5 Steps to Create a Viral Marketing Campaign

The steps listed here are bound to help you create a high-quality marketing campaign that has all the necessary ingredients to end up going viral.

So what are we waiting for, let’s dig in!

Step 1 - Get the feel of the market

This might be the most important step, launching the right content at the right time. So you can create great quality, but if it isn’t what people are into now, it will fall on deaf ears.

Take the time to do research, see what the latest viral campaigns are, what made them great and if there is something you can implement when creating yours.

Now, when we say the latest, we mean in the last month or two because we are all aware of how fast the industry keeps changing, and something that is trending now will likely be forgotten in a couple of days. Do the research, read up, shamelessly stalk some leading influencers and follow the latest trends on social media.

Step 2 - Get the creative juices flowing

Ok, now that you have done your research and have some great ideas are brewing, it is time to jot them down and start the creation process. If you have noticed an opportunity, or some wiggle room in the market, it is time to seize the opportunity. Act as soon as you get your inspiration and don’t waste time. You might also want to piggyback your campaign on some major upcoming event.

Step 3 - Go over all the pre-launch checks

Are you ready to for your campaign to go viral?

This is the question you have to ask yourself before the launch. It would be a shame to have a highly successful marketing campaign and not make the most of it because your infrastructure can’t support it.

So before we go any further, make sure your website can take the heat of a high increase in traffic due to the success of your marketing campaign. Having your website crash at a time like that would be devastating for your business. So make sure that you have a CND in place that will optimize the delivery of any content to your customers in the most reliable fashion.

Step 4 - Get the message out

Now that you have your campaign ready and you’re confident you can handle the uplift in traffic, it’s to time to launch it.

First, it is all about the quality. You can have a great idea but if your execution is flawed, you won’t see any fruits of your labor. So whatever your output method of choice is, whether it’s blog posts, videos or image content, it needs to be high quality, easily recognizable and linked to your brand. Most of all, it needs to be loaded with the right emotional triggers and CTAs so that you elicit an emotional response from your target groups which will directly lead to your content being shared and talked about online.

Step 5 - Time to disperse the message

Let's be honest, you can't rely on your content to do everything for you, you need to give it a bit of a push. So make sure you invest some funds in social media marketing and get some additional help from your trusted SEO reseller in order to get the word out through the proper channels.

Of course, it is important to do this with a clear long-term plan and not by spamming your target groups.

Step 5 - Get your tape measure out

So you were able to do it once but can you make it happen again? Well yes, if you follow the steps and keep track of the whole process.

While your campaign is going viral, make sure you measure the performance, the changes it undergoes and see what worked best and what you can do without. This is essential so that you can perfect the recipe and make an even better one next time.

Let's be honest, there was a lot in the timing of your campaign, and you probably got a bit lucky too, but the science behind it is still there and the sooner you figure it out, the better you'll be able to recreate it in the future.

So there you have it, you are now equipped with all the tools needed to create a successful viral marketing campaign. Just remember that it has two main purposes: one is to get your brand the much-needed exposure and attract new potential clients, and the other is to provide your existing ones with quality content that contains value.