I was one asked by a former client to make a video for his company that would go viral. “We need something like that ice bucket challenge video,” he said.
Long story short, for a number of reasons, the video didn’t go viral. But the most important thing is that it didn’t need to. It reached the target audience and fulfilled its purpose. Now, we’re definitely not undermining the power of viral content – it does incredible things for the company posting it, but not all material can and will reach millions.
‘Going viral’ is an amazing outcome, but it shouldn’t be your measure of success. If you’re selling a product to an Australian-only audience, having people in France see it isn’t necessarily going to help. When creating content, you want to start with a clear goal in mind – this could be to boost sales, increase brand awareness, or another call to action like signing up to your newsletter. Planning is essential!
Once you have your goal in mind, you can start to develop your strategy to achieve this goal – who is your target audience, what platforms and messaging will you use? Set yourself up for success by knowing what you’re working towards and measuring – and have fun with it!
Create content that your audience can truly connect to. Content that is different, exciting and most of all, something that provokes an emotional reaction. This kind of content is what sets you apart from your competitors. It places your brand into the hearts and minds of your audience.
If it happens to go viral, even better – but don’t make ‘going viral’ your goal.
