Just Be Yourself
“How can we make this go viral?”
We have clients who ask us all the time, and the short answer is with a whole lot of luck and even more prayer, but then we have a question in response. “Why would you want to?” The real follow up question is what are you hoping to achieve by becoming some sort of overnight social media sensation?
The truth is that the folks who want to go viral think that one explosive post is an automatic road to riches, or a surefire way to get their business noticed. It’s not. Yes there are things that you can do to capitalize on trends and improve your social media traction, but effective social media is about so much more than that.
Going viral means that you’re part of the conversation…but only in a small corner of the internet, and to steal from Andy Warhol, only for about 15 minutes. Yes, going viral might get you noticed, but it’s a flash in the pan that flames out quickly.
Trends can be helpful, but if you really want to make an impression for your business on social media then just be yourself!
Trends, AI, and Clickbait
It’s a common misconception that you can’t be successful on social media without a viral moment. This isn’t new to social media - the old fashioned advertising world believed that success stemmed from an ad that got everybody talking, or an experience that was so memorable that it captured public attention. Years later we still remember some of those timeless product commercials and slogans.
Yet at the time, there was a significantly less volume of content, and ultimately less competition. You remembered those commercials because there were only a few TV channels and no PVR, so advertisers had your attention. Social media isn’t like that.
Social media is built to capitalize on fleeing attention spans. Media companies have figured out how to create clickbait nonsense in a desperate attempt for you to click on garbage and junk links in order to generate ad revenue. AI continues to evolve, now creating fake video clips of real people speaking fake quotes (or even real quotes they themselves never said), or completely fake people speaking real quotes.
All of it is noise designed intentionally to permeate our constantly shrinking attention spans. These companies know how easily distracted we can be, and figure that if we only have a moment to pay attention to something then we should be using that moment on them, right?
But have you noticed the reverse trend that’s happening at the same time?
Authenticity cuts through the noise
When there’s a lot of noise going on from loud and flashy fake content, it’s authenticity that’s cutting through that wall of sound. Audiences are quickly growing tired of that phony AI content, especially when it’s spewing incorrect information, or even worse hate speech. The level of trust that most savvy internet users have in AI is extremely low.
What people DO notice are the humans, as they’re the ones who really stand out. The social media posts that get lasting attention aren’t overly perfect, or overly polished, and they don’t feature runway models or movie studio lighting. They’re the real, authentic posts that business owners and thought leaders put out to educate and engage their audience on a regular basis.
Most will never get millions of views, but showing up consistently as an authentic and respected presence builds that steady, devoted following.
You don’t need to be an internet celebrity to grow your business online.
You don’t need studio lighting every time to shine.
You don’t need to turn every single moment into a mic drop.
What you do need to do is show up consistently, authentically, to inform, engage, and educate your audience, and build meaningful connections that you can then take off social media and into your business.
We’re here to help, but not in a way that makes you into some fake-sounding AI avatar. We’re your strategic partner when it comes to social media, and we’re here to help YOU look, sound, and ultimately be your best. Contact us today to learn more.