When people say that content went viral, they mean that it spreads from person to person – like a virus. Viral marketing can be considered a unique form of 21st-century marketing. His idea began in the mid-90s when Hotmail gave away free email addresses for subscriptions. For that time, this was an innovative solution. As a result, Hotmail attracted about 1,000,000 subscribers in 6 months.
Viral marketing is high-risk, high-return marketing. Even with the most careful planning, you can’t make your campaign credible. But you can certainly take actions that will increase the likelihood of success. Whether you are an essay helper or a transnational corporation it is essential to pay people’s attention to your activity.
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How to Create Viral Content?
Viral marketing is one of the most cost-effective (and popular) marketing strategies. You don’t have to pay anyone to share your post or use your hashtag. All you have to do is give people what they want to share, and they will do the rest. What’s the catch? The thing is that there are no guarantees or a ready-made recipe for creating viral content. You can optimize it for success, but ultimately you have no way to influence whether a campaign goes viral.
One example of successful viral marketing is AirBnB’s #livethere campaign. Using the hashtag #livethere, AirBnB users posted photos and videos of their unique experiences. Today, the brand is synonymous with inexpensive and exciting travel, thanks to the fact that Airbnb took the risk and entrusted marketing to its users:
Principles for Creating a Viral Marketing Campaign
When planning a viral campaign, you must adhere to the following principles:
1. Act on emotions
In order for people to embrace your viral campaign, it must resonate with them emotionally. Whatever emotions it touches – compassion, joy, desire, etc. – your campaign should evoke feelings in people, and then they will want to share it with others.
In 2019, Cadbury launched a limited edition orange-flavored Twirl bar. The new product was so hard to find and Cadbury fans thought it wasn’t real and created a frenzy that rivaled Wonka’s golden ticket campaign in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
2. Sharing your campaign should be easy
The ability to easily share content (via hashtag, images, or otherwise) is at the heart of any viral campaign. If it is difficult to share, it won’t go viral. Another way to go viral is to join an already existing viral trend.
3. Choose the perfect time
Your campaign must be timely. Research what works for other brands in your field and what your target audience is currently hoping for to understand the zeitgeist. Take Baby Yoda, for example. In December 2019, photos of this character blew up the Internet.
Google Trends is a great tool to learn about current trends. You can see how popular a particular search term has been since 2004, where in the world it is most popular and, most importantly, whether it has already reached its peak.
4. Use a suitable platform and method
Today, any brand that wants to reach its audience and stay relevant must have a social media presence. Not every brand is on all platforms, and not every platform is suitable for your viral campaign.
The success of a viral marketing campaign depends on choosing the right platform. One well-known viral campaign that could not have achieved the same success on Instagram on any other platform was the #MakeItYours campaign from the Xbox Design Lab, which encouraged gamers to post pictures of their Xbox controllers.
5. Take care of uniqueness
Study what has worked for others, but don’t copy it. When striving for virality, be unique. Think about how Little Yoda broke into the meme scene and how companies tried to use him by creating “baby” versions of their mascots, such as Mr Peanuts. However, everyone only remembers Little Yoda, because he was the first.
6. Be authentic
In addition to being unique, your company also needs to be authentic. People know when they are being flirted with, and if your audience senses that from you, you will go viral for a different reason.
