A True Viral Success Story – Small Idea, Big Result
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I’ve said it before, but it really is hard to get a true viral campaign going. In fact, it’s something that is pretty much impossible to artificially create (and believe me, many companies have tried). But the one thing that all successful viral phenomena seem to have in common is that they are compelling. Whether it’s because it’s humorous, awe-inspiring, rage-inducing, or just plain interesting, they evoke an emotional response, something in them that compels people to pass it along to other people.
A recent, fantastic example of something that started out small and went viral is the Twitter account of a guy named Justin. You see, Justin was 29 years old and had recently moved back in with his parents in the summer of 2009 (some of you will know who I’m talking about already.) His dad is 74 years old, and quite blunt and loud in his opinions. And more often than not, he was also funny. So Justin decided to start a Twitter feed, and he titled it as bluntly as his dad talked. He named is “Shit My Dad Says” and proceeded to tweet about, well, shit his dad said. And it’s funny – you can go check it out here.
So, less than a year later, where is Justin at?
Well, in the fall it was announced that he had signed a book deal with Harper Collins, and not long after that, CBS announced that they were basing a sitcom after the tweets that now has over 1.2 million people following it. That, my friends, is a true viral success. It has gone beyond the online world and into mainstream media – a rare occurrence even with a good viral trend. It succeeded because it was interesting, and funny. And, most importantly, it was genuine.
So while the main base of this post was only to share a great success story (and some really funny tweets – seriously, go check it out if you haven’t already). The point, if there is one to be made, is that the key to real viral success is to not try to have something go viral. A forced viral campaign will be inauthentic and be sussed out fairly quickly by people online. Instead, strive to create interesting content, no matter what your niche is. Quality content that engages your readers is your best bet – you want people to like it enough to pass it along to other people – that’s how viral works.
So, concentrate on doing what you do best, and making it the best that you can. Promote it to the best of your ability/desire, but there’s no replacement for sparking interest/desire in the minds of your readers – that is what will make them tell other people about you, and what will drive valuable traffic to your site.
Many people are striving to come up with ideas that will spread in a viral method, but it is not always the case.
In reply to “The Salad Project” — It is very true that it’s not always the case. But let us also consider that there are some people who, as simple as they are, are very charismatic and gifted in imparting their experiences to others and even they can soften the heart of those who read or listen to them. And that what happened to Justin, he is a very charismatic guy.
Viral Marketing is very tricky I found myself always trying to think of ideas to go viral and all it took Justin was a topic that was right in front of him. Thats a good story the morale of this story that I came out with was don’t try so hard with viral marketing sometimes just the smallest things in your life can be what becomes viral idea.
I do try and find a fun campaign to try and get clients stuff to go viral. But it has to have the interesting/fun/outrageous element. And as you say there’s absolutely no guarantee at all.
An example: we’ve a campaign at the moment called “wake up and smell the coffee” we think it’s a bit of fun. However, the number of hits we’ve had are too small for it be viral at the moment. Will it go viral? Who knows!
Hello Jason I came accross a video that I like, I put it on my woodwork4home review site, when you talk about funny and unforced… This video has it in spades! Will it go viral? the gods of the internet will decide that one!
Interesting story Jason!
I read about a lady that Tweets for her dog. Apparently she has built a huge following too. Its funny cause we, as Internet Marketers, conduct research and time trying to find trends, niches, with low enough competition to hopefully rank and get traffic. I am guessing this guy, and the lady tweeting for her dog, didn’t do a whole lot of research, if any. I also recall seeing a couple of teenage girls that loved to shop (surprise surprise) and they started recording youtube videos showing off there stuff. They have a huge following and now home school and make a lot of money shopping and recording videos.
Very cool!
Cheers!
jeromy
Wow what a story, its like when people get famous off youtube. thanks I am going to follow him on twitter.
I think we often overlook what is really interesting to people. It’s the simple challenges that we all face in our every day life that are most interesting to people. We’re all the same, and it’s not that difficult to think of things that the masses would be interested in. Just think of what you’d be interested in, and share it authentically. If you realize that people are addicted to the negative, you will be able to create something that grabs their attention. And, if you realize that you will keep their attention if you appeal to their spirit and good will. Happy blogging.
maybe their are really people who are great at speaking their minds and sharing their life experiences without the audience getting bored. even just a few words, they can crank up a whole theater and when this is done online where the majority of people are then you will find your pot of gold…continue reading
The neat thing about that story is he did not set out to think it would have that great of impact. Sometimes it is those little things that we do can have more impact than all the ones that we spend so much time creating.
Great Post loved the story!
Chris
Its very rare that a small ideas can make big results.
Its really great.