Can Viral Content Be Stopped?

Short answer: No. It is like when you push a ball down a hill, as it gains more momentum and gains speed, the chances of it stopping any time soon are rare.

Viral Marketing is a ‘strategy of marketing whereby consumers are encouraged to share information about a company’s goods or services by the internet’.

The aim of doing so is to create ‘buzz’ and ‘excitement’ surrounding a brand or product and to reach people far and wide.

Jonah Berger has narrowed down six characteristics that aid in making a campaign go viral. Whilst all six STEPPS don’t have to be present, choosing the principles that align with your concept the best will set you up for the best position possible.

Whilst viral marketing has been around for a while, it has adapted and changed with the digital times to better fit with the target audience.

Here are two examples of viral marketing that were done six years a part. Whilst they both contain some of Berger’s viral marketing characteristics there are some differences in the delivery of the campaigns.

The first example is Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ campaign which was released in 2013. The video saw an FBI trained sketch artist drawing portraits of women based on how they described themselves. Whilst this video did not feature any product, it still stood out to consumers and went viral with over 180 million views. This video highlighted Berger’s principles of emotion and stories by tapping into people’s feelings and by displaying a relatable narrative through story telling.

The second example is e.l.f’s #eyeslipsface campaign on TikTok which gained momentum in 2019. (Watch this summary video below if you haven’t heard of it!) Users posted videos of their eyes, lips and face and helped create over 3 million user-generated videos and 4 over billion views making it one of the most successful TikTok campaigns to date. This video highlighted Berger’s principles of social currency and public as people were making these fun videos to share to the world in this public domain. Numerous people remarked that they weren’t aware e.l.f cosmetics stood for eyes, lips, face thus raising brand awareness!

There are numerous ways to make a campaign go viral through the use of clever marketing tactics. What’s one video or product you remember going viral and why has it stuck with you?

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