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Social media has enabled advertising campaigns to reach a wide range of audiences, with one approach being viral marketing. Viral marketing is the way a product or brand is promoted through a social network at a fast rate. While difficult to execute, once a brand creates a campaign that goes viral, the amount of exposure to the public is substantial.
Viral campaigns take flight on social media since it is easy to share posts with others. This can be both a positive and a negative. If the advertisement created is successful and enjoyed by many, it is easily shared and viewed from others. However, if the advertisement is not appealing to the target audience, it will not be shared, therefore not reaching a larger population.
Political advertisements can be examples of success via viral marketing. The New York Times noted that following the primary election in 2018, advertisements focusing on specific social issues, often with description of a firsthand experience, went viral. In this case, the power of pathos, or emotional appeal, encouraged the audience to share posts based on what they thought people should vote for.
One prime example of this is the advertisement by Acronym, labeled “Don’t Vote.” The ad has multiple senior citizens speaking into the camera as if they were speaking to the younger generation, millennials. They use different examples such as climate change, gun control and Black Lives Matter as reasons why young people should continue to not vote. One quote: “Climate change? That’s a you problem, I’ll be dead soon.” This ad is targeted at millennials who have statistically not been present at the polls. The ad has gone viral; news sources like Time.com, adweek, and The Huffington Post are just a handful of the sources that have written about the ad. Not to mention the amount of shares it has received on Facebook. With over 300,000 shares, 100,000 likes, and 13 million views, it is evident that this viral campaign was successful for both the cause and the organization.
Forbes mentioned that when creating an ad, going viral is not often a goal for brands. Exposure is a common, and more realistic goal, as going viral is not easily doable. They interviewed Benton Crane, managing director of Harmon Brothers marketing agency – and creator of multiple viral ads. When asking for advice to make a viral ad, Crane said, “By nature virality is unpredictable. You may have captured lighting in a bottle, and that’s great, but it’s not formulaic, it’s not repeatable.” Crane also mentioned within the article that a combination of humor, timing and tracking company analytics creates the sweet spot to making an advertisement “shareable,” therefore leading to chances of viral ability.
While viral marketing is difficult to come by, it is not impossible. Remember to focus on the audience while including humor and timeliness to improve your chances.
Read more about how to grow brand awareness through influencer marketing.