Decoding the secrets of viral content for brands

"How can we make this campaign go viral?" It's a question that often comes up in pitch and strategy meetings. The quest for creating viral content keeps brands exploring new avenues and experimenting with various approaches to capture the attention of their target audience. While there's no guaranteed formula for virality, there are strategic elements that can increase its likelihood of success. These include compelling storytelling, data-informed timing and a strong relevance for target audiences. Brands must look into the cultural context of the narrative, build the emotional hooks that resonate with audiences and prompt them to share the content. Visual packaging brings it all together to enhance shareability.

Short-form videos are one of the best tools for brands to make their campaigns go viral. Such videos are quick and easy for users to replicate and participate in the challenge put forth by the brand. The resulting content is entertaining and engaging, attracting more users to participate in the campaign. Brands also have the option to tap into the creator network of the platforms to kick-start amplification.
A strategic approach to going viral

While there is no specific roadmap to virality, the chances go up significantly when the content feels genuine, relatable and unfiltered. Viral content often taps into current events, trends, or cultural moments that are relevant to the audience at the time of posting. Here are some strategies brands can adopt for viral success:

Surprise or challenge the audiences: Include unexpected twists, humorous elements, or thought-provoking insights in the content to garner attention. It should make users feel excited to participate in the campaign – just like how Pepsi challenged users to recreate the #PepsiRiseUpBaby hook step on Moj. The brand made the most of Moj’s cutting-edge 3D Lens technology with advanced body tracking capabilities that enhanced the dance moves.

• Build emotional hooks that prompt sharing: Content that makes people feel and express emotions such as joy, surprise, anger, or awe resonates deeply with audiences, making them more likely to share it with others. Harpic went the extra mile in joining India’s festive celebrations with #MomWaliDiwali on Moj. With a gamified experience, the brand effectively highlighted Harpic’s role in making festive cleaning easy, convenient and effective for all – and gave users a chance to amplify the message that everyone in the family should come together to clean the house ahead of festivities.
• Create content that feels authentic: Collaborating with influencers who understand their audiences deeply and can authentically integrate the brand message into their content can facilitate multifold reach and engagement. Vivel tapped into ShareChat’s creator network to make the most of this strategy while busting myths around body wash in the West Bengal market. The creators supported the brand’s endeavours with authentic storytelling, leading to unparalleled success.
• Bring it all together with compelling packaging: Eye-catching visuals can capture attention quickly and make the content more appealing and engaging. It helped Lux’s #MeraLuxKarva campaign on Moj when it leveraged the popularity of transition videos in combination with 2D lenses, enabling users to create beautiful topical videos and celebrate Karva Chauth with their spouses
  
  

How Mountain Dew Got virality right

Mountain Dew’s ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ is an everyday phrase for Indians now. The brand has built on it for years with varied sub-narratives. However, the brand saw the results of its hard work only when it unlocked the stage and invited consumers to create user-generated content on Moj. The users on Moj were able to create their renditions of the ‘Conquer with Courage’ philosophy. Use participation led the long-standing campaign to truly go viral and garner over 10 Bn views and over 500 Mn in-app engagements for the brand.

Read more about the #DarrKeAageJeetHai campaign here.

ShareChat and Moj provide the perfect environment to facilitate virality because the platforms prioritise the brand's vision, craft campaigns with authentic, engaging, and timely content and offer varied tools for users to create engaging videos and graphics. The users also get the option to share the posts they like with their friends, families and acquaintances via WhatsApp chats and groups, increasing the communication’s reach beyond the platforms.