Introduction: The Power of Going Viral in Social Marketing
Viral content spreads rapidly online through social shares, likes, comments, and engagement. When executed effectively, viral social marketing campaigns can expand brand reach exponentially, boost awareness, and drive conversions. The key is crafting compelling content designed for sharing across platforms.
Successful viral content often leverages emotional resonance like humor, awe, or inspiration, entertainment value, useful information, or surprise. Formats like captivating videos, funny memes, helpful how-tos, and shocking revelations tend to attract high engagement and sharing rates.
To develop viral social strategies, brands must optimize content for visibility, target influencers, promote virality triggers, and leverage analytics to double down on what performs. With the right mix of creative content and amplification tactics, brands can break through the noise and achieve widespread organic reach online.
For example, Dove’s viral Real Beauty Sketches campaign leveraged the emotional triggers of inspiration and empowerment. By highlighting uplifting messages of inner beauty and self-esteem, the video compelled over 114 million views and shares.
Crafting Shareable Content
Creating content tailored for social sharing begins with truly understanding your target audience and crafting messaging that resonates with their values, pain points, and interests.
Emotional triggers like humor, awe, inspiration, surprise, and even outrage can compel viewers to engage and share with others. Visually captivating images, animation, and video also help content stand out in busy feeds and capture attention.
Powerful narratives and testimonials that viewers identify with make content more meaningful and sharable. Practical, useful advice or information presented in easily digestible formats keeps audiences engaged.
Above all, social content must be frictionless to consume and pass along. Optimize for seamless sharing across platforms through native formatting and multimedia.
Optimizing Social Copy and Messaging
- Use clear, concise copy with power words and relevant keywords for discoverability
- Craft headlines that create curiosity with questions, numbers, or intrigue
- Spark discussion by asking questions and prompting reactions with emojis or GIFs
- Include strategic calls-to-action to drive shares, tags, follows
- A/B test different headlines and body text formulations
- Adjust tone of voice appropriately for each platform’s norms
For example, Upworthy often uses numbers and curiosity gap headlines like "She Had $135 In Her Bank Account. What She Did Next Left Me Stunned."
Formatting Content for Social Platforms
- Post images and video natively for higher visibility and engagement
- Keep text succinct for snackable consumption on feeds
- Ensure content displays and renders well on both desktop and mobile
- Follow platform best practices for image sizing and dimensions (e.g. 1200 x 628 pixels for Facebook link posts)
- Use scheduling tools to publish cross-channel content efficiently
Leveraging Influencers and Accounts
Influential accounts with large, engaged followings provide shortcuts to reach massive, targeted audiences. Conduct research to identify relevant influencers and brands in your niche.
Analyze audience demographics, engagement rates, content styles, and past collaborations. Reach out to discuss promotional partnerships like social contests, giveaways, and cross-promotion.
Nano-influencers with smaller, highly engaged communities can also provide authentic co-marketing opportunities. For example, photographer Brandon Woelfel (@brandonwoelfel) has 1.2 million Instagram followers interested in aesthetic photo styles.
Compensate influencers through free products, affiliate commissions, or paid sponsorships. Floowi’s influencer marketing services can help you identify and activate relevant influencers in your niche.
Using UGC and Social Listening
- Curate and re-share compelling user generated content (UGC) after asking for permission
- Spark UGC by running branded hashtags, campaigns, contests
- Monitor relevant hashtags and brand mentions for content ideas
- Engage brand conversations and interact with UGC creators
- Always credit original UGC creators and seek consent as needed
Managing Branded Profiles
- Maintain consistent branding and messaging across social networks
- Keep profiles updated with engaging content fans want
- Build loyal communities by engaging followers and brands
- Monitor and quickly respond to comments and messages
- Analyze follower demographics and interests to inform content
Promoting and Amplifying Viral Content
Distribute viral seed content across owned channels like website, email, and company social media profiles. Test a mix of organic and paid tactics to further amplify high-performing content.
Retarget engaged users through ads and optimize targeting with lookalike audiences. Continually analyze performance data to double down on tactics driving viral reach. Repurpose top content across platforms and formats to extend reach.
Paid Social Media Advertising
- Run A/B tests on multiple ad variations of creative, messaging, placements
- Promote viral posts via social ads targeted to relevant audiences
- Use video views objective for highly sharable social video ads
- Retarget users who previously viewed/engaged with viral content
- Track post engagements to site conversions with pixel events
For example, Planters’ Super Bowl ad where Mr. Peanut died went viral. They amplified it further via paid ads to maximize reach and engagement.
Organic Social Amplification
- Schedule top posts during optimal visibility windows by platform and timeframe
- Cross-promote viral posts across your other relevant social channels
- Share snippets and quotes on Instagram Stories with relevant hashtags
- Repurpose content into new formats like infographics, videos, and more to extend reach
Tracking Viral Marketing Performance
Monitor owned, earned, and paid reach and engagement metrics for viral social content. Analyze characteristics of top performing content to optimize future campaigns.
Track growth generated in followers, subscribers, and advocates. Use qualitative analytics to measure sentiment, virality rate, and brand mentions. Most importantly, correlate viral content performance to concrete business goals like site traffic, conversions, and revenue.
Key performance indicators to monitor include social reach, share rate, comments, dwell time, impressions, click through rate, and more. Benchmark metrics to identify winning content formats and strategies.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Crafting easily consumable and shareable content is crucial for social media virality. Influencers provide shortcuts to reach massive targeted audiences. A strategic mix of organic and paid tactics are needed to maximize amplification of viral content.
Continuous optimization around the highest performing viral content and tactics will compound results over time. Ultimately, effective viral social marketing expands brand awareness, engagement, and conversions exponentially.
Want to supercharge your social media marketing? Floowi Talent provides top marketing talent to execute winning viral campaigns tailored for your brand and audience.
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