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In early 2024, influencer Hailey Bieber released a seemingly simple product that sold out almost immediately — the lip balm iPhone case, which featured a slot at the back designed to securely hold a tube of her makeup brand’s lip balm. The product spoke to a simple yet powerful need — a way to keep on hand your lip balm, an item that requires multiple applications throughout the day but is easy to either forget at home or get buried amidst the other items in your bag. The product quickly became a must-have among beauty product aficionados, and continues to be a top seller.
Of course, not every product or service is as inherently “exciting” as a lip balm phone case. But you can apply the principles of viral marketing to pretty much any PR campaign — and if you do it smartly, you’re almost guaranteed to see an uptick in public interest.
Let’s take a look at how that plays out.
So what does it mean to go viral?
A PR or marketing campaign is said to go viral when people are inspired to share the campaign via word or mouth or through their personal social accounts, and do so at scale. The term was popularised in the 2014 book Contagious by Jonah Berger, where he compared the way certain ideas and products capture the popular imagination to the rapidity with which a viral infection spreads. Essentially, if your campaign goes viral, you don’t need to pay to disseminate it — your audience will do that for you.
What are the characteristics of a viral PR campaign?
If we take a look at the many campaigns that went viral over the last decade or so, we can see that they have certain things in common.
- Simplicity — Viral campaigns are simple enough to grasp immediately and feel a connection to. The Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS went viral because it was exactly what it sounded like — celebrities pouring a bucket of icy water on themselves and encouraging others to do the same.
- Relatability — To go viral, a campaign must feel deeply personal to whoever is viewing it. The more relatable it feels, the more likely it is that the customer will be drawn to it and want to talk about it.
- Emotional appeal — It takes brains to design a viral PR campaign, but going viral rarely has anything to do with intellect or logic. Every campaign that has gone viral has touched some deep emotional chord, be it surprise, delight, nostalgia, or fear. For Example : The Dove Real Beauty campaign, for instance, spoke to every woman’s insecurity about not looking like the airbrushed models on billboards and encouraged them to celebrate the innate beauty that lies within them.
- Shareability — A viral campaign has that irresistible quality that you can’t help but tell your friends and family about. It could involve a product that’s highly unconventional, an unconventional use for an otherwise ordinary product, an unexpected new perspective, a hilarious visual, an unforgettable slogan, or anything else that excites the imagination. A case in point is the “Will It Blend?” series of videos, where Blendtec founder Tom Dickson demonstrated the power of the blender by blending all kinds of items, from a box of matches to foam footballs to an iPad.
How to maximise your chances of a viral PR campaign
We’d like to preface this by reiterating that there is no guarantee that any particular PR campaign will go viral. In addition, credibility is often a more trusted metric for PR success than virality — and building credibility takes time. You can craft your campaign in ways that are more likely to capture attention and spark conversation. Here are the best practices we suggest.
Have a strong PR brand in place
Viral campaigns can come from anywhere, including previously unknown brands. However, you are much likelier to garner attention if your audience already knows and trusts you. Herein lies the importance of working with a top-notch PR agency in India that can build your brand reputation and establish you as an authority in your arena.
Look into the data
What kinds of campaigns are most likely to pique your audience’s interest? Carefully study market trends and consumer behaviour patterns to tap into hidden motivations, unmet needs, and other sources of inspiration. Remember that your ultimate goal is to bring lasting value to your audience, regardless of how “buzzy” your campaign is.
Target the right journalists
Not all media outlets will be equally keen to promote your campaign. Your PR agency will help you connect with the most appropriate journalistic outlets, from major media houses to more niche publications.
Timing is key
The best way to go viral with PR? Choose a topic that everyone is already talking about. That way, you can ride off the existing momentum around the conversation and turn it in your favour. For instance, if there’s a sporting tournament that’s in the news and that your target audience is avidly following, your campaign could focus on an unmet need around that event or find a new way to help sports fans engage online as they follow the tournament.
Pay attention to the platform
Avoid choosing a platform simply because it has a large overall user base. Do the research on what platforms your target audience use the most. For instance, if you are marketing to Gen Z, TikTok would be a much better option than Facebook, whereas the opposite is true if you are targeting Gen X or boomers.
Craft memorable content
Invest in crafting a slogan that is easy to remember and repeat, and that perfectly captures the heart of your campaign. Also, make sure that the content format is ideally suited to the platform you’re disseminating it on. If you’re focusing on short videos of under 60 seconds, for instance, your ideal platforms would be YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, or TikTok.
Use striking visuals
The human brain responds most strongly to visual cues, and a quirky or eye-catching image or video can go a long way to boosting your campaign’s shareability. Experiment with different types of colours, camera angles, and animation styles, and A/B test your candidates to see which one appeals to your target audience the most.
Keep monitoring
Invest in media monitoring tools that show you how your campaign is performing day by day, and make tweaks as you go to ensure that it is reaching the right people. At the same time, we recommend focusing less on vanity metrics. When it comes to PR, having a lasting impact on your core target audience is almost always more important than getting likes and shares among a broad audience.
Final Thoughts
As seasoned PR professionals, we know how powerful and enduring the impact of a good PR campaign can be. While virality is certainly a desirable outcome, we at Star Squared PR do not chase virality. Instead, we focus on crafting authentic content that upholds your brand values and best conveys your story to appropriate media outlets. This approach, over time, builds the kind of solid reputation that all but guarantees success for each new campaign you put out. We’ve helped 400+ brands achieve success through this approach, and we’d love to do the same for you. Reach out to us today to know more.
