Creating a viral brand experience is a dream for many marketers because it offers massive visibility, engagement, and the potential for rapid growth. However, achieving virality isn’t a science that can be easily replicated. Instead, it involves a mix of creativity, timing, emotion, and strategic planning. If you want your brand to go viral, the experience should resonate deeply with your audience and encourage them to share it within their networks. Here’s how you can create a viral brand experience:
1. Craft an Emotionally Charged Narrative
Emotion is one of the most powerful triggers for virality. Content or experiences that evoke strong emotional reactions—whether it’s laughter, awe, inspiration, or even anger—are more likely to be shared.
How to do this:
- Tell a story: Create a compelling narrative that resonates with your audience’s values, aspirations, or struggles. Whether it’s humorous, heartwarming, or thought-provoking, the emotional connection is key.
- Leverage human experiences: Tap into universal emotions like joy, fear, excitement, or empathy. These emotions are shared across cultures and demographics, making them ideal for a viral experience.
Example: Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign resonated with millions by focusing on the self-esteem of real women, which sparked a conversation about body image, leading to widespread sharing and media attention.
2. Tap into Current Trends or Memes
Using current trends or memes can give your brand the right timing and relevancy needed to go viral. Participating in popular conversations or jumping on viral moments allows your brand to be part of the zeitgeist.
How to do this:
- Monitor trending topics: Use social media tools to track trending hashtags, viral content, and cultural moments. This could be a meme, a popular hashtag, or an event that’s relevant to your audience.
- Create timely content: Incorporate the trend into your content in a way that’s authentic to your brand. Make sure it aligns with your values and doesn’t come across as trying too hard.
Example: Oreo’s Super Bowl Ad in 2013 where they quickly created a tweet about “dunk in the dark” during a Super Bowl power outage became iconic due to its timely relevance and simplicity.
3. Make the Experience Interactive
Virality often comes from user participation. People are more likely to share something if they can engage with it and make it their own. Interactive experiences drive both engagement and sharing.
How to do this:
- Create challenges or contests: Encourage your audience to participate in a challenge, share their experience, or contribute user-generated content. Make it easy for people to participate and incentivize them to share.
- Use interactive content: Leverage polls, quizzes, interactive videos, or live streams that invite your audience to interact with your brand. The more they engage, the more likely they are to share it.
Example: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was an incredibly successful viral campaign. It encouraged people to dump a bucket of ice water over their heads, challenge friends, and donate to ALS research. The interactive and fun nature of the campaign led to millions of shares.
4. Leverage Influencers and Advocates
Influencers have the power to amplify your brand’s message and increase its chances of going viral. Partnering with the right influencers can help your brand reach a much larger and more relevant audience.
How to do this:
- Identify the right influencers: Look for influencers who genuinely align with your brand values and who have a strong following within your target audience.
- Create shareable experiences for influencers: Allow influencers to experience your brand in a way that’s shareable and authentic. Whether it’s a product launch, event, or challenge, make it something they will want to share with their followers.
Example: Gymshark successfully used fitness influencers on Instagram and YouTube to promote their activewear. The brand didn’t just send out products; they created experiences that influencers could share in an authentic and engaging way.
5. Offer Shareable Content
Creating content that people want to share is fundamental to virality. Content that’s visually appealing, humorous, or thought-provoking will naturally be shared with others.
How to do this:
- Focus on highly shareable formats: Short videos, memes, infographics, and gifs are more likely to be shared than long-form text content. Create visuals that are eye-catching and easy to digest.
- Make the content relatable: Share content that reflects your audience’s experiences or values. The more they relate to it, the more likely they are to share it.
Example: Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign, featuring Colin Kaepernick, used powerful visuals and emotional storytelling that resonated with millions. The brand created shareable, iconic content that people felt compelled to share.
6. Create a Sense of Exclusivity or Scarcity
Humans are naturally drawn to things that are exclusive or scarce. Creating limited-edition products, experiences, or offers can spark urgency and make people feel like they’re part of something special.
How to do this:
- Offer limited-edition products or experiences: Introduce exclusive products that are only available for a short time, or invite select groups to special events or product launches.
- Create anticipation: Tease upcoming releases or experiences to build excitement and make people eager to share the news with others.
Example: Supreme has mastered the art of exclusivity with limited-edition drops, which creates a sense of urgency. The scarcity of their products encourages people to share the experience and increases the chances of the brand going viral.
7. Make It Easy to Share
For something to go viral, it needs to be easy for people to share it with their own networks. You can increase the likelihood of virality by designing your content with shareability in mind.
How to do this:
- Add social sharing buttons: Make it simple for people to share content by adding clear and easy-to-use sharing buttons on your website, videos, or posts.
- Create content that’s optimized for sharing: For example, ensure that video content is short, mobile-friendly, and includes captions. This makes it easy for people to watch and share it on their own social channels.
Example: Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos are a prime example of easy-to-share content. The short, visually engaging recipe videos are perfectly suited for social media, with clear visuals and a quick format that makes sharing effortless.
8. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is a powerful tool for virality. When your audience creates content on your behalf, they become ambassadors for your brand. People trust content created by other consumers more than traditional advertising, which can give your brand a huge credibility boost.
How to do this:
- Encourage customers to share their experiences: Create campaigns that motivate your audience to share photos, reviews, or videos featuring your products. This could be as simple as asking them to tag your brand in posts.
- Repost UGC on your platforms: Show appreciation for user-generated content by sharing it on your own social media channels. This encourages more people to create content and share it with their followers.
Example: GoPro built a viral brand by encouraging users to share their extreme sports footage using GoPro cameras. The brand reposted user videos, showcasing the incredible things people could do with their products, which motivated others to create and share their own content.
9. Incorporate Humor and Fun
Humor can make a brand more relatable and shareable. People love sharing things that make them laugh or surprise them in unexpected ways. A funny, lighthearted campaign can quickly go viral.
How to do this:
- Incorporate humor into your messaging: Use humor to capture attention and create a positive emotional connection with your audience. Just ensure that the humor aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your target market.
- Be playful with visuals and language: Play on cultural references, wordplay, or visual humor to make your brand stand out in a fun way.
Example: Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign was wildly successful due to its humor and over-the-top tone. It resonated with audiences and quickly became a viral sensation.
10. Use FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
FOMO is a powerful motivator. People don’t want to feel left out, so creating a sense of FOMO can drive people to share, talk about, and engage with your brand.
How to do this:
- Highlight exclusivity and limited-time offers: Promote limited-time offers or exclusive access to create a sense of urgency. People will want to share these opportunities with their friends to ensure they don’t miss out.
- Share success stories: Showcase other people’s experiences with your brand, highlighting how they’re benefiting from being part of your community. This can encourage others to want to be involved as well.
Example: Spotify Wrapped creates massive FOMO by revealing users’ personalized music stats at the end of the year. Users love to share their Wrapped results on social media, and it creates a viral moment for Spotify each year.