, and respond quickly. The response can surprise and delight as much as the original laugh-out-loud viral post.
2) Be a diligent listener.
Brands too often are focused on what to say, not what to share. Time to turn that around, just like Kohl’s did.
The Case Study: Take this example from Vans. If you remember our “Damn Daniel” post about yesterday’s internet sensation, Daniel Lara, viral fashion sensation, was rewarded by Vans for his brand traction in social with a lifetime supply of Van’s on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The Social Media Strategy: Sure, 45 million views of the video got Van’s attention. But it was the way the company responded that has kept people talking. And it seems they still are, thanks to Daniel and his friend and cameraman, Josh Holz. They recently visited a children’s hospital in Southern California to turn over Daniel’s lifetime supply of Vans to kids who could use them now. These guys respond viral, without even tryin’!The Takeaways:
- Listen to what people love, and be authentic in your response
- Let your brand champion consumer drive social. More authenticity, guaranteed!
- Respond fast, be spontaneous and unpredictable
3) Respond with delight.
If you want your response to go viral, focus on consumer delight. That’s it. Focus on the consumer. After Kohl’s finally got over their contagious laugh fit while watching Candace’s Chewy mask demo, they showed they listen by responding big. What did they do?
- Provided masks for the entire family (Candace said she’d share with her kids, but Kohl’s provided each their own!)
- They showered the family with the latest Star Wars toys
- They provided mom and dad with $2,500 in Kohl’s gift cards
- And, they pumped their customer loyalty program authentically by rewarding Candace with 10,000 points in its Yes2You loyalty reward program #AlltheGoodStuff
The Social Media Strategy: Simply said, Kohl’s knew to respond big. No script. No producers. No conference room planning and approvals. Just a genuine thanks, with rewards x 3.
The Takeaways:
- Respond fast, from the gut.
- Be authentic.
- Multiply your initial reward ideas x 3! People will notice.