Content Manager at SocialBee
How to go viral on social media is something marketers are still trying to comprehend.
Since people are used to being exposed to a large amount of content every day on all social media channels, brands are constantly searching for ways to become more visible and increase their brand awareness. And a great way to catch the eye of your target audience is through viral content.
If becoming viral used to be like winning the internet lottery, nowadays it is more of a planned effort. So, in today’s article, we will analyze seven famous viral marketing campaigns.
The goal is to find out more about how businesses can go viral on social media based on the example of these success stories.
Streamline your marketing with an efficient social media strategy template.
Short summary
- Viral marketing aims to create shareable content that reaches a massive audience, boosting brand awareness through organic or strategic methods. A social media post “going viral” means it rapidly gains engagement—views, likes, shares, and comments.
- The views needed for viral status vary by platform: YouTube requires 1M+ views within a week, Instagram Reels 100K+ views in 24 hours, TikTok often hits millions daily, Facebook takes over 10k likes for photo or text posts or a few million views in days for videos, and X (Twitter) relies on tens of thousands of reposts.
- To go viral, post consistently, make platform-specific content, hop on trends, and keep your posts fun and interactive. Tools like SocialBee simplify content creation, scheduling, and optimization, enhancing reach and saving time.
- Adding humor to your social media posts (sharing memes, participating in trends/challenges) can make your content feel more relatable, timely, and easy to share.
- Sharing a positive, creative message that aligns with your brand’s values and is relevant to a timely cause shows that you are about more than just profit.
- Collaborating with influencers that have a similar target audience as your brand increases visibility.
- The interactive nature of challenges, especially combined with celebrity participation, can help your posts spread globally.
- TikTok is a great platform to go viral. TikTok success usually comes from understanding trends, consistently posting, and engaging with the platform’s culture.
- Creating unique content, especially if it’s unexpected, can gain lots of attention and generate engagement.
- User-generated content is a low-cost yet highly effective way of creating hype around your brand organically. Increase exposure by creating a branded hashtag.
- Pairing popular sounds with your videos can get your content noticed quicker, especially if the audio is relevant to the message of the content.
- Using templates is a quick way to go viral. Use a popular meme with relatable humor and an established format and adapt it to your brand.
- Creating content that capitalizes on nostalgia is a great way to appeal to social media users.
- An ongoing tradition can make people find your content familiar and they might even begin to anticipate it. Holiday campaigns have the potential of becoming beloved traditions.
- People react to and share content that sparks emotion. Create posts that have a powerful message and can make users feel something worth reposting and commenting on.
Table of contents
- What is viral marketing?
- What does going viral mean?
- How many views is considered viral?
- How to increase your chances of going viral
- 12 tips to go viral on social media from successful accounts
- 1. Add a little humor – IKEA
- 2. Promote meaningful causes – Mentos
- 3. Partner up with influencers – GT’s Living Food
- 4. Start a challenge – ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
- 5. Make TikTok videos – Ryanair
- 6. Be unique – World Record Egg
- 7. Include user-generated content – Apple
- 8. Create content around trending sounds – The Roman Baths
- 9. Try out existing templates – Sprite Europe
- 10. Capitalize on nostalgia – Motorola US
- 11. Create a brand tradition – Coca-Cola
- 12. Use emotion to make a difference – Canadian Down Syndrome
- Frequently asked questions
- Design the perfect viral social media marketing strategy
What is viral marketing?
Viral marketing is a strategy where businesses create content designed to be rapidly seen and shared by people, especially through social media and word-of-mouth. Businesses that go viral create more brand awareness and reach a massive audience. The purpose of this strategy is to determine as many people as possible to share a specific post up to the point where almost everybody has seen it on their social media feed. Even if going viral is mostly an organic and unplanned phenomenon, there are several ways brands can achieve social media fame. We have studied several of the greatest social media marketing campaigns that went viral, and we have discovered some tips and tricks that will help you promote your business faster and easier than ever. Keep on reading to learn more about what going viral means and how you can make it happen.What does going viral mean?
When someone says a social media post is “going viral” it means that it’s seeing exponential growth quickly, amassing views, likes, shares, and comments from thousands, if not millions of users online. Achieving viral status is something that any social media manager strives for, as it means increased visibility and brand recognition in a short amount of time.How many views is considered viral?
The views needed for viral status vary by platform: YouTube requires 1M+ views within a week, Instagram Reels 100K+ views in 24 hours, TikTok often hits millions daily, Facebook takes over 10k likes for photo or text posts or a few million views in days for videos, and X (Twitter) relies on tens of thousands of reposts.How many views is considered viral on YouTube
To go viral on YouTube, creators in certain niches need 100-200k views within a week. However, many would agree that surpassing 1 million views within that timeframe is true virality. Most viral YouTube videos, as you will notice in the “Trending” section, are in the 10s of millions of views in just a few days.How many views is considered viral on Instagram
To go viral on Instagram, feed posts need 10-20k likes or views within the first 24 hours, while the threshold for Reels is closer to 100k given that their algorithm allows them to spread faster.How many views is considered viral on TikTok
When going viral on TikTok, certain videos reach upwards of one million views within the first day of being posted, and in time it’s not uncommon to get over 10 million views in a week.How many views is considered viral on Facebook
Videos that get a few hundred thousand views within the first hours of being posted are usually considered viral, while images and text posts need over 10k likes in a couple of days.How many views is considered viral on X (formerly Twitter)
A viral post on X will generally garner thousands of reposts in 24 hours, growing to tens of thousands in a week.How to increase your chances of going viral
As much as we would like to say that we have the winning recipe that will earn you the viral status you are aiming for, we have to stay realistic and focus on strategies to help you grow your online presence. Here are the three main practices that you must include in your viral marketing strategy:- Maintain a consistent posting schedule
- Customize your content for each social network
- Follow trends and post interactive content
1. Maintain a consistent posting schedule
The more you post on social media, the more you will increase your chances of reaching a wider audience. Besides, being active shows social media networks that your account provides ongoing value, which means it contributes to keeping users on their platform. If you can increase engagement on your posts, the benefits grow even more. Social media algorithms prioritize content they see as valuable, so higher engagement means your posts are more likely to reach more users. The main challenge that comes with posting regularly is often the lack of time to create content and manage multiple social media accounts. However, there is a solution. SocialBee eliminates time-consuming tasks like switching between tabs to create and share content. From one simple dashboard, you can plan, schedule, and post effortlessly.
Connect all your profiles to SocialBee and manage your entire social media presence with ease.
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SocialBee helps you set up a social media strategy from the start. Using the AI assistant, Copilot, you’ll get a personalized plan for your business that tells you what to post, when to post it, and where to share it, so you don’t have to guess or plan everything yourself. When it’s time to create content, SocialBee makes it easy. You can use AI to quickly generate captions and images in just a few seconds. Once your content is ready, you can organize it into different categories or folders based on topics. For example, you could create categories for promotions, blog posts, tips, or updates. This allows you to keep your content organized and make sure you have a good mix of content across your social media accounts. To make things even easier, you can set posts or entire content categories to be reshared automatically. This works especially well for evergreen content, such as posts that remain relevant over time like educational tips or seasonal offers. By doing this, you can keep your social media active without needing to constantly create new content.2. Customize your content for each social network
Every social media platform is different, so if you want your content to perform well, you have to adjust both your posts and your content schedule according to each specific channel. For instance, each social platform has its own character limitations. Take X (Twitter) as an example. It has a 280-character limit, so you’ll need to keep your posts short and impactful. On the other hand, LinkedIn allows for longer, more detailed posts, where you can expand on your ideas and share insights. In terms of images and videos, each platform has different image and video size guidelines because they’re made to fit how users scroll and interact with the content on their app. For instance, Instagram performs best with square images (1080×1080), while Facebook tends to favor landscape (1200×630). Hashtags play an important role in boosting visibility, but how you use them depends on the platform. On X (formerly Twitter), using one or two hashtags is enough, while on Facebook, hashtags aren’t commonly used and often don’t impact reach much. As for timing and scheduling your content, there are general best practices, but you should also check your analytics and adjust based on when your audience is most active. Try these small tweaks, and see if you’ll get better results on each platform.PRO TIP
Managing content across multiple platforms can be a bit tricky, especially when each one has its own requirements. But with SocialBee, it gets easier. You can either customize your posts manually for each platform, or use SocialBee’s AI to automatically adjust the content for you.
Create, customize, and schedule your posts with ease from SocialBee’s post editor.
Plus, SocialBee looks at how your content is performing and gives you suggestions on the best times to post, based on when your audience is most engaged. It’s a simple way to save time while making sure your posts reach the right people at the right time.
3. Follow trends and post interactive content
Why should you follow trends? It’s simple. Trending content, although short-lived, has the power to gain you more reach and engagement and bring new followers to your page.
Participating in trends on a regular basis will impact your performance significantly while also increasing your chances of going viral.
X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube are three of the main platforms where content goes viral. So keep your eye on the challenges and trends that surface so that you can join in the fun in a timely manner.
Following trends is not the only content marketing strategy you can go to when you want to enhance your visibility, you can also rely on your existing audience to boost the reach of your posts.
The key is to keep users engaged by posting interactive posts regularly. The more people like, comment, and share your post, the more the algorithm will promote the content to other social media users.
Here are some ideas for interactive posts:
- Ask questions
- Create quizzes and polls
- Share a fill-in-the-blanks post
- Ask for recommendations
- Start a challenge
12 tips to go viral on social media from successful accounts
Going viral is never a certain outcome of your marketing efforts, but it’s a possible and probable result of a well-put-together strategy. And we’ll help you create one that works for your brand by examining seven brands that went viral.
Here are 12 effective tips for going viral on social media:
- Add a little humor
- Promote meaningful causes
- Partner up with influencers
- Start a challenge
- Make TikTok videos
- Be unique
- Include user-generated content
- Create content around trending sounds
- Try out existing templates
- Capitalize on nostalgia
- Create a brand tradition
- Add a touch of emotion
Let’s dive into the aforementioned tips and get more insight into how you can achieve social media fame.
1. Add a little humor – IKEA
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about viral social media content? Memes. And what makes memes universally likable? Humor.
The funny and relatable quality of memes makes them both entertaining and shareable; two characteristics that stand at the base of a viral post.
Humor is a great way for brands to humanize their approach and show a little more personality through their social media platforms. A study done by Oracle showed that 90% of people are more likely to remember a funny ad and 75% would consider following a brand on social media if it was funny.
While IKEA is mainly known for its affordable furniture, the brand is also recognized for its playful and witty social media content. A prime example of this is their viral 2021 response to the Bernie Sanders meme, where they creatively incorporated the image of Sanders sitting cross-legged in a parka into their own branded content.
What made it go viral:
- It’s funny
- It’s timely, tapping into the viral Bernie Sanders meme
- It’s simple and easy to understand
Tips for humorous social media posts
Humor might not be the best fit for every business. It’s important to consider things like your industry, brand image, and target audience before posting something funny. What works for one brand might not work for another, so make sure it aligns with your overall messaging and goals.
To show off your funny side safely and tastefully you need to:
- Avoid controversial topics – Funny content needs to be fun for everyone. Try to avoid topics that can offend your audience.
- Test your material on as many people as you can – This will help you find out if your post is funny and easy to understand.
- Stay away from old memes – Memes have a short life span. So make sure you only include relevant meme formats to avoid looking out of touch with internet pop culture.
2. Promote meaningful causes – Mentos
A simple but effective example of meaningful viral content is the following post shared by Mentos in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Back in 2015, the US Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the US, and Mentos was one of the first brands to show public support for this decision.
This type of viral social media content is impactful because:
- It spreads a positive message
- It’s creative
- It shares the values of the brand
- It speaks about a highly known and debated topic
Brands that use their social channels to bring awareness about different causes they care about show people that they are more than a company looking for profit. It gives more meaning to a business while also connecting with the audience and their values.
3. Partner up with influencers – GT’s Living Food
Influencers are a new kind of celebrity. With platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, you have a wide range of influencers for every target audience, including yours.
Going viral is not just about creating the best content, it’s also about paying attention to opportunities that can boost your social media visibility. And what better way to go viral, than partnering up with famous content creators?
Does the term “kombucha girl” sound familiar to you? That’s right, we’re talking about Brittany Broski’s first viral video.
Back in 2019, a TikTok video featuring Brittany Broski testing a kombucha drink went viral because of her hilarious reaction. It quickly turned into one of the most popular memes, and Brittany became an internet sensation.
GT Dave, the founder, and CEO of GT’s Living Food (owning 40% of the U.S. kombucha market) didn’t waste time and partnered with Brittany to make a series of successful YouTube videos that would bring him and his company a newfound social media recognition.
GT Dave also received attention from YouTube influencers Cody Ko and Noel Miller. Their video about GT Dave surpassed 12 million views, and their collaboration video has almost 10 million views.
Not only did GT Dave manage to raise awareness about his business, but he also found an online fanbase thanks to his influencer partnerships.
Why it went viral:
- It was linked to an already viral video
- It included popular social media influencers
- It showed the real people behind the brand in a fun and entertaining way
4. Start a challenge – ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
We can’t talk about social media viral trends without talking about the ALS ice bucket challenge.
Founded by Pat Quinn and Pete Frates, this social media phenomenon raised $115 million for The ALS Association and over $220 million worldwide for ALS research. Furthermore, it significantly increased ALS awareness and improved health services for patients around the world.
During the summer of 2014, all social media feeds were full of video content of people doing the ice bucket challenge. More specifically, pouring cold water on themselves to bring awareness about the side effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Every person who participated got to challenge their friends and family to do the challenge and donate to an ALS foundation.
People from around the world did the challenge and donated, including almost every celebrity on the planet, from Bill Gates to all our favorite Avengers.
Why it became viral:
- It fought for a great cause
- It was fun to do and watch
- It had an interactive nature
- It involved the most influential celebrities
5. Make TikTok videos – Ryanair
Want to always stay up to date with what’s trending on TikTok? Check out this article that we update weekly!
TikTok is a social media platform that has a lot of power and influence. Unlike other social media platforms, on TikTok, it seems like every other day there is a new product receiving a significant amount of hype.
From makeup and skincare to clothes and even cleaning products, anything can become TikTok famous. “TikTok made me buy it” is already a phrase used by many of us.
Going viral is not an uncommon phenomenon on TikTok. Due to its algorithm, it makes it easy for brands to not only find their target audience but also to expand their customer base. Musicians, doctors, streaming services, and fashion brands are all benefiting from TikTok exposure.
This social media network doesn’t lack trends. Every other week there is a new and fun one that brands can use to become viral. And Ryanair knows how to make the most out of each one.
Ryanair has a very active TikTok presence. They constantly post content, understand trends, and use their popularity to raise more awareness about their brand. Their TikTok business account has two and a half million social media followers, almost 50 million likes, and most of their viral videos get millions of views.
Ryanair became TikTok famous by:
- Following trends
- Understanding TikTok culture
- Maintaining a consistent posting schedule
- Making self-deprecating jokes and poking fun at customers.
6. Be unique – World Record Egg
Do you remember that time an egg went viral?
A unique and simple idea took the internet by storm and broke the record for the most-liked Instagram post (55 million likes), surpassing Kylie Jenner’s record at the time which had 18 million likes.
The random choice of an egg picture and the goal of breaking a world record brought the internet together and made social media history.
It’s so simple that it’s genius. #EggGang
Why it went viral:
- It’s unique
- It’s engaging
- It’s funny
- It has an ambitious goal (breaking a record)
7. Include user-generated content – Apple
Organic is better, and we are not talking about food. Viral marketing campaigns don’t have to be expensive, as Apple perfectly proved through the #ShotOniPhone campaign.
The viral campaign encouraged Instagram users to post photos taken with their iPhones for the chance to have their image featured on one of the 10,000 billboards across the world. The hashtag #ShotOniPhone had more than 21 million entries on Instagram.
Besides being financially smart, the campaign brought a massive amount of exposure and engagement while promoting the quality of the iPhone camera.
Why it went viral:
- It engages the audience
- It involves a prize
- It uses branded hashtags for visibility
8. Create content around trending sounds – The Roman Baths
Since video content is the most popular right now and most likely to help you go viral, it’s only natural that the audio in them is just as important.
On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it can be as easy as using a song that is currently popular to boost your visibility. Moreover, many trends are closely linked to audio. At a closer look, you’ll notice that probably two-thirds of your TikTok For You page is made up of lip-syncing videos.
Let’s take for example the popular TikTok sound “direct from Domingo”, which is a snippet from the 2024 SNL skit Bridesmaid Speech. The YouTube video itself has gone viral with 13 million views, and so have many of the TikToks using the sound. People saw its potential and started lipsyncing to it in their videos. At the top of the sound in terms of views is The Roman Baths’ TikTok video.
What better way to remind people that touching the water at thermal baths is not allowed than by lip-syncing to Marcello Hernandez’s famous line “Hey Matt! Came all this way, had to explain, direct from Domingo.”
Why the video gained popularity:
- The audio matches the message perfectly
- It left people intrigued about why you can’t touch the water (peep the comments)
- It was short and catchy
- It benefited from how popular the trend was at the time
9. Try out existing templates – Sprite Europe
If there is ever a recipe for social media success, it can be found in trending post templates.
From video transitions and filters to meme formats, if something goes viral brand then it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a template others can use to participate in the same trend.
Templates are usually either a funny image paired with a caption you can customize or a video format with specific transitions and music that you can put your own spin on. A popular tool to use when looking for such templates is CapCut.
Take the Chill Guy for example. Initially, an artwork posted by Philip Banks in 2023, it’s now a viral meme across most social media platforms. Paired with relaxing lofi beats and a caption along the lines of “when…but it’s okay because you’re a chill guy who…” it becomes the perfect template for success.
Sprite Europe’s Reels generally get a few thousand views. However, one use of the Chill Guy template led to a video that gained over 200k views and 10k likes in under two weeks.
Why it went viral:
- It follows an already-established formula
- It’s funny
- It’s relatable
10. Capitalize on nostalgia – Motorola US
Noticed the amount of low-rise jeans and flip phones around you lately?
Trending topics from the past are making a comeback, and creating content that taps into nostalgia is a great way to connect with social media users.
Speaking of flip phones, Motorola US’s most viewed TikTok by a mile? Their ad from 2021 showcases the revival of the iconic Motorola Razr, paired with audio that starts with their most famous slogan, “Hello Moto.”
The video has over 140 million views. Their second most viewed video, with almost 50 million views, is also of the Razr.
Why it went viral:
- It features a beloved product of the past
- The audio also has nostalgic value
- It’s well-edited and fast-paced
11. Create a brand tradition – Coca-Cola
A great way to get people to engage with your content is creating a tradition that you follow every year around a certain time of year and people can learn to expect and anticipate.
For example, people love the holiday spirit. There’s a good reason why your local mall is playing Mariah Carey weeks before winter even starts. For Halloween and Christmas in particular, there are plenty of opportunities to create viral content.
Coca-Cola has perfected the art of the Christmas campaign so much that it almost feels wrong to talk about going viral around the holidays without bringing up their annual Christmas videos. It has now become a tradition that many associate with the spirit of the holiday.
Their 2024 campaign features the famous red Coca-Cola trucks decorated in Christmas lights, a snowy landscape, beloved animals, and happy people enjoying the winter holidays. It’s a classic recipe, and true to Coca-Cola’s brand.
This video was generated with artificial intelligence, a bold choice given people’s love-hate relationship with AI art lately. Some liked it, others heavily criticized it, but both led to its viral status.
Why it went viral:
- It’s familiar
- It’s classic
- It appeals to the holiday spirit
12. Use emotion to make a difference – Canadian Down Syndrome
I will go as far as to state that all eleven tips so far carry the universal truth that what makes people engage with online content is emotion, be it of any kind. Whether it’s happiness, sadness, nostalgia, or even frustration, emotions drive engagement because they trigger a personal response, making people more likely to like, share, and comment. When content resonates emotionally, it creates a connection, encouraging people to react.
Canadian Down Syndrome Society created a viral marketing campaign that made waves on social media. Initially a YouTube video, it also made waves on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and even LinkedIn.
The video is for their campaign #EndTheStereotypes and it showcases a number of situations where people’s preconceived notions become “self-fulfilling prophecies.” The comments are filled with people sharing their own or their loved one’s stories.
Not only does the campaign open people’s eyes to the effects of stereotypes, but it also empowers those who are at the receiving end of these judgments to see that just because others believe they can’t, doesn’t make it true.
Why it went viral:
- It has a powerful message
- It makes people feel something
- It has a strong and self-assured tone of voice
- It has a positive impact on the viewer
Frequently asked questions
Design the perfect viral social media marketing strategy
While you can’t control if a post will go viral, you can always try your best. At the end of the day, all 12 tips will at least improve the performance of your social media content and your overall digital marketing strategy.
What truly matters when creating viral content is to value quality, be consistent, and engage with your audience. It’s your hard work and dedication that will pay off in the long run.
So, get ready to channel your creativity and play with witty ideas. Don’t forget, if an egg went viral, you can do it too – especially with the help of tools like SocialBee. Start your 14-day free trial today!
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