Using 'unexpectedness' to drive virality on LinkedIn

Earlier this month, I read 'Videocracy' by Kevin Allocca, YouTube's Head of Culture and Trends' and found it to be one of the clearest and best books on the subject of content virality that I've ever read.

While I don't want to spoil the secret sauce of virality that Allocca reveals in the book (you'll just have to buy it and read it yourself); there is one ingredient that I did want to shine a spotlight on in this post: 'Unexpectedness'.

In YouTube's case, unexpectedness presents itself in a number of ways, from the 'unexpected' surprise we experience from prank videos or the 'fails' videos and even the standard cat video.

To the down right weird once we've gone down the YouTube rabbit hole. PPAP rap, I'm looking at videos like you!

You might be thinking that cat videos and weirdness are all well and good for YouTube, but such 'unexpected' content doesn't belong on LinkedIn. It's hardly the content this platform's professional members will tolerate. And while it's true we tend not to see such unexpectedness appear in LinkedIn's feeds; that is not mean that unexpectedness doesn't work, or have a home on LinkedIn.

'Unexpectedness' as a surprise

A sure fire way to discover "unexpectedness" on LinkedIn is when it arises from expected formats and scenarios. Sometimes this happens by pure accident. Perhaps the best case of this is the BBC interview when the interviewee's children enter the room:

The BBC interview went viral because we all expected it to be a standard interview with an expert on a mainstream news outlet. Nothing unusual about this format and on LinkedIn, we've seen type of content a thousand times before: The talking head in a suit spouting 'thought leadership' to you because they are a subject matter expert. But what made this interview particularly memorable was the unexpected that defied from our expectations on the format.

What we got was something unexpected, adorable and probably the nightmare of every professional to do a live interview. The unexpected made this content riveting!

This video was so popular with LinkedIn's audience that brands started using it to promote their products on the platform. In a masterstroke of product marketing, Microsoft leveraged the video to promote the new background blur feature in their Teams product, which to date, has netted Microsoft over 1.5 million views on the LinkedIn feed.

'Unexpectedness' as branded storytelling

Unexpectedness doesn't have to be in the form of an accident. It can be pre-meditated and planned, as long as the audience feels the surprise. The best way to do this is to begin with the presentation of the expected and, like a surprise, open up into the unexpected. This is a formula that SodaStream is using to full effect in both their branded storytelling across communications and employer branding.

The company unexpectedly injects humour and star power (GoT's The Mountain) to sell their employer brand message, alongside the foundations of every other employer branding video you've ever seen by using the CEO and current SodaStream employees in the same piece of content.

And when Pepsi Co acquired SodaStream a few months ago, the two companies did not announce it with an expected press release. Instead they created a video, again featuring The Mountain, with a narrative of how the two brands unexpectedly found each other. This video is not present on their YouTube channel. It was made for LinkedIn:

'Unexpectedness' as the differentiator

Finally, Lenovo is taking a different approach, using the unexpected as a differentiator in an already saturated space. Their vertical (Tech) is full of big brands using their employees to deliver 'thought leadership' content on topics such as Blockchain, 5G and Processor Speeds. However, most brands do this via an in-depth blog post or a formal interview on the floor of a trade show or through some inspirational quote. Lenovo is doing none of that. In their recent campaign #ExtremeIT, Lenovo took the expected the formula of employee thought leaders explaining a buzzword; and flipped it on it's head by getting that employee to explain the concept in an unexpectedly 'extreme' situation, such as while bungee-jumping, eating spicy food or hanging on for dear life in a rally car.

You can make your own mind up on whether Lenovo nailed it with these videos or if there is just too much going on for the viewer to take in the important information that is being discussed, but you do have to give them credit for taking a risk with their B2B content. It's this simple attempt to be different and unexpected that makes them stand out from all the other 'blockchain' thought leadership content on the web.

Exercise - how to create unexpected LinkedIn content

So how can a brand or an individual consciously use 'unexpectedness' to stand out and perhaps go viral on LinkedIn? Here is a simple brainstorming exercise you can try.

On the left, chose an 'expected' content format normally leveraged for B2B audiences and combine it with an 'unexpected' format on the right. It's that simple:

Some examples could be:

A product demonstration...with an emotional hook.

For example, video of children who can hear for the first time with a new implant.

An interview with a thought leader... react!

For example, marketers react to bad ads!

A How To video... in slow motion

For example, Google comparing the speed of Google Chrome to other fast items

A product demonstration... that explores the everyday unknown

For example, what is the magic that goes on inside your dishwasher...

Using this exercise in a brainstorm offers limitless opportunities and content ideas to create unexpectedness in your marketing. Obviously not everything will be a perfect fit or a hit in your industry, so exercise some common sense and leverage your knowledge of your target audience to make intelligent guesses on what they may like to experience with your content.

If you find a format that works, fantastic! However, understand that unexpectedness can really only happen a small number of times before the audience catches on. It's important to continuously innovate with your content and try new ideas before your competitors take that idea from you.

Nyan, nyan, nyan....