Let’s talk about Candace Payne. You might not recognize the name, but I’m sure you’ll recognize her face. Candace had a pretty fantastic week after a video of her wearing a Chewbacca mask and laughing uncontrollably went viral. But there are countless videos of people sitting in their cars delivering a monologue of some kind, so why did this video take off? The answer is simple – well kind of.
Are you ready to dive into some of the reasons people follow social media so closely and why some content resonates enough with people to go viral?
An Emotional Spark
Many people responded to Candace’s unbridled happiness with laughter for what some deemed a “crazy” purchase. She took a child’s toy and used it to find that spark of goofy excitement that many of us lose when we enter adulthood. Her finding that spark reminded millions of us about the excitement we used to feel every time we got a new toy. This is a huge indicator to why some videos take the Internet by storm and others do not.
People will like and share content to which they can relate. Going viral isn’t something you can plan for, but making sure your audience is connecting with your message is something that you can and should plan for.
Why are your followers on Social Media?
One of the top reasons for people participating in social media is to keep up with their friends and family. That is incredibly valuable information for anyone trying to increase their brand visibility online. Knowing this gives you huge in-roads with your customers and proves the emotional aspect of social media.
Another huge reason people use social media is to fill up time. Boredom and distraction play a major role in the amount of time people spend liking and sharing content. How many times have you had a list of things to do and spent hours on YouTube instead?
We know why they’re online, now what do we do?
We do like Candace. Her video went viral because people could relate in some way to the joy she was experiencing, even if someone watched it because they wished for a moment like that of their own. She was telling a story, even if she didn’t realize it.
My own experience with telling a brand story taught me the same thing. The best stories are those that tug at people’s emotions. One of the easiest ways to do this is to tell the story in a way that people share in your success. In what way did your customers help you succeed? How did your products and services help someone else better their life?
Answering questions like these will not only help you produce content, but content that connects you with your customers. Building that relationship creates a brand following that makes people excited when they see your next post.
You already have the tools for success with your content
Yes, really. When was the last time you were a customer? I’m sure it wasn’t that long ago. Take that experience as a consumer and use it to help promote your message. Take note of the things that weren’t so great. If you didn’t like it, chances are someone else wasn’t a fan either. Take even bigger notice of the good things. Remember why you left with warm, fuzzy feelings and try to find a way to make that work for you. Chances are it won’t look exactly the same, but maybe there’s one piece of the puzzle that you can adapt to your strategy.
Most importantly, be yourself. People will always respond to genuine emotion over a sales pitch.