Have you seen the number of buzzwords around social media and viral campaigns lately? In response, I had to return to this topic during the E-com event in Geneva. But first, why?
Viral marketing is not a trend.
Of course, it isn’t. We see great examples of brands running campaigns with views, comments and engagement. But how many brands locally come to an agency asking to be viral?
You don’t ask that. It is a thought process tailored to building growth for your brand. Will that be a positive or negative buzz? Who knows, but you are standing true to your concept and are willing to adjust it.
See, this is what you don’t have when a campaign runs. You don’t have the struggles, brainstorming, fallback ideas, and everything else to compensate for a bad run.
Be ready for a long conversation.
One of the first things worth mentioning is that whatever you are starting will stay on, especially on social networks. So, if you aren’t ready for this, don’t start that fire. Even worse, if you are not prepared to get burned, don’t come close to it.
The brands jumping on these tactics are mature, well funded and organised. Of course, you always have that example of a firefighter saving a cat and running worldwide, but let’s agree that in business, luck is a variable that we shouldn’t count on, and memes, especially the ones using cats, are excluded from any presentations.
Listening before talking
As much as you can, map out your online landscape. It is excellent to look for high reach all the time, but usually, it comes with a cost and a higher risk. Micro-influencers are a great way to start and could be a good cushion to absorb your initial mistakes as a brand.
Get clear on what you expect as KPIs.
Let’s talk business for a second. Stop right now if you are not increasing your sales or positioning your brand.
Even if you are a charity, you have to compute some performance metrics for your activities, and no, this isn’t just a visit or a follow-up we seek.
You must build a scorecard that includes metrics from reputation, sales, market share, and, most importantly, anything valuable to your brand.
Will having more followers mean you are better? I’m not sure it depends on your engagement. Again, it will have a high level of engagement, which is good enough, depending on the context.
Also, remember to include goals. How often do we see great scorecards that stay in trial mode for years?
Of course, it’s easier said than done. That’s why I also recommend defining your path, and the best is to fail. These above are just tips. I’d be happy to learn more about your experience so we can collectively know.
If you have to walk away with one principle, influence is not equal to visibility and vice-versa. Then, of course, you can mechanically induce one another, but it is hard work.
Good luck trying to match those viral cats’ performances!
