{"id":18719,"date":"2019-04-21T01:24:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T05:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promotelabs.com\/blog\/?p=18719"},"modified":"2020-07-31T17:07:08","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T21:07:08","slug":"reasons-why-viral-campaigns-bombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promotelabs.com\/blog\/reasons-why-viral-campaigns-bombing\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Surprising Reasons Why Your Viral Campaigns Are Bombing"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Learn how to avoid these 5 most common mistakes <\/strong><\/strong>that bomb a viral campaign \u2013 and<\/u> how to avoid them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’ve heard that viral marketing is really profitable,<\/strong> you’ve heard right<\/strong><\/u>.<\/strong> If you have heard…\u201cViral marketing is worthless!<\/em>\u201d It was from the marketers who have no idea what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Those marketers are doing it wrong…<\/strong>They get a trickle of traffic here. A tiny stream there. Nothing like the traffic floods and avalanches that other marketers boast about.Are those other marketers lying about their results?<\/strong><\/em>Nope. <\/strong>They\u2019ve just discovered the secrets for creating successful viral campaigns. They\u2019ve learned how to avoid the most common mistakes<\/strong> that tend to bomb their campaigns. And now you\u2019re about to learn five of these mistakes too \u2013 and<\/u> how to avoid them.Which of these mistakes are you making? <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"viral<\/span><\/p>\n

Mistake #1: Not Setting Goals<\/h2>\n

Before you even think about setting up a viral campaign<\/strong>, you need to decide what the point of the campaign is. In other words, what is your primary goal?<\/p>\n

Hint\u2026<\/em>\u201cI want my campaign to go viral<\/em>\u201d is not<\/u> a good goal.<\/p>\n

A good goal is one that\u2019s measurable and specific. <\/strong>For example, \u201cI want to increase my traffic by X%<\/em>\u201d or \u201cI want to add X subscribers to my mailing list<\/em>\u201d or \u201cI want to generate X number of sales.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Be Measurable. Be Specific.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, you may want \u201cmore traffic,\u201d but that\u2019s not a goal because it\u2019s not specific. After all, getting just ONE extra visitor to your site with a viral campaign could technically be considered \u201cmore traffic\u201d \u2026 but that\u2019s definitely not what you had in mind, right?<\/p>\n

So, be specific<\/strong>. Exactly how much traffic? Sales? Subscribers?<\/p>\n

Secondly, you need to choose something that\u2019s measurable<\/strong>, and the you need to be prepared to measure it.<\/p>\n

For instance, some people do viral campaigns to raise their brand awareness. That\u2019s absolutely fine\u2026 as long as you\u2019re actually measuring <\/strong>if the campaign is doing its job. This means doing market surveys before and after<\/strong> your campaign to see if you\u2019ve raised awareness in your niche.<\/p>\n

And finally, you need to choose just ONE primary goal. <\/strong>\u200b<\/strong>If you\u2019re trying to achieve a bunch of goals (subscribers, sales, branding, social media followers, etc.), then your campaign is going to bomb.<\/p>\n

Choose one goal, design your campaign around that one goal, and anything else you achieve is gravy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the next mistake\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Alienating<\/span><\/p>\n

MISTAKE #2: You\u2019re Alienating Your Audience<\/h2>\n

Sometimes marketers are so desperate to get their campaigns noticed that they push the envelope too far. They create an offensive<\/u> campaign that gets noticed all right\u2026 but it also alienates their audience.<\/p>\n

Look, polarizing people isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing \u2013 IF it\u2019s done right.<\/strong>For example, there is a certain group of folks who have very strong opinions about Chevy trucks versus Ford trucks. Let\u2019s imagine you have a marketer who\u2019s targeting those who love Chevy trucks. This marketer might start posting anti-Ford content and memes. For example, they might post a meme of a flatbed carrying a Ford with the caption, \u201cThere goes the garbage truck!<\/em>\u201dThis type of content is going to polarize the broader audience of truck owners. Chevy owners are going to love it (and be drawn to the marketer), while Ford owners are going to be seething mad (and vow to never do business with that marketer again).Same thing would happen in reverse if the marketer posted a meme of a flatbed carrying a Chevy with that same caption. Now Chevy owners would be spitting mad, while Ford lovers would be sharing it up and down Facebook.Same goes for any sort of major divide you can think of, from \u201ccats vs. dogs\u201d to \u201cYankees vs. Mets\u201d to \u201cCoke vs. Pepsi\u201d\u2026 and all the other topics where people have strong opinions.Now, just because polarization works doesn\u2019t mean you should immediately go for an offensive or otherwise shocking campaign<\/strong> just to get attention in a crowded niche.<\/p>\n

Truth is, many of the top viral campaign successes have tugged at POSITIVE<\/u> emotions<\/strong> rather than shock, offense, anger or other negative emotions.<\/p>\n

Go ahead, think about some of the big viral campaigns you remember. Even take a look at all the viral videos and memes crossing your Facebook feed (like those funny cat videos). The vast majority of them tug at your heartstrings, make you laugh, and otherwise make you feel good.<\/p>\n

If you want your content to go viral, then think about how you can make your audience feel good.<\/p>\n

Next\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

MISTAKE #3: You Did a Copycat Campaign<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a good idea to do some research to find out what types of content your audience seems to respond to the best. <\/p>\n

For example, do they like:<\/strong><\/p>\n