I’ve been thinking – even cat videos go viral. How do I make my product a viral phenomenon?

It seems a little weird that cat videos go viral – I just saw one with seventeen million views of a kitten choosing a dog as her mom. Social media can make stars of people or their pets overnight. I think this is the allure of social media as a promotional tool.

But can I turn my product into a sensation as well? Maybe. But what’s going on here? Is it about the social media platforms or something else? How does viral sharing happen? And is this a new phenomenon? I don’t think it is.

Before the age of social media, the internet, and personal computers, things still went viral. Sometimes they even covered the globe – albeit much slower. The concept is the same though. Fashion fads, dance crazes, new music, and gossip have always been quickly passed from one person to the next. Why?

It’s human psychology. Some people like the prestige of being in the know. They like to introduce new things and ideas to others. They like being perceived as go-to people – as experts up on the latest news. Other people like to be helpful and share solutions to problems. Boring, non-useful things are rarely shared. And of course, bad news is more likely to be shared than good. Think bloopers or stupid human tricks.

But the good news is that I don’t need my product to be shared with the entire world. I just need, and want, it to be shared between the members in my target market. So, I need to ask myself the following:

  1. What must I do to create a product that solves a customer problem that they can’t wait to share with others?   
  2. How do I learn what to say about the product that makes it so they can’t wait to buy it?
  3. How do I make sure that the people who like to be experts can easily share my message?

And how do I find the answers to these questions? I think that the answer to that question is always the same.

  1. Step 1: know who your customer is
  2. Step 2: open communication (not publication) channels with your customer
  3. Step 3: encourage your customer to talk to you because you ask good questions

What do you think?

Until tomorrow, GUNG Ho friends!