Brands crave the magic of "going viral” especially since a viral marketing campaign can propel your brand into the stratosphere, generating massive brand awareness, customer engagement, and ultimately, sales. But if we only hear about products like ChatGPT, Threads, etc going viral, does it mean that businesses with a smaller budget cannot go viral?
Do you remember the Stanley cup? Last year it went viral when a woman’s car burned leaving only the Stanley mug “unburnt and still retaining frozen water” this video went viral and Stanley took advantage of it to promote their mugs which was genius. Now this was unplanned viral marketing for Stanley and it happens very very few times for businesses so it is not a guaranteed way of going viral (I mean, you cannot go around creating accidents to show how awesome your product is)
So what if your marketing budget is small? It means that you need to get clever and find interesting ways to drive meaningful attention to your brand.
This guide explores the art of crafting viral marketing campaigns, for both budget-conscious businesses and those with huge marketing budgets.
Understanding the Core of Viral Marketing
Before we delve into strategies, let's talk the foundations.
Viral marketing thrives on content that resonates with a large audience, sparking a chain reaction of sharing and engagement. This content can be anything from a hilarious video to an informative infographic, as long as it taps into emotions, evokes curiosity, or offers genuine value.
The key ingredients for virality include:
Emotional Resonance: Content that evokes strong and common emotions, be it laughter, joy, surprise, or even anger, is more likely to be shared.
Social Currency: Does your content make people feel like they're "in the know"? Content that positions viewers as trendsetters is more likely to be shared.
Triggers: Does your content spark conversation or action? Challenges, quizzes, or contests can be powerful triggers for engagement.
Publicity Value: Newsworthy or outrageous content can grab attention and lead to wider media coverage.
Practical Value: Does your content offer viewers something useful or solve a problem? Informative or educational content can spread organically through its helpfulness.
Now, let's explore how to achieve these elements with two different budgetary approaches.
Creating Viral Marketing on a Small Budget
With limited resources, your focus needs to shift to creating high-quality, shareable content that resonates deeply with your target audience.
Embrace social media: Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are great channels for viral content. It could be a hot-take, a clever video that taps into a trend or using humor really well.
Leverage user-generated content: Encourage your audience to create and share their own content related to your brand. This fosters a sense of community and authenticity. Host contests or challenges that incentivize UGC creation. Encourage user participation through contests, challenges, or hashtags.
Infographics and data visualization: Visuals are really powerful because they are easy to digest, easy to share and easy to grasp. Break down complex information in a visually appealing creative that includes so much value and provide as much clarity as a 2000 word article.
Collaborate with micro-influencers: If your budget can support this, consider partnering with smaller influencers or content creators who have a loyal following within your niche.
Optimize for Sharing: Make it easy for people to share your content. Include prominent share buttons and calls to action.
Cross-Promotion with Complementary Partnerships: Partner with popular brands that share your target audience but offer different products or services. This allows you to tap into their popularity without additional spending.
Newsjacking: Jump on trending topics and create content that offers a unique perspective or humorous twist. However, be mindful of staying respectful and relevant to your brand image. Remember that the goal is not to go viral for virality sake but to help you create positive brand awareness and find more customers.
Will these strategies alone make you go viral? Probably not.
For organic viral marketing to happen, your product/service need to first of all be VERY good.
Without a big marketing budget, focus on creating content that has so much better value, has better visuals and has more creativity than a competitor with a bigger budget.
If you cannot win by spending a lot of money on ads and popular influencer endorsements, you should win with creativity.
Viral Marketing with a Big Budget
While a larger budget provides you with more options for going viral, the same core principles of virality still apply. However, here are some ways to amplify your reach and impact:
Partner with industry leaders or influencers: Choose celebrities that resonate with your target audience and brand image. The point of working with industry leaders is that the rest of the industry tend to follow them. If they endorse your brand, every other person will - which means more customers for you.
Leverage macro-influencers: Big budget also allows for partnerships with micro influencers and content creators who are closer to their audience and probably more excited about using your product and providing a review to their audience.
Invest in professional video production: Create visually stunning and emotionally charged videos. Video is a very powerful content so consider high quality videos that educates your audience or promotes a product/service provides some type of value to your target audience. Creating videos is not necessary for every business so only do this if your target audience will find videos helpful.
Host large-scale events: Create immersive brand experiences that people will naturally share about. Invite press, influencers, content creators, etc and create merch packages that influencers and attendees will be excited to share across their social media for free.
Even with a big budget, you can do all the things we recommended for those with smaller budgets with the added bonus of having better options to increase conversations around your brand. Our advice is to always focus on “what’s valuable to your target audience”
Metrics that Matter for Measuring Viral Success
Viral marketing isn't just about racking up millions of views. It's about measuring the impact on your brand. Here are some key metrics to track:
Brand Mentions: Instances where your brand is mentioned online, including social media, news articles, and forum discussions. This indicates brand awareness and the level of conversation your campaign sparked. This is an important metric since it will help your SEO rankings and domain authority online - which is really good!
Social Media Follower Growth: Track the increase in followers across your social media platforms during and after the campaign. This reflects the campaign's ability to attract new audiences that you can nurture and convert to customers.
Website Traffic: Monitor how viral content drives traffic to your website and landing pages.
Brand Sentiment Analysis: Analyze the tone of online mentions and conversations surrounding your brand. This reveals audience perception and emotional response to your campaign.
Lead Generation: Track the number of new leads or sign-ups generated through your viral content. This measures the campaign's effectiveness in attracting potential customers.
Sales Conversion Rate: Analyze how many website visitors from the viral campaign convert into paying customers. This provides a strong indication of the campaign's impact on your bottom line.
App Downloads or Sign-ups: If your campaign promotes an app, track the number of downloads or sign-ups directly attributable to viral content. This measures the campaign's success in driving user acquisition for your app.
Brand Search Volume: Monitor how often your brand name is searched for online after the launch of your viral campaign. This indicates an increase in brand awareness and potential customer interest.
Brand Mentions in Online News and Media: Did your viral campaign generate media coverage? Track mentions in online publications and news outlets. This broadens your reach and establishes brand credibility.
Social Listening for Brand Associations: Beyond just brand mentions, analyze what kind of words and phrases are being associated with your brand online. This reveals the evolving perception of your brand in the wake of the viral campaign.
Not all these metrics may apply to you, so pick the metrics that matter and track them well.
Don't view these metrics in isolation. Look for patterns and correlations. For instance, high engagement might translate into increased website traffic, which could then lead to higher lead generation.
Analyzing your metrics help you to gain valuable insights. Did a specific platform drive more engagement? Did a particular type of content resonate better with your audience?
Viral Marketing with a Big Budget
While a larger budget provides you with more options for going viral, the same core principles of virality still apply. However, here are some ways to amplify your reach and impact:
Partner with industry leaders or influencers: Choose celebrities that resonate with your target audience and brand image. The point of working with industry leaders is that the rest of the industry tend to follow them. If they endorse your brand, every other person will - which means more customers for you.
Leverage macro-influencers: Big budget also allows for partnerships with micro influencers and content creators who are closer to their audience and probably more excited about using your product and providing a review to their audience.
Invest in professional video production: Create visually stunning and emotionally charged videos. Video is a very powerful content so consider high quality videos that educates your audience or promotes a product/service provides some type of value to your target audience. Creating videos is not necessary for every business so only do this if your target audience will find videos helpful.
Host large-scale events: Create immersive brand experiences that people will naturally share about. Invite press, influencers, content creators, etc and create merch packages that influencers and attendees will be excited to share across their social media for free.
Even with a big budget, you can do all the things we recommended for those with smaller budgets with the added bonus of having better options to increase conversations around your brand. Our advice is to always focus on “what’s valuable to your target audience”
Metrics that Matter for Measuring Viral Success
Viral marketing isn't just about racking up millions of views. It's about measuring the impact on your brand. Here are some key metrics to track:
Brand Mentions: Instances where your brand is mentioned online, including social media, news articles, and forum discussions. This indicates brand awareness and the level of conversation your campaign sparked. This is an important metric since it will help your SEO rankings and domain authority online - which is really good!
Social Media Follower Growth: Track the increase in followers across your social media platforms during and after the campaign. This reflects the campaign's ability to attract new audiences that you can nurture and convert to customers.
Website Traffic: Monitor how viral content drives traffic to your website and landing pages.
Brand Sentiment Analysis: Analyze the tone of online mentions and conversations surrounding your brand. This reveals audience perception and emotional response to your campaign.
Lead Generation: Track the number of new leads or sign-ups generated through your viral content. This measures the campaign's effectiveness in attracting potential customers.
Sales Conversion Rate: Analyze how many website visitors from the viral campaign convert into paying customers. This provides a strong indication of the campaign's impact on your bottom line.
App Downloads or Sign-ups: If your campaign promotes an app, track the number of downloads or sign-ups directly attributable to viral content. This measures the campaign's success in driving user acquisition for your app.
Brand Search Volume: Monitor how often your brand name is searched for online after the launch of your viral campaign. This indicates an increase in brand awareness and potential customer interest.
Brand Mentions in Online News and Media: Did your viral campaign generate media coverage? Track mentions in online publications and news outlets. This broadens your reach and establishes brand credibility.
Social Listening for Brand Associations: Beyond just brand mentions, analyze what kind of words and phrases are being associated with your brand online. This reveals the evolving perception of your brand in the wake of the viral campaign.
Not all these metrics may apply to you, so pick the metrics that matter and track them well.
Don't view these metrics in isolation. Look for patterns and correlations. For instance, high engagement might translate into increased website traffic, which could then lead to higher lead generation.
Analyzing your metrics help you to gain valuable insights. Did a specific platform drive more engagement? Did a particular type of content resonate better with your audience?
