Whatever a brand sells — from luxury goods to software solutions — it’s also in the attention business.
It’s in the business of attracting potential customers with its incredible product, innovative technology and can-not-miss experience.
For brands looking to connect with a modern audience, this increasingly means cultivating a compelling social media presence. More than three-quarters of businesses use social media to engage with customers and drive revenue.
What’s more, consumers want to see their favorite brands on social media. Ninety percent of social media users follow at least one brand on social media, creating an unparalleled opportunity to reach a highly motivated audience with engaging, authentic content that drives both connection and conversion.
If only it were that easy.
Social media is a crowded ecosystem, and cutting through the noise can be incredibly challenging.
Enter the viral moment.
Viral trends can be your breakthrough moment
Viral social media trends are rapidly spreading, widely shared online phenomena that capture widespread attention and engagement across platforms. They come in many forms.
From Brat Summer to Cowboy Core, viral moments can include catchy challenges, memes, or content forms that resonate with users and inspire participation.
As a result, viral social media trends allow anyone — from big brands to everyday users — to leverage social media algorithms to connect with and expand their audience.
However, just jumping on the latest viral trend isn’t necessarily a recipe for success.
How to go viral (without going cringe)
Internet trends can help brands break out of obscurity and leverage social media algorithms to reach a wider audience. However, if not managed well, then brands joining viral trends can be cringy or inauthentic, making them look less credible and relevant.
In other words, it can have the opposite of its intended effect.
To maximize the potential of viral moments, brands and their partners should:
1. Research and evaluate trends.
Spend time on the social media platforms where you want to reach your audience. Intimately understand the culture, popular trends and user behavior.
Capturing viral moments demands this upfront research to identify what types of content work, speak to you and authentically communicate your brand story.
When you start seeing the same trends over and over, you’ve identified a viral moment.
Proceed on purpose, considering:
- Does it speak to my audience?
- Does it align with how I want to be represented?
- Is it within my comfort level?
- How long will it take to execute and how much time do I have for it?
- Can it be done right and look high quality?
- Has the trend already been done?
- Is it oversaturated?
Social media offers a fast-moving, constant stream of content. Selecting the trends that are right for your brand is the first step to making the most of each opportunity.
2. Identify your goals.
Internet fame can be fleeting, and its effects can be addicting. After all, likes, engagement and shares are forms of affirmation that can make even the most hardened executive feel validated and empowered.
That’s why brands and their partners must identify their goals before harnessing a viral moment. In this process, ask:
- What long-term objectives are we trying to achieve with this viral moment?
- How does this trend or viral opportunity align with our brand values and messaging?
- What potential risks or downsides could arise from engaging with this trend?
Chasing internet virality should be a means to an end, so understanding the end is essential to success from the start.
3. Create something that feels authentic.
Viral social media moments come and go, and not every opportunity will be relevant or authentic to your brand.
Once you do the hard work of deciding if a viral moment is right for you, create compelling content that will resonate with your audience.
Fortunately, creating high-quality content doesn’t have to involve a production crew. Paying attention to lighting, background, and sound is enough to produce social media content that connects with an audience.
Finally, engage with people who are engaging with your content. Follow back new followers, comment on other people’s work and cultivate relationships with new social media connections.
Brands want to be relevant. What’s relevant right now is social media. For the algorithms to work in your favor, you have to create content that is engaging.
When approached strategically, viral moments are one of the best ways to achieve this.
Thoroughly research trends, align them with brand values and goals, and create authentic content so that virality (and the attention that comes with it) can proliferate your brand reach, messaging and growth potential.
Jenna Guarneri is the founder/CEO of JMG Public Relations and the author of “You Need PR.”
[Illustration credit: justlight]
In today’s world, attention is everything, and social media is where brands really fight for it. What stands out to me from this article is how viral trends aren’t just random—they’re real opportunities to connect with people. But it’s all about how genuine you are. Just jumping on a trend without thinking can backfire. Personally, I think the key is aligning it with your brand values and goals. When done right, viral moments can seriously drive growth and build deeper connections. -Lisé Badeaux, writer/editor of Platform Magazine