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Posted: Tue 29th Sep 2026
7 min read
What does it really mean to go viral? The good, the bad, the downright ugly, and how to make sure that if you do achieve this feat, it actually helps your business.
It might not be what you think. When we think of viral content, we tend to think of posts getting millions of views, and while that is viral, it's not the only definition.
Most people, myself included, define viral as something significantly over and above your expected reach. This content usually scales quickly and attracts shares and other forms of engagement that signal to the platform that the content is interesting.
When this happens, you’re likely to get an organic platform push too, which can help sustain or increase your growth and exposure with non-followers. As per pandemics, this kind of mechanism feeds itself, spreading your content far and wide with no further effort on your part.
If the right piece of content goes viral, sharing a theme aligned with your core values, then the upside can be incredible.
Most of "your people" – potential customers and those who believe similar things to you see your content, hopefully follow you, and become fans for life.
From here, you can capitalise on the extra eyeballs, moving followers onto a mailing list where you could create a nurture sequence or even a specific "viral offer" that gets them into your business as a customer, not just a fan.
If the viral content is about your product, then even better, they’re already briefed and trained on what you do, so by the time you know about them, they’ll (hopefully) be primed to buy!
It’s always tempting to jump on a trend that has caused others to go viral. A viral post strokes our ego, and some days we need that.
BUT jump on a trend that is at odds with your product, your business, your values, or your customers, and you might get millions of views, but it won’t be from the right people.
When I say the right people, I mean anyone even vaguely interested in your actual business and what you do. And more than that, it could even alienate your actual customers!
When you find yourself on the wrong side of a viral moment, the admin side can be vast too – from strange, unpleasant and inappropriate comments, random followers, random DMs, and plenty more besides. These moments are not only distracting and time-wasting but can damage your business in serious ways.
In my book, Big Brand Marketing, I had the privilege of speaking to Gavin Beard of Norwich City Football Club. Gavin and his team were behind the viral video You Are Not Alone.
This was created to support World Mental Health Day in 2023, featured members of staff, was created on a small budget, and had a huge impact, with the campaign receiving over 350 million views.
It aligned perfectly on all levels, and it did a lot of good, but there was a huge increase in workload with people asking to use the video in different ways, and other charities and organisations wanting to work with the club because of the great work it has done.
The full case study starts on page 11 of Big Brand Marketing.
For most of us, our businesses don’t need millions of customers. What we do need is genuine people who really do want to buy from us, ideally on a repeat basis.
We want to grow a community, provide a great service or product, and develop in the right way aligned with our beliefs. For most of us, the number of people we need to make this goal a reality is much smaller than a million, yet when we focus solely on going viral, we look to get the attention of millions.
Yes, if you do it right, some of these could become customers, but only if you do it right.
But what you could do instead is get super specific on your target audience and ensure that your content speaks directly to them. You might go viral if it hits the right notes, but what it will do is speak to those who buy your products and pay your bills… which feels like a much bigger win to me than an ego boost.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t aim for growth on social media; quite the opposite, really. What we need to aim for is the right growth.
We do this through consistency, through trying and testing and iterating on our ideas, through collaborating with aligned businesses, customers and individuals, and other strategies that get our content in front of the right people, at the right time.
The growth could well be slower than a spike achieved from a viral moment, but it could be a lot more sustainable and loyal too.
Honestly, it’s to focus on your business, customers, and growing the right way.
When we get seduced by reach and likes and views, it makes us feel like we’re winning at social media, but if it’s not adding to our business in a way that actually supports our business growth and just strokes our ego, is it really growth at all?
I’d argue it isn’t.
