Recently, one of Matt’s posts went “viral”, sort of. And in this blog, we’ll be explaining how!
Now, before we get into this, we just wanted to remind you that there is no set way to go viral on social media. If there was, we’d be doing it every time we posted.
But, there are some basic factors you need in place to give yourself the chance of going viral. And that’s what we’re going to walk you through.
So, what did Matt post that caused such a reaction?
The title of this post has already given away how well it performed in the first few hours. But, given that it’s been over two weeks since the original post was shared, how’s it looking now?
Why did this post do so well though?
How to go “viral” on social media
As we mentioned at the top of this blog, there is no set way to go viral. But there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of gaining some extra traction.
1. Catch their eye – The first part of going viral is to stop them mid-scroll and this can be the toughest challenge to overcome! Think about using a catchy hook at the top of your post, an eye-catching image (see Matt’s example) or a moving graphic/video.
2. Resonate with people – The key to going viral is to get people to interact with your content. They’ll only do this if it provokes an emotion in them. This could be anger, laughter, sadness or something else. But the key thing is that it makes them feel something.
3. Be relevant – This isn’t necessary, but you’ve definitely got more chance of going viral if you relate to something topical. Matt’s post tapped into the feel-good atmosphere around Hull City since the new owners took over and the expected large turnout as a result of a ticket deal at the upcoming game.
4. Tag tactically – This isn’t a prompt to tag every man and his dog. Be selective with the people and organisations you tag in the post. Also, use specific, relevant hashtags. Doing this will give your post a kick start. For example, Matt tagged some key voices linked to Hull City and used the hashtags associated with the club to reach fellow fans.
Wrapping up
Matt’s experience wasn’t one of the headline-grabbing viral moments of the year. But it was a taster and it showed that these core principles are important if you stand any chance of seeing similar results.
Everybody would love to go viral. We’d love to see all our clients go viral. But it’s just not that easy. The next best thing to going viral is having consistent growth and consistent engagement from your ideal customer base.
And the way to do that...?
Be consistent.
This wasn’t Matt’s first post. He’s actually shared over 2,500 tweets from that account. But over time, he’s built a core, engaged audience who interact with him and share what he does.
This one just seemed to resonate differently 😉