5 Tips and Tricks to go Viral on Social Media

You have spent the last few weeks posting consistently on your favorite social platform Instagram, YouTube, or Snapchat. Unlike a few others, you plan to go viral, who doesn’t want to reach the same level of success as the D’Amelio girls?. We would all like to be rewarded for our Tik Tok posts and quit our 9-5 for a life of fame or to get paid to do what we love and make a couple of dollars, millions maybe. However, you are yet to see the rewards for the efforts you have made. You did everything right, a social media strategy, post several times a day, and have the best content. So, why are you stuck with a couple of likes, comments, and follows? The truth is it’s not as easy as making a video and hoping that everyone likes it. I made this short guide with tips and tricks that could help you achieve that success level.

5 Tips and Tricks that work

Know Your Audience

You can make good content, but if you don’t know your audience, you might as well give it up unless you are Rihanna or Beyonce with a solid “obsessed” fan base that guarantees going viral. You should dedicate some time to knowing your target audience “age, gender, location, interests, whom they are following.” these are crucial factors that will help you decide the type of content you share and platforms to use. #DontRushChallenge made its wave on social media earlier this year. It was a fun challenge that inspired even the police to take part. An unknown 20-year-old student started the challenge, and the song is by a then-unknown British rap group. It encouraged people to show themselves in their natural looks then switch to a glamorous look, turning the music into an unexpected hit.

Build Emotional Connections

If you can connect with your audience, you have an increased chance of selling to your customer or going viral. You can connect with customers on several levels through your posts. What automatically comes to mind are those meme accounts on Instagram with thousands sometimes millions of followers because they can connect with their followers. McDonald’s and Wendy had an unusual but funny feud that went viral. Wendy’s connected with their followers through humor, which encouraged followers to share these posts with friends and led the fast-food chain at the top of the twitter page trending for days to come.

Quality Content

Most people find it annoying that many people are not their true selves on social media. Celebrities, influences, and everyday people alter their pictures and videos to look at their very best. Why is that? When we look up to influencers, we want to see relatable people. Why do they use photoshop, get surgery, and have many of us cringe and press the unfollow button? The answer is simple; everyone wants to look their best. If a picture looks good, we will like, comment, share and talk about it. The same goes for video content; this is why it is best to put out the best quality content. So, work on your editing skills and carefully plan out content before you post. Here is an article on how to write an effective social media strategy.

Visual Content

Great Visuals are a great way to engage and connect with your audience. In addition to text, add visuals to your content. People are visual creatures; we have a short attention span, and within seconds/minutes, we are ready to move on to the next best thing. Always add videos or images that can pull them back in when tired of reading the text. The visuals should make sense and encourage the user to see what’s next.

FOMO “Fear of Missing Out”

Most of us check social media several times a day; we don’t want to miss out. We want to be in the know. We want to participate in every conversation. We all want to be a part of something because seeing it is not enough; we have to experience it ourselves. We saw this during the protests when people traveled to neighboring states missing work and school to participate in the protests. You can create a fun challenge and hashtag to go along with it; this will encourage users to make content and Post on their platforms. Click here for a list of viral challenges that kept us occupied during the pandemic.

Before you Post, Ask Yourself

How do I want my audience to feel?

How do I want them to respond?

What would I do if I saw a post like this one? 

People who go viral may post to go viral, but this rarely happens. Sometimes, the most unlikely content goes viral; it surprises the creator. You want to make content that’s worth sharing. Content that’s worth recreating and influential enough that people want to participate.