What
does it mean when a post “goes viral?” For promoters of any brand, having a
post go viral is the “Holy Grail” of marketing. Viral posting is a phenomena
where a message, image or meme reaches thousands, even millions of viewers because
social media users share the link for that post on their profiles and/or groups
that they follow or belong to. A potentially viral post will be shared by
growing numbers of users to multiple groups or pages and eventually on multiple
platforms, which cycle again and again. These posts usually appeal to a variety
of age groups, ethnicities and interests due to its uplifting, humorous,
fascinating or unusually insightful nature. Going viral can be a good thing or
a bad thing for the original poster or those who forward the post. Some viral
posts circulate because of an incendiary or political content. Divisive or
shocking content might not be that helpful for a business. Take a look at this
useful article which discusses The Risks and Benefits of Going Viral.
A successful marketing plan today isn’t your daddy’s marketing plan. In just the past 10 or even 5 years, technology has changed and affected how consumers get their news, enjoy entertainment and do their work. Most people you want to reach are online every day, while fewer people watch TV, listen to the radio or read the newspaper. If you don’t find a way to reach people on the internet and in a digital environment, you’ll miss a vast part of the population. You’re already online but not seeing the growth in your business that you expected? There are reasons for that. First you need to think about what you’re already doing and what exactly is not working. To start with, you can check out a helpful article outlining The Top 3 Marketing Mistakes your business might be making.
If you’re not familiar with the term “blog” it is a shortened version of “weblog”, which refers to online journals. Blogs began as a place for people to get their thoughts out, record opinions and share stories as well as post videos and pictures. Blogging is still all of those things, but the popularity of social media and viral poses have blogs being used more and more as an informational tool.
If you’re not online, then you’re behind the times. The internet, once thought to be a passing fad, has ended up being more popular than anyone imagined. With so much access to around the clock interaction, social media applications and websites rose in popularity. Facebook (with an estimated 1.7 billion monthly active users), Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter names only a few. If you aren’t utilizing the power of social media, you should.
It’s important to have good architecture, designs and interactivity, but it’s not what makes people stay on your site. It’s your web content. If they’re not reading what they’re looking for, they’ll click the back button. Studies have shown that the estimated time people spend browsing before leaving is 3 seconds. Your web content needs to grab their attention in that amount of time.
What do you think of when you hear the words “social media”? There are so many outlets: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to name a few. Generally, they are great websites, full of ideas, information and social interaction. You can find things to buy, events to attend and in general, learn more about current events and the world around you.
Social media is also a fantastic marketing opportunity. Small businesses can seem large. Large businesses can improve their branding and customer service. No matter what your business is, social media can help it grow.
