We have clients frequently ask how we can make their campaign go viral. They want their program to be shared on all of the social channels and spread like wildfire. They want media attention. And to be on trending lists.  And to get celebrity attention. And to make money.

But how realistic is this?

Unfortunately, not very realistic at all. Even with the best creative, and a healthy budget behind it, your campaign may never take off.

So what will make it go viral?

You must have all of these three things:

1. An emotional appeal.
2. A good story with a call to action.
3. Great Timing.

 

Without this combination you may get a few shares. You may even get more than a few if you incentivize people with a Sweeps entry for sharing. But to truly go viral you will need more than a cute picture by itself or another human interest story.

Case in point, and this one is extremely personal for me, is the recent story of how a simple tweet by one girl went viral.

First was the emotional appeal from a grieving sister:

Followed by the good story with the call to action:  Andrew Gray, who knew Nicole from his counselor position at the camp that she attended for Type 1 diabetic children, Camp Sweeney, posted this blog. It told the story of Nicole, and her ties to the Type 1 diabetic community and to Camp Sweeney. And at the end he gave a call to action: tweet, ask other to tweet and donate to Camp Sweeney to honor Nicole’s memory!

And then the timing: Another counselor from the camp, Carsen Russell (complete disclosure: this is my daughter and why I am so close to this one!) had posted a fundraising page the day before the tweet went viral to circulate among the counselors so they could try to gather donations in Nicole’s honor. They were hoping to get $3,000 – enough to send one child to camp. But then Andrew and Twitter started linking to it….

What happened next? It went viral. Thousands and thousands of shares and retweets and donation dollars and hashtag mentions of #SingForNicole were made. The local news picked up the story that became a nationally trending hashtag on Twitter. And then this happened on the day of Nicole’s funeral:

So what were the results of this tweet going viral?

The #SingForNicole movement was started.  One Direction took notice – and the hashtag keeps trending. Over $35,000 (and counting) has been donated to Camp Sweeney to change the lives of other Type 1 kids like Nicole. At least 11 kids with Type 1 will have an opportunity to attend Camp Sweeney and change their lives. Nicole’s friends and family keep tweeting the hashtag and plan on attending that One Direction contest in August to #SingForNicole. And Nicole’s memory lives on.

All because of one girl and one tweet gone viral.

 

Going viral can happen. And great things can happen for everyone involved. But here is our best advice: don’t plan on it unless you have all three of the things that make a viral campaign worth being viral about.

We can help you with a reality check on if your idea for the next viral campaign could work if you contact us.

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