Business owners and corporate executives often pressure PR and marketing professionals to produce content that will “go viral.” The internet brims over with advice and research on how to produce viral posts. The Glean.info blog has published posts on the topic.
Achieving that goal of creating a truly viral video, article or tweet has always been tough, to say the least. Now, going viral is more difficult than ever. In fact, it’s almost impossible, says Todd Barrish, president of Indicate Media Digital Public Relations. That’s because the internet as mass media has disappeared. The internet has fragmented into separate communities, Barrish writes in O’Dwyer’s. In this new balkanized online environment, a video can become wildly popular within a certain niche but remains largely unknown in the wider web.
Plus, there’s always another video, news event or round of tweets to grab our attention. Even the most popular videos don’t hold attention for long, and leave no lasting impression. Most people barely remember them.
“It’s time to admit that virality almost never happens anymore. When it does, it hits so quickly that it doesn’t have a lasting impact,” Barrish states.
Other observers also note producing viral content that gains significant attention is more difficult because of the exploding volume of online articles, images, videos and social media posts. Content produced by brands often prompts more skepticism than content posted by friends and family, and is less likely to be shared.
Give up Going Viral and be Happy
PR and marketing pros should be happy to give up attempts to go viral, Barrish asserts. “Now that virality itself is in question, we can admit the issue has been a distraction and instead focus on reaching the right targets with the right messages,” he says. Instead of trying to go viral in the traditional sense, businesses should seek “category virality,” extreme popularity within a certain community.
Many other PR and marketing experts also warn against pursuing that full-fledged virality – even though articles on going viral remain one of the most popular PR and marketing topics on the internet. What becomes viral was always unpredictable. Despite all the research, no one could accurately predict what will become hugely popular. A viral video may be well-produced, yet it likely gained thousands or millions of shares due to pure luck or for inexplicable reasons.
Viral content does not necessarily lead to more email contacts, marketing leads or sales contracts. Evian’s sales fell 25 percent after the huge success of the Roller Babies video in 2009.
Most content is unlikely to ever achieve viral popularity. Even if it did, translating millions of shares into revenue is extremely difficult. Going viral is a quixotic quest that’s likely to consume resources better dedicated to more achievable and beneficial goals.
If a viral post is the fortuitous outcome of compelling, high-quality content and superior marketing – well, great, hats off. Enjoy your good luck. However, going viral should not be the primary PR and marketing goal. “Wanting to go viral – as in, making virality your marketing end-goal – should send alarm bells ringing,” says Jonathan Bright at content marketing agency Southerly. “It’s one good sign that your content marketing strategy isn’t a strategy at all.”
Why You Don’t Want to Go Viral
Bob Beshere, editor and copywriter at Pace, cites three reasons not to want viral content.
It’s not relevant to your desired audience. Viral content can increase brand awareness but not necessarily awareness among people who purchase your product. Content that’s relevant to your target audience increases sales and ROI.
It’s short-lived. After their short burst of popularity, viral posts soon disappear and are largely forgotten. Better to craft content that appeals to your audience over time and encourages them to return to your brand.
Popularity increases chances for negative reactions. “A viral campaign can surely broaden your reach, but one weird misstep in content or context could bring the whole thing crashing down,” Beshere says. The Pepsi “puppy, monkey baby” television ad for Mountain Dew won widespread attention and created news stories and enormous social media buzz – most of it critical, even angry. It disproved the adage that all news is good news. Pepsi quickly withdrew the ad.
Bottom Line: Creating viral content was always difficult and is now nearly impossible. PR and marketing experts recommend that brands abandon the goal of going viral. Instead of seeking short-term, widespread popularity, develop content that delivers long-term value to your target audiences, improves their sentiment toward your product, and convinces them to return to your website and purchase your firm’s products and services.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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