What is Viral Marketing in 2024?

Viral marketing refers to creating content that is so compelling and engaging that individuals feel inspired to share it widely across their networks, often through social media platforms. This approach leverages the power of word-of-mouth marketing at a digital scale, aiming to rapidly increase brand awareness and engagement.

It is worth noting that viral marketing activities do not always go viral—and "viral" in itself is not a marketing strategy. You can and absolutely should use social media channels in your marketing activities, but not every piece of content you create will achieve immense popularity.

It is worth noting that viral marketing activities do not always go viral—and "viral" is not a marketing strategy in itself. While viral marketing can certainly be a powerful tool in generating awareness and boosting brand visibility, not every piece of content you create will achieve immense popularity.

The only thing you can do to create viral advertising is build sharable content: the kind of content people relate to and want to share with their friends.

Advantages and disadvantages of viral marketing 

Viral marketing is often seen as a holy grail of digital promotion - but the truth is that, like everything else, it comes with pros and cons. Here are some of the most notable ones to be aware of:

Pros of viral marketing 

Viral marketing can significantly amplify a brand's visibility and customer engagement. Here are four advantages:

• Cost-effectiveness: Compared to traditional advertising, viral marketing can be more cost-effective, relying on organic shares rather than paid ads.
• Wide reach: It has the potential to reach a global audience rapidly, thanks to the interconnectedness of social media platforms.
• Increased brand awareness: Successful viral content can significantly boost brand visibility and recognition overnight.
• Enhanced customer engagement: Viral content often encourages interaction, resulting in higher engagement rates from the audience.

Cons of viral marketing 

Despite the appeal, viral marketing carries risks and limitations. Here are four disadvantages:

• Unpredictability: The success of viral marketing campaigns is highly unpredictable and can depend on factors beyond a marketer's control.
• Potential for negative backlash: If content is misinterpreted or deemed insensitive, it can lead to negative publicity and harm the brand's reputation.
• Short-lived attention: Viral content often experiences a rapid spike in attention that diminishes just as quickly, which may not result in long-term engagement or conversion. It's the opposite of evergreen content.
• Lack of control over messaging: Once content goes viral, the original marketing message can be overshadowed by the audience's interpretations, potentially deterring from the intended branding.

Overall, viral content can really help put your brand in front of the right consumers, but you have to be really smart about it.

Pro tip: need help creating your next viral video? Work with one of our top-notch social media managers.

Viral marketing examples

Last year was very generous in terms of viral marketing campaigns. Some of the most notable ones included:

Everything Barbie

Without a doubt, it was a very pink year. Virtually every Barbie-related campaign went viral, from photo frames to brand collabs and massive banners -- and people loved it. The viral campaigns worked very well: Barbie, the movie, made $1.4 billion at box office.

Dunkin Donuts with Ben Affleck

The Ben Affleck and Dunkin Donuts campaign had all the chances to go viral from the get-go. An actor so many appreciate in a very human and relatable campaign? It’s no wonder the commercial got so popular.

Heineken's gaming nights

Heineken celebrated a different type of "nights out" last year, with a campaign centered on the gaming community and how the brand's beers fit into this lifestyle. The video campaign went viral, as you would expect it.

Heinz and Absolut vodka

You didn't expect Heinz and Absolut to ever partner up - but here we are, with a viral campaign to boot! The two probably couldn't be more different, but maybe that's why it worked so well. Both are iconic brands in their respective industries, and the collaboration was unexpected yet successful.

Dollar Shave Club

You can't talk about viral marketing without mentioning Dollar Shave Club. They created a ton of viral content that appealed to a broader audience than just their ideal customer, which landed them a nice $1 billion acquisition by Unilever.

How to build a viral marketing campaign 

If you're looking for some sort of magic recipe to build a viral campaign, know you will never get that. You can, however, keep some of the essential tips in mind to increase your odds of building a viral campaign:

Keep it natural

Creating content that feels authentic and genuine resonates more strongly with audiences, creates an emotional impact, and encourages organic sharing.

Time it well

Launching your campaign at the right moment can greatly increase its visibility and shareability among target audiences.

Be daring

Innovative and bold content stands out, capturing the public's attention and sparking conversations. Don't be afraid to ruffle some feathers, sometimes negative buzz helps put brands on the map.

Know why you want to do it

Having a clear goal for your viral campaign ensures that the message aligns with your brand's values, target audience, and marketing objectives. Don't create a campaign for the wrong reasons - only create content that resonates with your audience.

Make your content shareable

Design content with the intent of sharing in mind, making it relatable, engaging, and easy to distribute across platforms. A great example is Burger King's new jingle video, which got so much buzz that youngsters started remixing it. There's even a trap version.

Use hashtags

Strategic use of relevant hashtags can enhance discoverability and facilitate the viral spread of your content on social networks. You can also use a branded hashtag for a user-generated content campaign to get your audience to post images and videos using your product.

Employ trendjacking

Leveraging current trends can give your content a timely relevance, making it more likely to be shared.

Make it human

Content that evokes emotion or reflects real human experiences tends to connect more deeply with audiences, driving shares. One of the best campaigns of all time that does this is this ad from Dollar Shave Club. It's witty and raw, and its blend of humor and stunning vocal performances hits on so many levels.

Decide if it really is right for your brand

Consider whether a viral campaign aligns with your brand identity and goals, as not all brands will benefit from viral attention. My advice to you: Don't go all political. You can comment on societal issues without getting into politics.