There are some things in the world that always seem to be just out of our reach. Winning the lottery, seeing the Northern Lights, Unicorns and in my world - posting the blog post, video or tweet that goes viral.
Yes. I just put viral posts and unicorns in the same sentence. They're both that rare.
Do you remember this picture that was tweeted out 5 years ago?
It's hard to believe that it was 5 years ago this week that the Hudson River plane crash happened. Not only did this event make Mike Sullivan (aka Sully) a household name, but that's when the word "viral" and the power of Twitter was realized around the world. This tweeted image went viral and the rest, as they say, is history. Suddenly everyone was trying to strike Twitter gold. Some have been successful but not all have been successful in a positive way. (hello, KitchenAid)
Then there are the YouTube videos that get millions of views. The hottest ones in 2013 included Taylor Swift/Goat Duet, Prancercise Workout, #Hashtag Craze and What Does the Fox Say . (side note - I still want my 6 minutes of life back after that one) And I think THE viral phenomenon of 2013 was this one...
Other than millions of views and a lot of media attention, do you know what the one common thing is with these viral posts is? Hardly any of them have seen millions of dollars to match their millions of views. Sure they get a lot of buzz, but you can't pay the bills with viral buzz.
On average, we get at least one phone call or have one conversation a week with someone that is looking to make their content "go viral". It's as if they think it's as easy as creating the content, posting it and then sitting back and waiting. While that's part of the formula, the other part is creating GREAT content, hard work, long hours, an engaged audience and a whole lot of luck.
Truth is, there is nothing easy about social media and this becomes very apparent when companies launch campaigns - especially without plans and strategies in place. Just like you can't create a masterpiece souffle without months or years of practice, you can't expect to throw some content together and think that it will take the world by storm.
I mean think about it... If it were that easy, you wouldn't need us.
