How Social Posts Go Viral

So Drake’s got an air phone in one hand and perhaps a de-decorated red cup of Chestnut Praline Latte in the other? Thus far, the two most enduring images of this holiday season: Dancing Drake and the plain ol’ Starbucks holiday cup.

Even though we should have better things to do than obsess over bad dance moves and cry into a coffee cup bereft of holly, it’s Videos Gone Wild – an epidemic of spring break proportions.

EVERYONE has something to say about the dismally plain Starbucks cup. Those Grande-sized containers were barely off the conveyor belts and into the stores before they caused a riot with tweets of self-decorated ones and Starbuckers calling Yuletide Foul!

(On the bright side, if you take really good care of yours so it lasts into the summer months, you can just call it your Red Solo Cup and bring it to your next BBQ. “Red Solo Cup, I fill you up. Let’s have a party, let’s have a party.” Remember that?)

Some of the viral milestones burned into our retinas:

• The Stand Up to Cancer moments in Game Three of the 2015 World Series
• Hollywood hopping on the selfie bandwagon thanks to Ellen DeGeneres
• Drake’s Hotline Bling: what Huff Post Sports called the most meme-able music video ever
• #TheDress – there is no question as to the color of this dress; it’s available in seven different ones. Their hues are quite clear, the color blocking flattering. This frock grew legs after being shared on a private Facebook group for weather anchors.
  

  @alexisreporter

  Then came the vibrant collage depicting those women wearing this $25 dress from Amazon – the one that became an unwitting  “must have” for on-air talent.

Those posts and events went notoriously viral. Yet that propagation cannot be considered happenstance. There was a delicate mix of ingredients that came together to form the perfect social media storm.

1. Shareability: Ellen’s selfie with friends was live tweeted during the Oscars, and she asked for retweets. She’s popular, she’s funny, and it was a shot of some A-List Celebs. Still, it was the use of hashtags which made it easy for people to find it to join in. BAM! There’s Bradley Cooper in a tux…like everywhere.

2. Emotions: Major League Baseball and FOX dedicated precious commercial time so the players, the announcers in the broadcast booth, the umpires, and the crowd could hold Stand Up to Cancer branded placards with the names of people they were supporting or remembering. If you hadn’t heard of the SU2C.org movement, you did that night. Incredibly powerful.

3. Simple Call to Action: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was an ideal social media campaign because it directed an easy call to action. It went splendidly viral as each participant in turn nominated three people to participate. Its viral-ness was exponential.

4. Timing: Timing in the social world is everything. Because a tweet’s lifespan is a mere seven minutes, you want to be certain you are posting valuable
   

   @TheEllenShow/Twitter

   content at a time when many users are available to view it. Ellen’s Oscar selfie happened in Prime Time before an international audience who appreciate the entertainment industry. (The right target market!) It continued to spread after its initial burst because it spread so far at such a fast rate. This momentum made it possible for it to enjoy a life of its own for days; making it the most retweeted tweet in the world. (Besides, who doesn’t love a “Celebrities! They’re Just Like Us!” moment.)

Perhaps the most notable exception to all of the above is The Outlier That is Adele: Seemingly out of step with the rest of the self-obsessed, selfie generation for whom every food morsel and event arrival is chronicled; comparatively Tweet-less, Adele still goes viral. She is singular. Although she “barely touches her social media accounts” according to the New York Times, she is without cliché. Approachable and genuine and successful, Adele conforms to no norms — never a social media sheep.

The limelight at the end of the tunnel? Your social media campaign and accompanying strategy may not capture the world wide attention conferred upon Major League Baseball or DeGeneres or even Drake the Great, but a focus on these four root concepts will help get your message heard. (Unless you are Adele who need only sing as the world stills to listen.)