Can viral content be crafted intentionally?

Image by mrhighsky via Adobe Stock.

The term viral is one that is familiar to many people who are frequent Web users. Though its origins in the Web context are a bit murky, Canadian philosopher and media personality Marshall McLuhan is credited with one of its first uses, explaining in his 1964 book Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man that both photography and technology in general have a “virulent nature,” referring to the idea that they can be spread like a virus — widely and within a short time period.

The idea for this blog came to me, as most do, from personal experience. Over this past weekend, my partner posted a silly video of me to TikTok, using the “My boyfriend sleeps like a Victorian child” trending topic as the overlay. She subsequently cross-posted the video to her Facebook account. As of the time of writing this blog, the video has captured 3.1 million views on TikTok alone, which completely baffles me as a fairly private individual. But it got me thinking about lessons we may be able to take from it in a professional setting.

Image by Feodora via Adobe Stock.

Virality in a Professional Setting

In the marketing world, most content creators hope a piece of content will go viral. Social media’s main advantage over traditional media is its capacity for wider reach. Spreading our content far and wide, then, achieves our goal of brand awareness, of self-promotion, and of reaching audiences we may not historically have been able to reach.

This, then, invites the question: can virality be consciously achieved? The answer, as one might suspect, is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Can content be made viral simply because we want it to? Well, no. But virality depends on a few elements, which we can do our best to integrate into our content.

Elements to Consider

• Trendiness. Capitalizing on an existing trend is a great way to reach a wider audience. Grasping onto a topic that is already being discussed gives us a natural leg up, one which we can use to create interesting or unique content that lets us stand out.
  
• Use of video. McLuhan’s analysis of photography as a viral medium was spot-on, and it stands to reason that moving pictures would provide even more opportunity for virality. As explored throughout the course to date, social media algorithms are increasingly favouring video content, making this an obvious medium through which to share our message.
  
• Widespread posting. Once upon a time, content could go viral while living predominantly on one social media network. Consider, for example, the classic viral video Charlie bit my finger!, whose presence solely on YouTube garnered millions of views in the platform’s infancy. Today’s social media landscape, however, is much more fragmented and requires the user — that’s us! — to reach our audiences where they live, rather than hoping they will come to us.

So, can we “force” virality?

These are a few elements that can play into the viral nature of a piece of digital content. But this limited list is far from a panacea — viral content is highly dependent on timing, on the receptiveness of the public, and on luck of the draw. A superior instructing a social media expert to “create viral content” would more than likely be met with an eye roll or an explanation as to how that’s not how social media works.

However, social media is what we make of it. While we can’t guarantee that our content will see Charlie bit my finger! -type metrics, we can put the odds on our side and, even if we miss out on the ephemeral hope of going viral, we can still see net benefits in our social media metrics and reach wider audiences than we would have otherwise.

What’s your favourite viral content? Did it follow the elements I’ve listed? Let me know in the comments!

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Patrick Smith
I am a graduate of Algonquin College’s Journalism and Interactive Media Management programs. I work as a project manager at a national not-for-profit organization, with job responsibilities that include social media management.

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Suggested social media posts:

Facebook:
🦠 Ever wondered if viral content is just a happy accident or if it can actually be crafted intentionally? Despite the simplicity of some viral posts you may have seen, the question is much more complex that it looks.

📖 Read on for some advice on how we can maximize our odds of being seen far and wide. https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2024/04/02/can-viral-content-be-crafted-intentionally/

X/Twitter: Have you ever dreamed of having your content go viral? If you’ve found such a task difficult, you’re not alone. Click through to find out more about what makes a post go viral. bit.ly/4agvMko #SocialMedia #ViralContent #ContentMarketing
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