People consume a lot of content daily, and social media is saturated with marketing content. Amidst this, brands are constantly searching for ways to stand out. Viral marketing is a great way to catch the audience’s eyes. What used to be a hit-and-miss plan earlier has now become a more planned strategy.
Viral marketing is a cost effective digital marketing strategy that brands implement to promote their product or service. Successful campaigns connect millions of people boosting the brand’s visibility and reach.
Previous articles have covered the benefits of viral marketing, its challenges, and solutions. This article covers successful viral marketing campaign strategies that marketers can employ.
Viral Marketing Techniques
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Use Social Media Platforms
To effectively utilize social media platforms, brands must produce content that resonates with viewers. This encourages them to share it within their own social media networks. This means creating dynamic and engaging content formats. It includes memes, quick videos, or posts that encourage interaction.
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are ideal for these strategies. They have vast user bases and allow users to share content easily.
The key goal is to spark user engagement in a way that promotes the content’s circulation beyond the initial audience, using the social networks of individual users for a wider reach.
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Create High-Quality Content
Brands should ensure that the content is of high quality and has features that make people want to share it with others. This means the viral content should either be –
- Compelling – making people want to learn more;
- Entertaining – providing a sense of joy or laughter;
- Informative – offering valuable knowledge or insights;
- Emotionally engaging – connecting with viewers on a personal level.
Content that often meets these criteria includes unique and interesting stories, humorous videos, and visually striking images or graphics.
Additionally, infographics that simplify complex information into easy-to-understand visuals are included.
The aim is to create content that stands out and provides value, which will encourage people to pass it on.
Also read: How AI Enhances Social Media Marketing
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Influencer Collaboration
Collaborating with influencers allows a brand to use their reach and credibility.
Since influencers have built strong relationships with their audience, they can present a brand in a way that feels genuine and personal. This makes the promotion more effective. This can greatly increase brand awareness and visibility and lead its message to go viral, reaching a broader audience.
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Incorporate User-Generated Content (UGC)
Creating marketing campaigns is an effective way to encourage people to create and share their own content related to a brand or its product. Brands can motivate more people to participate by offering rewards or incentives for this UGC.
It benefits the campaign by greatly increasing its reach and engagement levels. This is because people are generally more interested in content that feels personal and authentic.
Moreover, including content created by the audience adds a personal, relatable aspect to the campaign. This makes it more appealing and trustworthy to others.
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Offer Rewards for Sharing
Offering rewards is an effective strategy to encourage users to share the content. These rewards could range from discounts and free products to opportunities to participate in contests.
Brands must ensure that these incentives are both appealing and appropriate for the people they are trying to reach. This will motivate them to spread the message actively.
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Use the Element of Surprise
Brands can use the element of surprise by presenting information or ideas that are unique, unexpected, or controversial. This type of content attracts more attention, encouraging viewers or readers to share it.
Through creative and innovative ideas, brands can stimulate curiosity or prompt debate, further engaging the audience.
At its core, it’s about breaking away from the norm and offering something that surprises the audience. It’s about making the content more memorable and impactful.
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Make Content Mobile Friendly
It’s important to make social media content accessible and appealing to mobile device users. Most people use their smartphones or tablets to access social media. Hence, it’s important to tailor the content to suit these platforms.
It involves creating messages that are direct and easily digestible. This is because mobile users tend to have shorter attention spans.
Brands must ensure that videos and images load swiftly and are displayed properly across various devices. Thus, it improves the UX and ensures the message is successfully communicated.
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Employ Emotional Triggers
Incorporating emotional triggers into content boosts its shareability. People are more inclined to share content that strongly resonates with them emotionally. This can be content that makes them happy, surprises them, or even angers them.
To successfully implement this strategy, brands must have a deep understanding of their target audience and what moves them. Tapping into these emotions allows brands to create content that captures their audience’s attention. This compels them to share it, increasing its reach and impact.
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Measure and Analyze the Impact
Analytics tools allow brands to measure the effectiveness of their viral marketing campaigns. Analytics tools monitor various metrics like
reach, engagement, and conversion rates.
Tracking these metrics allows brands to gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of their marketing efforts.
This allows brands to adjust their strategy in real time for better results. This continuous process of analysis and adjustment is important to optimize the impact and effectiveness of viral marketing campaigns.
Also read: How to Effectively Use Data Analytics to Improve Marketing Strategy and Businesses
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Promote Content Strategically
It is important to promote content strategically. Brands can first share their content with a select, specific group of people or on platforms where it is most likely to be well-received. This allows it to start building momentum for it to spread more widely.
The idea is that the content can gain early attention and engagement by carefully selecting the initial audience or platform. This is important for kick starting its potential to go viral.
It’s also important to consider the timing and choice of platform to ensure the content reaches the right audience at the right time. This maximizes its impact.
Conclusion
Viral marketing requires brands to adopt a diverse approach that emphasizes creativeness, authenticity, and engagement. By following the above-outlined strategies, brands can successfully craft viral campaigns.
However, it’s important to continuously measure and examine the impact of these strategies. This allows brands to optimize and refine their strategies, allowing them to stay ahead in the fast-paced and ever-evolving digital landscape.
This increases brand visibility and helps foster a deeper connection with the audience.
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