Social media changed marketing forever, giving businesses a marketing channel that works and is cost-effective at getting messages across. Every business that does social media marketing chases viral content because that type of content reaches many more people. Viral marketing uses social media, content shareability, and word-of-mouth to reach as many people as possible.
Done right, it can lead to exponential growth in social media numbers, sales, and revenue. Here are some of the things you can do to leverage viral marketing.
Choose Your Social Media Platforms Carefully
The reality of marketing is that something that works on one platform will not necessarily work for another. Additionally, the platforms that work best for one business might not work for another. The best platforms for going viral are X, TikTok, and Facebook, depending on your target audience. The platforms you choose must align with your business, messaging, and desired marketing outcomes.
Once you have identified your social media platform, be active on it to find out what goes viral on there. Doing this in-depth research from the start will help you down the line as you will understand the platform much better and be better skilled at creating viral content for it.
Understand What Makes a Trend Cool
It is easy to identify trends on social media, but it is not always easy to understand why they are cool. If you can do this, you can associate your business with that cool factor, ride the trends, and get your business to reach numerous people.
Your marketing campaign can backfire if you don’t know why trends are cool and how to tie them into your marketing campaign. People have gotten very good at identifying businesses that understand social media trends, and those that are just riding the wave for their benefit.
Reward Employees Who Come Up With Viral ideas
Your marketing team will come up with many ideas that could go viral. The problem is that not every idea will be a winner, perhaps due to timing or a mismatch between the content created and the target audience. However, some ideas will take off in unexpected ways, leading to a massive return on investment and social media growth.
Rewarding employees who come up with ideas that go viral encourages others to fine-tune their processes of coming up with ideas. It is a win-win for everyone involved.
Companies can show their appreciation using personalized rewards. If you do not have a reward in mind, a gift card is universal and is appreciated, especially if it is for a brand the employee likes.
Work With The Right Influencers
Influencers create and leverage viral content all the time. They can do this effectively because people want to hear marketing messages from people they know and trust. Your association with specific influencers can help consumers relate to you and your brand, increasing the chance of your content going viral.
Businesses can leverage viral marketing regardless of the industry they are in. Knowing how to do this right can increase brand awareness and revenue. It starts with paying attention to what people are saying and doing online and creating campaigns that align with both.