So, You’re Gonna Go Viral?
So, you’re going to do something so brilliant, so compelling, and so funny that people simply have to pass it on to your friends. Something so great it leaps right into the center of the public eye. Something that gets 10 million YouTube views. Something that hits the front page of Yahoo. Something that Leno and SNL make fun of.
So, you’re going to hire the talent to make this happen?
So, you’re going to let them have free rein?
So, you’re going to get that concept your brand police–without them diluting it?
So, you’re going to get that brilliant production past your legal department–without them adding a disclaimer?
So, you’re going to get that finished piece past your CEO–without him seeing what his son’s friend can do cheaper?
In short: notgonnahappen.com.
Viral pieces today are carefully orchestrated, widely seeded, and propagated by networks of people dedicated to doing exactly that. And they usually start with a fanbase. Sometimes a very big fanbase. One that’s hungry for the kind of content they’re promoting.
And yes, I know: this sounds an awful lot like conventional marketing. And it sounds expensive. And, you know what? You’re right. Good viral ain’t cheap, and it ain’t a guaranteed home run–or, in other words, it’s like every other campaign you’ve ever run.
Still want to do viral? Cool. Loosen up. Experiment. Do a lot of things. Do more of the ones that work.
That is the path to success.
