9 October 2025
Going viral. That’s the ultimate, isn’t it? Going viral.
Certainly, in the world of modern marketing.
Go viral and you’ve got it made.
Sounds good doesn’t it?
The thing is, it’s not true.
Of course, it's good at the time. The moment that a story goes viral and everybody seems to be talking about it.
But the day after, the week after, the month after, nobody’s talking about it.
That’s the real truth about viral stories. They don’t last long in the consciousness. They fade and die.
The thing is, you’ve got to keep it going, you’ve got to do it again, and again, and again.
It’s hard. No, I’ll go further – it’s impossible.
One, because you have to keep thinking up good ideas to go viral. Two, because going viral is just a matter of luck. No-one can predict what will or won’t go viral. It’s usually something daft or quirky.
The nearest any company gets to it is probably SpecSavers or Greggs. But even they have quiet periods.
Maybe SpecSavers and Greggs come up with ideas every week or even every day. We just don’t hear about the ‘flops’. We only hear about the good ones. The ones that ‘go viral’.
Other than those two companies, can you think of anyone else who has gone viral in the last six months?
So, what’s the alternative?
Well, this is the comforting bit:
The importance of going viral is totally overblown. It’s not important.
It’s nice if you get it once in a while, but there are many companies who are successful and have never had anything go slightly viral.
What they rely on instead is consistency.
“That’s a bit boring isn’t it?”
Also, it’s a bit old fashioned. A bit dated. Not of the ‘now’.
Maybe, but it works.
Consistency.
If you show up week in, week out, you will get seen. You will get your messages across. Your audience will listen.
And I’m not just saying show up and be dull, without anything interesting to say. You’ve got to give your customers (or potential customers) a bit of value. Something to take away and mull over.
You might not (and, probably, won’t) hear anything from them until they are ready. They won’t, necessarily ‘like’ or ‘comment’ or do anything else to show that they are interested in you.
But, they are listening and watching. And waiting.
You might have to show up 100 times or more until they are ready to even think about buy from you.
But do it consistently, do it well and it will work.
I promise.
