Going Viral: How Strong Marketing Leads to Huge Success

Strong marketing strategies should not be confused with aggressive marketing. One is built on the strength of knowing the audience you’re going after. Your strategy is built around knowledge and understanding the approach needed to get them through the sales funnel.

With aggressive marketing, you are pushing a product or service in front of your audience using numerous techniques at a constant pace.

Both when done right, can lead to an ad campaign going viral. However, you will probably see more sales and meaningful interactions when with strong marketing plans.

Too often business owners don’t understand what it means to go viral. They get caught up in the numbers and don’t realise their sales haven’t been elevated. Depending on the desired outcome, they may not be seeing a good return on their investments.

Are you looking to learn more about viral advertising? Keep reading to see how going viral can lead to huge success and increased sales.

What Does Going Viral Mean?

Going viral is a social media post, image, or video that takes off and gets 1,000s or millions of views and shares. What does it mean to go viral in terms of your business? Simply put, it could mean a lot.

It is hard to predict when or how something will impact people and make them want to share it. Just look to the Popeye’s Chicken sandwich phenomenon to captivated social media in 2019. Or the Pokémon sensation a few years go.

Both did extremely well when the marketing strategy was released. However, later attempts to recapture the energy fell flat.

How Does Viral Advertising Improve Sales

Viral advertising improves sales because it increases the number of people that will see your product or service. If you can get people to visit your website or brick and mortar store, your chances of closing the deal increases even more.

How many views are considered viral? It depends on who you ask, as well as the desired outcome set for the marketing campaign goal.

Going viral could mean getting 10,000 views in an hour. That same ad could shrink down to 100 views and hour in a short period of time. To others, going viral means a social post that picks up traction and remains steady or grows over days, weeks or months.

Learn Your Target Audience

When setting up a marketing campaign it is vital to understand who your target audience is. Without these metrics, you could be wasting good money. It is akin to throwing something into the air and hoping it sticks.

Take the Popeye’s and Pokémon scenarios. If those campaigns were not intentionally targeting select demographics they would not have reached the success in which they did.

Popeye’s wanted to reach people that are more likely to eat fast food. They also wanted to get the attention of people that patronised the rivals that also sold chicken sandwiches. It was the rivalry part that caused viral media attention.

Create Your Social Media Channels

Viral advertising is highly dependent on social media. For this reason, your business needs to have a social media presence with a social following.

When considering social media for business you’ll need to understand the business aspects of each platform. It is also important to know which platforms your intended audience is most likely to spend the most time.

Next, you will need to explore their marketing tools to help businesses grow. It is often the utilisation of these tools that help social posts with going viral.

Utilise Digital Advertising

Digital advertising comes in different forms including:

  • Google AdWords
  • Google Retargeting
  • Social media advertising
  • Email marketing
  • Blog posts
  • Influencer marketing
  • Brand advocacy

Each of these strategies and techniques relies on strategic planning and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Your business will also need a user-friendly website and mobile-responsive conversion for smart devices.

Live Streaming and Video

Today, almost every social media platform has a variation of live streaming. This is the technology that allows users to record live video that appears on the social platforms and can be viewed by anyone.

YouTube has one of the more successful platforms because they have the potential for most viewers.

With live streaming, you can do product demonstrations. It is also a good way to show your industry expertise by hosting information sessions followed by Q & A’s to engage the audience.

When people love your content and interaction they will share the videos. Some platforms also allow users to invite their friends and followers to join a live stream.

To assist with going viral utilise chat features and randomly acknowledge viewers.

Provide Clear a Clear Call to Action

Every advertising campaign needs a call-to-action. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to get people to buy something or simply subscribe to your page.

Not telling people what you expect from them is a total waste of resources. With no CTA people will think you are just there to entertain them.

Be clear and concise about what you want in return for providing the content. Do you want them to visit your website, register for an event, or subscribe to your platform?

Use Analytical Data to Fine Tune Your Marketing Campaigns

It is always a good practice to utilise the insights and analytical data provided by your social platforms and website host. The data allow you to analyse the results of your ad campaigns.

A simple tweak can be the difference between a post flopping or going viral.

If you want to measure how you’re doing across the internet, create a Google Analytics account. It will provide you will additional information.

Are You Ready to Go Viral?

Going Viral is harder than it sounds. Sometimes you’ll have to try something multiple times to get the desired success. Just because something does work the first time doesn’t mean it was a horrible idea.

Do you need help with your online marketing strategy? Connect with us to see how we can help you build stronger digital campaigns.

About Murray Dare

Murray Dare is a Marketing Consultant, Strategist and Director at Dare Media. Murray helps UK businesses find better ways to connect with their audiences through targeted content marketing strategies.