A big part of my job is talking to people who are starting businesses and launching nonprofits. Most of the time, their marketing budgets are nonexistent and they’re doing the marketing themselves, whether they have a marketing background or not. One thing that comes up a lot is their plan to simply “go viral,” thus avoiding the need to create a social media strategy or spend money on advertising.
There’s no denying that going viral can be a marketing dream. In this day and age, people do strike it rich this way. However, going viral isn’t usually a feasible plan for introducing your business to the world. Here are some things to consider:
- Overnight is never overnight, and free is not really free. Time is money. People generally do not effortlessly become overnight sensations in any medium. In any interview where writers or actors or influencers are asked about their overnight success, they generally reply that behind they worked long and hard behind the scenes before garnering the public’s attention.
- The internet is a fickle place and it’s very hard to predict what will actually go viral. Whether you do research or throw content out willy-nilly, striking that chord is going to be hard to do as a one-off. If going viral is your goal, you have a much better chance of achieving it by building an audience and consistently producing quality content.
- Going viral may not even help attract your real customers. Publicity is great, and the more people who know about your business or organization, the better. But will that help you reach the people you actually need to reach? If you have a local service that you only provide within 50 miles of your home, getting attention from all over the country isn’t really going to help you.
- You might not be ready for them if it does. If you haven’t gotten other marketing pieces in place, like a solid website and literature about what your company does, going viral could be wasted. If you use a piece of content to drive people from all over the country or world to your business, you need to have a website and/or social media channels that clearly explain what your business is and how to become a customer. If you can’t convert going viral into increased revenue, it’s a waste of your time and energy.
To sum up, some marketing advice is always the same, whether the medium is old or new: Know your audience, know your customers, and know what you’re trying to achieve.
Substance and Style 