So you have been welcomed to the Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Tumblr / Snapchat community. Now what. Well to quote David Merriam Scott “No one cares about your products, but you.” You know what people do care about – themselves. What can your product, do for them.

Scott uses this quote in his rules of the “World Wide Rave” idea which sums up to

“When people around the world are talking about you, your company and your products.”

The other rules of the rave are:

• Nobody cares about your products (except you) • No coercion is required • Lose control • Put down your roots • Create triggers that encourage people to share • Point the world to your doorstep

But back to the social media creation. So your going to start this ~social media thing~, which you thought was just a fad before, and now its has taken over most of our lives (myself included). Too many brands think if they’ve got a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and maybe an Instagram or Pinterest feed, they’re doing all they can to reach the social generation. But the social generation doesn’t want to follow your brand, they want to follow a person. They want to follow someone doing something.

Now I know, its hard! What does my brand do? I struggle with this question daily. But try to reframe the question – What do people do with my product / service? or What do people ask / say when talking about my product? Then it should be a little easier.

Let’s bring in a real world example. Netflix.

Now it may be best Netflix has an overwhelming amount of information about us, but they know who their social audience is. Whether it’s a famous quote from one of its available titles, or a gif that summarizes how most of us feel about the video streaming site, Netflix continues to create content that resonates with users. They aren’t pushing you to “Watch this now” or anything, they are just reminding you of clips from popular movies that they have and relating them to todays world.

Now you’ve probably heard this word viral. But how does one create viral content? The first golden rule when creating a viral marketing campaign with a punch is to tell a great story. No one wants to watch or read something that is boring or uneventful. They want something happening to someone. Crafting a video with a compelling narrative is an excellent way to get your brand the reach it deserves without shoving your products in the faces of your target audience. The ad that comes to my mind when I think about viral content is –

“Dumb Ways to Die” – Metro Trains Melbourne
https://www.youtube.com/watch v=IJNR2EpS0jw

Now why was this viral? Why do these little creatures that started from an ad for trains now have an app? Answer: The video provides the perfect mixture of cuteness, catchiness and violence. There are a number of tactics you can use to make your viral campaign a success with viewers, from the use of emotional marketing and action sequences to creating an element of surprise or disgust, all rely on just a few factors to engage, inspire and entice an audience to want more.