What Makes A Social Media Marketing Campaign Go Viral?

Introduction:

In today’s digital world, getting a social media marketing campaign to go viral is like hitting the jackpot—a few brands nail it and strike gold. However, what gives a campaign the potential of being shared across feeds or gaining attention from people across the world? In essence, it’s all about making good content, making good use of trends, and how to engage your target market. Even the choice of visuals, their timeliness, and the choice of influencers, as well as the use of hashtags, are important elements for the success of a social media post.

As the leading Social Media Marketing Agency, TIS, is here with this blog to break down the tactics and give tips on how to create a viral promotion on social media. Let’s bring your campaign to a new level of virality:

Steps to Craft a Viral Campaign: 

Here are the steps one should follow while creating a viral campaign:

Step 1: Develop Compelling Content

Any kind of viral marketing starts with content that will turn people’s attention and make them closely related to the product. Focus on creating high-quality and more elaborate images as well as emotional appeals. For instance, the famous “Real Beauty” campaign of Dove used familiar and convincing images and taglines to appeal to the audiences.

Step 2: Leverage Current Trends

Timing is everything. Stay updated with current trends and cultural moments to incorporate them into your campaign. It’s recommended to include trending topics or viral challenges in the strategy to increase its exposure. The #InMyFeelingsChallenge, spurred by Drake’s song, is a prime example of how riding the wave of trends can boost engagement.

Step 3: Collaborate with Influencers

Collaborate with influencers that embrace your brand ethos and have good relations with your target audience. Using influencers spreads your message and makes it more authoritative. Businesses earn $5.78 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, and its efficiency is evident.

Step 4: Optimize for Engagement

Your campaign should be designed in a way that will most commonly engage the users. In this, you should include interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, or challenges that are designed to elicit participation. The Ice Bucket Challenge which became very popular in raising awareness of ALS succeeded by the use of active engagement.

Step 5: Use Strategic Hashtags

Use simple hashtags that are associated with the campaign. Hashtags allow users to find each other and also to prompt for the creation of more content. In particular, the posts containing hashtags discoverability and encourage user-generated content. Posts with hashtags receive 12.6% more engagement, making them effective means by which visibility can be achieved.

Things to Consider for Virality:

The following are some considerations that must be taken into consideration to make your social media campaign the best out of all the rest:

• Emotional Impact

Content that evokes strong emotions—whether it’s joy, surprise, or nostalgia—is more likely to be shared. Make sure that your emotions are captured well within the framework of your campaign. For example, the ‘Thank You Mom’ advertisement by P&G during the Olympics caused the audience to come to tears due to the focus on mothers.

• Visual Appeal

The visuals that you use for your campaign should leave a lasting impression. To achieve this you have to ensure that you’re using high-quality images and videos that stand out. Contents with captivating images have 94% more chances of being viewed by users than the ones with no images.

• Timing and Frequency

Share your content at optimal times when your target audience is most active. Frequency posting as well as right time posting can help to keep the campaign in the spotlight for a longer period. It is also important to figure out the times and the frequencies that have to be used in posting material.

• Cross-Platform Consistency

Make sure that your campaign does not contradict itself and has the same branding on whichever social media platforms you join. This is helpful in sustaining your message, helpful in creating a cohesive brand image. For instance, while Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign was a unified theme across all the platforms, it created a better effect.

• Real-Time Monitoring and Adaptation

Real-time monitoring of your campaigns and being ready to adapt based on feedback and analytics. It makes you adapt when and where changes and trends are necessary and favorable for execution and response to the audience.

Strategies for Achieving Consistency In Viral Marketing

Because of competition, everyone is trying to reach the level of going viral, but only some can do so with proper ways and good strategies. Follow these tips to stand out:

• Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Encourage the audience in your campaign to generate material for sharing. Besides extending the campaign coverage, UGC also brings credibility to the campaign. Using the example of Calvin Klein’s “#MyCalvins” campaign, it is possible to conclude that UGC was used to build a community of engaged followers.

• Surprise and Delight

Include some elements of surprise so that your audience stays interested in your action. Occasionally, a specific message is more effective, or the prospect of a surprise can actually create interest in your campaign. The use of surprise to maintain a lingering level of interest is perfect, Spotify’s “Wrapped” campaign, which provides users with a personalized year-in-review, is a good example of using surprise to drive interest.

• Foster Community Engagement

Build a sense of community around your campaign. Communicate with your followers by responding to comments, reposting/re-tweeting/re-sharing user content, and encouraging a conversation. This way, the interaction does not decode, and the campaign stays active on social media.

• Analyze and Learn

After your campaign has gained traction, conduct a thorough analysis to understand what worked and what didn’t. Use these insights to refine your future strategies. Continuous learning and adaptation are key to sustaining success and improving your approach.

Time For Wrap!

In the end, for one to create a viral social marketing communication campaign, requires a lot of planning and effort. If you’d like your campaign to go viral and capture the attention of the masses, you can prepare for it by all the above steps, taking into account certain factors and using tips for long-lasting activity. Seeking help, contact us to enquire more.