{"id":11846,"date":"2019-11-21T12:02:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T17:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/?p=11846"},"modified":"2024-09-12T15:05:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T19:05:55","slug":"viral-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/viral-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 12 Viral Marketing Examples [+ How to Create Viral Buzz]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every month there seems to be a new viral video or meme. If you\u2019re a marketer, you\u2019ve likely dreamed of working on a piece of viral content\u2014after all, it could be your claim to fame. But what makes a piece of content a viral marketing hit? Is it all just dumb luck and a bit of creativity?<\/span> Admittedly, it does take a little bit of both, but behind every piece of<\/span> viral content<\/span><\/a> is a solid marketing strategy. Here are our favorite successful viral marketing examples to inspire you, plus how you can use this tactic to your advantage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What’s viral marketing?<\/h2>\r\n

Viral marketing is a social media post, or other online marketing tactic, made to encourage rapid and natural social media sharing and amplify word of mouth marketing.<\/a> Content spreads from user to user like a virus and drops its marketing message along the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Viral marketing is branded, but often doesn\u2019t feel like advertising. Instead, it typically takes the form of memes, entertainment-based videos, and compelling visuals.<\/p>\r\n

Even though you can try to engineer a viral social media campaign, the impact is spontaneous and the power is in your viewers’ hands. They have full control over whether the campaign goes viral, so it’s hard to predict whether the campaign will spread. And while you could win big, your campaign might be misinterpreted and cause more harm than good.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The 12 best viral marketing examples<\/h2>\r\n

Let\u2019s take a deep dive into some of my favorite examples of viral marketing, and highlight the underlying marketing techniques that made these case studies in virality so shareable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Visible’s \u201cFree Massages\u201d<\/h3>\r\n

Sometimes, landing on a successful viral marketing campaign is all about relatability. We all have that one friend who acts like the grammar police, and low-cost cell phone service provider Visible was counting on it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Visible knew if they were going to thrive in an overcrowded marketplace, they would have to find a way to cut through the noise and connect with potential customers in a more personal way. To do so, the team came up with a cheeky idea and ran<\/span> several billboards<\/span><\/a> throughout its headquarters city of Denver, Colorado. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The billboards read loud and clear \u201cUnlimited massages, minutes and data on Visible\u2019s $40\/mo phone service.\u201d If you\u2019re like most people, you\u2019ve probably made this mistake in the past, or autocorrect did it for you.<\/span> Instantly, the typo started getting called out on social media. People were suggesting that Visible should fire their marketing team, or at least hire a new copywriter. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Of course, it was all a plan to drive brand awareness, and a couple of marketers chimed in that they got the joke.<\/span> A few weeks after launching the billboards, Visible started dropping little hints on social media that they had a surprise planned. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

They announced that the typo was intentional on Twitter and informed their followers that they would indeed be offering unlimited massages on September 21 in Denver\u2019s Union Station. By doing so, Visible was able to introduce a cheeky brand voice, while making good on their promise.<\/span> \" After all, the average sales cycle for customers planning on switching cell phone providers is about three months. So Visible knew if they were going to drive sales, they would have to pull off a stunt that would stick with a prospect for at least three months.<\/p>\r\n

While it’s hard to put a metric on this type of brand awareness, in terms of KPIs, lead generation and service sign-ups topped the list – proving that sometimes it’s best to be transparent. After all, we make typos.<\/p>\r\n

Takeaway<\/h4>\r\n

While putting a typo in your ad won\u2019t necessarily help your business, being more transparent will. It might not seem like it, but that was ultimately the goal with Visible\u2019s viral marketing stunt. They wanted to show that they are human and make mistakes like everyone else, but they own them. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

By being more transparent with your brand, you can help build trust with your customers, drive innovation in-house, breed honesty among staff, and open yourself up to receive more customer feedback.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Wendy\u2019s Tweets<\/h3>\r\n

Wendy\u2019s is known for three things: square burgers, the Frosty, and roasting people on X (Twitter).<\/span> At the heart of the burger chain\u2019s branding strategy<\/a> is one central tenet: The people at Wendy\u2019s are serious about their food but not themselves. From releasing a hip-hop mixtape and flirting with celebrities to relentlessly roasting McDonald\u2019s and Burger King online, Wendy\u2019s is the witty friend of the fast-food industry, and there seems to be no limit to their sass.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the beginning of 2017, Wendy\u2019s had just over 1 million Twitter followers. The brand added 1.2 million new followers by the end of the year, bringing its fan count to 2.24 million.<\/span> It all started with a simple tweet from Carter Wilkerson that read: <\/span>\u201cYo @Wendys, how many retweets for a year of free chicken nuggets?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

Wendy\u2019s reply was meant to be sarcastic: \u201c<\/span>18 million.<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span> But Wilkerson gladly accepted the challenge and started reaching out for support online, asking people if they would retweet to help him win his prize. His tweet ended up spreading like wildfire as more and more people started retweeting. They were even getting some news sources to join the fun.<\/span> \"A While he didn\u2019t reach 18 million, he still did better than Wendy\u2019s ever thought possible, getting over 3 million retweets and becoming the most retweeted tweet in history. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Takeaway<\/h4>\r\n

Your brand\u2019s voice comes down to your business\u2019s tone and identity. However, each social media platform has its own unique purpose, and users will have different expectations on each platform.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While your brand\u2019s identity must remain consistent across all channels, you should tweak your message and tone depending on the social network you\u2019re targeting. You should view different social media channels as an opportunity to experiment and show off various aspects of your company\u2019s personality. And injecting a naturally interactive element, by creatively inviting comments and reposts, doesn’t hurt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

OREO’s \u201cDunk in the dark\u201d tweet<\/h3>\r\n

OREO\u2019s \u201cDunk in the dark\u201d tweet is a clever and spontaneous example of viral marketing that captured attention, and boosted OREO’s reputation, all in one breath. During Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, the Superdome in New Orleans experienced a sudden power outage that left fans literally in the dark. Meanwhile, in the OREO marketing camp, the team seized a golden opportunity and almost immediately released this tweet:<\/p>\r\n

\"oreo<\/figure>\r\n

The tweet was retweeted over 13,800 times in a single hour, and garnered over 5,000 other social shares, resulting in phenomenal brand reach. Great marketing is timeless, and this tweet and the OREO brand, in association, get talked about even today.<\/p>\r\n

Takeaway<\/h4>\r\n

Speed is often of the essence in marketing. Jump on another viral moment or microtrend in a timely, shareable way, and people are more likely to make your own take go viral as well. An added bonus? It costs hardly anything (there was zero payment involved to spread this tweet).<\/p>\r\n

Just keep your audience’s sense of humor in mind, and don’t post anything that could be seen as distasteful. Plus, make sure your brand has a natural connection to the moment. OREO wasn’t even the first brand to post about the blackout, but their real-time humor and connection resonated best.<\/p>\r\n

“Will it Blend?”<\/h3>\r\n

Will it blend or not blend? That is the question.<\/span> \u201cWill It Blend?\u201d is a YouTube series meant to be an infomercial parody demonstrating the power of the Total Blender, created and hosted by Blendtec founder, Tom Dickson, who attempts to blend random everyday items to show off the power of his blender.<\/span> And just to be clear, we\u2019re not talking about smoothies here. Tom blends everything from magic markers to iPhones and even an Amazon Echo.<\/span> \"blendtec-will-it-blend\"<\/a> The reasoning behind this seemingly crazy concept is simply making a boring product fun by doing the unexpected. Most people only buy a blender once every five years, and every blender company uses the same pitch\u2014that their blender can \u201cunlock the hidden taste of your food\u201d or something like that. This only leads to consumers relying on price over features.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Seeing this trend, Blendtec decided to go in a completely different direction, utilizing their unique idea, which has almost nothing to do with traditional blender selling points. Blendtec has been able to build brand awareness in an otherwise nameless market. And in regards to content marketing, Blendtec is by far the most successful company of its kind.<\/span> Blendtec has topped the charts for kitchen appliances with more than 190,000 Facebook followers, 35,000 X (Twitter) followers, and 850,000 YouTube subscribers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Takeaway<\/h4>\r\n

One thing every start-up can learn from Blendtec is how to find your unique selling proposition (USP). If someone asked you what makes Blendtec so good or unique, the answer would be simple: Their blender can blend anything.\u00a0<\/span> But for countless start-ups, this question isn\u2019t so simple. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The secret to unlocking your USP is understanding what your ideal customer wants and making sure you can deliver on what you promise. Sounds simple enough, right? But don\u2019t be fooled, as this exercise is harder than you think. It takes a lot of work, brainstorming, and some trial and error (A\/B testing) to see what works.<\/span> Here are some ideas to help get the juices flowing:<\/span><\/p>\r\n