Viral marketing refers to certain efforts a business can make to attract the attention of a large audience in such a way that people start to share content on their profiles.
Think of major memes or digital challenges like the Ice Bucket Challenge that took the world by storm. Some viral content is created by accident and becomes viral because people on the internet take it and turn it into a trend. However, viral content can also help a business quite a bit, which is why there is a huge focus on viral marketing campaigns. But how does that work on Facebook?
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How Does Viral Marketing Work?
Viral marketing involves creating content that appeals to a large audience in such a way that it encourages them to act, either by sharing, creating their content, doing a challenge and so on. Even if the content created was promoted through a paid ad at first, it can still gain traction and start to be organically enriched by a target audience.
Successful viral marketing campaigns typically start on social media networks, since these platforms are designed to enable easy user participation, but in some cases, the buzz can spread to other mediums as well, particularly through news institutions that pick up the story.
Viral content can help a brand tremendously, as it can improve brand awareness and even help promote products or services. However, creating effective viral ad campaigns isn’t easy.
Usually, viral pieces of content share some common characteristics:
- Even if started as a way to promote something, they are not overly promotional;
- They encourage people to do something;
- They have a specific purpose;
- They connect to the audience’s emotions;
- They have something unexpected.
You can’t always control what the public will be interested in. Sometimes, content designed to be viral just doesn’t gain any momentum and it’s not necessarily because the content is bad. Even if you don’t always get a million views on your content, viral marketing can still generate impressive results.
How to Create a Viral Marketing Strategy for Facebook
As with any marketing strategy, you need to do a bit of planning and see how to create viral content that will work for Facebook.
Regarding the type of content, video is the best option because the format allows you to cover all the elements of what makes viral content easily. Then, when approaching your viral content marketing strategy, consider following these steps:
- Research your target audience – viral videos will be shared across different target audience sections, but you still have to consider your business goals, so it’s a good idea to learn everything you can about your potential customers. This can also help get video ideas;
- Create high-quality videos – quality matters a lot when it comes to video content. The video itself doesn’t just have to convey a good message, but it also needs to look good;
- Increase visibility with a paid ad – consider creating a video ad to get your viral campaign gain some traction in the beginning;
- Partner with an influencer – influencers, even ones with small audiences can help your viral campaign get off the ground a lot faster.
Final Thoughts
Creating viral messages, videos, or any other type of content involves a lot of planning and work, but the potential results are well worth the effort. Facebook is one of the most viral-friendly platforms out there, so if you want to create such a campaign, choosing Facebook is a good first step.
If you want to work with a group of social media marketers that can assist you, contact the Australian Internet Advertising team now!
