Viral marketing is a great strategy to increase your audience, boost sales, and create product awareness. Your current audience will share the video or post with their circle which ultimately promotes your brand.
Viral marketing is one of the best strategies currently being used by companies, brands, and even individuals to promote their products or services to a larger audience. However, in some cases, you may find that some viral videos just came to be or were made due to coincidence.
Ever wondered how memes go viral? Or some embarrassing video? Well, the same mode used to promote that meme, post, or video is the kind of strategy needed in viral marketing.
In this article, we will cover the “ins and outs” of viral marketing.
What Is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is the use of social networks in the promotion of products or services on social media platforms. Social networks are the people who are greatly associated with your product or service and want to share it with people in their circles.
It is called viral marketing since the information spreads like a virus from one person to the other. Therefore, for this kind of marketing to succeed, a company needs to have pleased its users, who will then spread the word to others.
The information can be spread by word of mouth or organically. The ultimate goal is to reach as many people as possible and to increase brand awareness.
How Many Views On TikTok Are Viruses?
If a TikTok video gets about 500,00 – 3 million + views, it can be considered viral. 500,000 views are termed as viral while 1 million + is semi-viral and 3 million + is mega-viral. That’s quite an audience, right?
More views will mean it has become viral; people liked the content, shared it with their circles, and got a larger audience. The algorithms also note that and make it rank higher. Also, it depends on the niche, some videos may be considered fully viral even when below the 500,000 views mark. Since some niches are less checked out than others.
To ensure your video goes viral on TikTok, you must have been active 7 days a week for like the past 3 months to ensure people know you.
How Many Views On Facebook Are Viruses?
(I couldn’t get an exact number)
Facebook has over 1 billion users, which makes it one of the most used social media networks. If your content gets many likes, shares, and content within a short time, you are assured that your content has gone viral on Facebook.
When some content catches the attention of people who follow you, they will get entertained, like it, comment, or share it on their timelines. If friends of your friends also see it, it will surely spread.
On Facebook, virality is measured by how people take action after seeing your post.
How Many Views On YouTube (Shorts) Are Viruses?
(I couldn’t find an exact number)
YouTube shorts require minimal time to watch. Therefore, if the YouTube short solves a certain problem that people have, then that means more views. Therefore, for YouTube shorts to be considered viral they should get 90%+ watched.
The more viewers you get, the more promotion you get for new viewers to see your content. The average percentage viewed metric is what makes YouTube shorts go viral. The more views the better.
As a content creator, you can consider repeating content formats, styles, and topics that increase your Youtube shorts' viewership. Also, you can check out the highest-performing shorts and replicate key traits to ensure you increase your viewership. Ultimately, make viewers want to watch your content more than once.
How Many Views On Instagram Are Viruses?
Video reels on Instagram with more than 100,000 – 1 million views are considered viral. However, for smaller accounts, more than 10,000 viewers are considered viral. Just like in Facebook, you also need to have a high number of likes to go viral. However, a video goes viral based on the industry, goals, followers, and audience.
More than 100,000 likes also show that content is viral. If you use trending music, hashtags, custom covers, and text captions, your reel can rank well. Additionally, sharing during peak hours, on your feed and stories can make it go viral.
How Does Virus Marketing Work?
Virus marketing utilizes the user as the main point of spreading the advertisement, product, or service. When someone shares a video or post about a company to their audience, that's virus marketing since a wider audience will see it. The user tells others about the video, post, or tweet. The more people who see it, the better.
The virus marketing channels include blogs, forums, communities, social media platforms, microblogging services, news sites, email, etc. If someone finds some content relevant, they won't hesitate to share it with others to benefit. For example, if friends of friends on Facebook can see your content, they will easily share it with their friends.
The audience needs to organically generate and push the message to their circles. Successful virus marketing will lead to increased brand awareness, audience growth, and increased sales.
Features Of Virus Marketing
The features of virus marketing include:
- Uniqueness – The uniqueness of content makes it more likely to be shared. If many people have the same content, it won't spark any interest, however, if the post is a bit different, many people will be excited to share it with their friends. Therefore, originality is really important.
- Adds value – Successful virus marketing requires content that adds value to the users. In as much as you may want to create funny clips, creating valuable content that most people can benefit from is a key thing. What is the current issue at hand? Why not offer a solution to it? Sure enough more people will share it. Therefore, marketers need to go a step ahead to provide valuable content.
- Sparks emotion – When marketing, it shouldn't be a strict video or post, it should try to spark emotion in people, that will make them want to watch the content over and over again. They will also want their circles to see it. Can you share content that hasn’t sparked an emotion in you? No, must be your answer!
- Relatable topic – If you want your content to go viral, ensure that people easily identify with it. Be it you are promoting a certain product or service. Just ensure that the topic can spark opinions in different people that will make them want to comment. The content also needs to be amazing, unexpected, and provide a surprise effect.
- Authenticity – People easily share authentic content. In as much as you will provide your brand logo, ensure that the message you deliver is what remains on people's minds. Therefore, ensure the advertisement sparks the right interest in people.
- Capture attention – It should also capture the attention of the viewer quickly and convey the message very fast which can even lead to a sale. It should also have a strong call to action that recommends someone on what they should do next.
In as much as they will love the video, what else should they do that in return will benefit your brand? If it is a campaign, ensure there are instructions there for the viewer.
- Plan in advance – For some advertising to work, it's crucial to plan. What marketing strategy works well? What kind of video had you created earlier that led to success? Why not create such kinds of TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, Facebook videos, or YouTube shorts? The shorter and straightforward the video is, the more attention, it will get.
- Provide an incentive – In some cases, providing an incentive can go a long way in ensuring your video or post goes viral. People will be more likely to share your content to get the prize. For example, on Instagram, some companies tend to promise their audience a gift hamper if they tag some of their friends in the comment or do something else.
When the friends view the tag, they will see the content and do as told in the post. That's how some content gets viral as everyone wants to win.
How To Do Viral Marketing
These are things you should consider in viral marketing.
Step 1: Plan ahead
In viral marketing, you need to be ready for growth. In case your campaign goes viral will you manage to deal with more customers? More online traffic? Well, that's one of the things every advertiser or brand needs to think about. Do you have enough products or service providers to meet the demand for services?
Step 2: Know your audience.
Also for viral marketing, it is important to to do thorough research to know the target audience. What do they like? What will spark their interest? It will be much easier to deal with the audience in that way.
Step 3: Make the viral content have a clear message
For the content to reach the right audience, you need to use the right language that the customer will understand best. Just ensure the message is clear and straightforward.
Step 4: Appealing visual content
People also love what they see, so it is crucial to create appealing visual content that people will love seeing. Videos and images are easier for people to see & share, unlike written content. You might be surprised when the content goes viral. Also, utilize creativity to ensure that it is unique from all other videos on the internet.
Step 5: Use the right channel
It is also crucial to use the right channel to share the content. If you have a younger audience Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok will work best. If you want a larger audience, Facebook will work best. YouTube is best if you are teaching something valuable that might even take more time to make. Also, remember communities and forums have a lot of people and this can also benefit your brand.
Is Virus Spreading Always Good For My Digital Marketing?
Yes, virus spreading is good for digital marketing since it can reach a larger audience quickly. Social media networks are really powerful and if you want your brand to grow or company you need to ensure the content you provide is share worthy. In this digital world, people easily get information online, and you need to leverage on that too. Therefore, if you are using other modes of marketing, viral marketing should be added to the list.
What Are The Classic Viral Marketing Videos In 2023?
These are some classic viral marketing videos that sparked the interest of many people:
- The Greg Vegans Sausage roll
The video is simple and shows how the vegan sausage roll looks amazing. By just looking at it, anyone would be interested in it. It has a clear message and even shows when a person is about to bite it.
It gives someone the craving to want to eat and taste it due to its beautiful outlook. The video is unique as it showcases the sausage roll as if it is a technological device, how a phone or laptop would be shown. This is a unique strategy to use.
- Email in real life
This video shows how an email would sound when in real life. The way, CCs and BCCs get emails, and also how people write emails. It is a classical video that anyone can easily relate to.
It also shows some mistakes we make in emails, how we forget to put attachments,, etc. It is a classical video that anyone can easily share. Therefore, if providing a solution to team collaborations etc., this kind of strategy would work.
- Nike – Dream Crazier
This video portrays a message in which women can participate in sports and other roles. It is inspirational and also promotes the Nike brand. It shows how people shouldn't worry about what other people think and instead live their dreams. People will get the message and want to associate with the brand, promoting that amazing message.
- Intel – Meet the makers.
This is one of the best videos promoting Intel and has a message. It uses a person to tell a story that tries to solve a real-life problem but at the back of it also promotes the brand.
So, most viral videos require a problem that requires a solution. How people uniquely make videos makes them want to be shared with many people. How did it change the world? Will it meet the target audience? Will it leave them happy?
- What is AI?
This is a great animation video that provides information about A. I. It shows information on its functionality, how it has evolved, and how A.I. solves certain problems.
The video has a clear message to ensure everyone can understand it without using complex words that confuse anyone into understanding what A.I. is. Therefore, people will be more than willing to share such a video so everyone else can understand.
Boost Your Business With Viral Marketing
Whether you are a startup, medium-sized business, or big corporation, viral marketing can boost your business or content more than you can imagine. Both businesses and individuals can leverage using viral videos or posts to boost their brand.
However, providing information that your target audience will love watching, listening, or viewing is essential. If the content is interesting or share-worthy, they will share it with others in their circle, and your brand will become known. Boost your marketing campaigns today!
