What I Learned From Going Viral
A lot of people want to go viral. It’s seen as this big shiny goal: a significant achievement that, if you can just get there, you’ve really done something in the online world.
And it’s true: going viral can be a game changer. It’s pretty awesome to wake up to so many notifications and comments you can’t even count them all, hundreds of new followers, and a ton of messages and engagement.
Some pieces of content I’ve created are currently going very viral (we are climbing toward 30,000 likes with the highest performing one right now!) and I’m learning a lot from the process: what I didn’t expect, how to recreate it, and a lot about how people are engaging with content these days.
These are my top five lessons from going viral! Let’s dive in, shall we?
When engagement gets into the thousands, the notification button can’t even show you that number…. so it actually stops notifying you of anything at all. But if you go check it, you’ll see a veritable storm of activity on there - tons and tons of people liking and commenting on the post and sharing it, often within seconds of each other. It’s pretty fascinating!
2. Everything eco-friendly is having a moment.
As the climate crisis becomes more intense, people are really starting to pay attention to content bringing awareness to that and highlighting solutions. This is great news for all of us businesses and organizations who are on nature’s side! There’s never been a better time to get noticed on social media for this type of content. One of my clients, in the organic marijuana industry, has more quadrupled their following to over 4,500 raving fans and climbing — all in the past year!
3. Consistency is still king.
领英推荐
Just like growing a garden or working out, very rarely does someone create their desired results overnight. What we want is for you to develop an audience of people who love what you’re doing and are in it with you for the long haul! Going viral is an amazing part of any social media journey, but GETTING to going viral is a whole other animal. This requires us to test different types of content, pay attention to what gets good traction and keep creating?innovatively in that direction - THAT’S what’s allowed me to go viral. Being consistent also helps people get to know you, your business or your organization and builds trust — so that when you have a call to action, your top fans are alll over it and will spread the word.
4. Not everyone will be nice.
This is one of the hard truths about going viral - it’s a bit of a “be prepared for what you wish for'“ type of situation. First off, it’s important to put out positive content that you TRULY align with, so that you mostly attract good attention. 99% of the followers I deal with on my account and my client’s accounts are really positive - but there are always a few people who are just kind of angry for whatever reason, and feel like taking it out on a post that’s performing well. This is okay! It’s important to not take these comments personally, and to respond with kindness and compassion whenever possible. When you are creating from a place of integrity, you know that these comments have very little to do with you, your business or your organization and a lot more to do with the person who is making them.
5. Your audience will grow quickly.
One of the best things about going viral is quick audience growth! When you hit that sweet spot, you can expect to gain hundreds of new followers, if not more! This is SO rewarding after diligently creating consistently over time and growing your audience more slowly - watching the numbers shoot up is a sign you’re on the right track!
It’s been such an interesting journey of learning along the way to going truly viral, and I love to share all that I’ve learned and put it to work for my clients at Jennings Creative! Tell me, have you gone viral? How was it for you and what have you learned from it?
xoxo,
Jennings, founder of Jennings Creative Agency