What does going viral actually mean?

Nowadays, everyone wants their content to go viral, but what does that mean in real terms? 

We're going to use this Reel that went 'viral'-ish as an example.

Most social media platforms define going viral as getting 5 million views on a video in a week, mainly due to it being shared by the audience and spread to more people (like a virus, get it?!), but it can also be shown to more people by using popular trending sounds and hashtags. 

As we all know, the algorithm and posting rules change (seemingly weekly at this point), so it's always a good idea to stay up to date on current guidelines for maximum views. It's nearly impossible to predict if a video will go viral. Is it the content itself or the circumstance? Are you posting at the optimal time when your audience will be online or jumping on a new trend early on? Are you hitting all the markers of a good piece of content? Hook, friction, foreshadowing, conclusion/payoff.

Vanity metrics are the data sets like follower count and number of likes on posts, essentially the "front end" data that's immediately visible, providing the audience with social proof that your content is good. But for a while, platforms have been prioritising "back end" data, AKA data that isn't immediately visible to the audience. This tends to mean content with more shares, or if the video is watched all the way through, as these are seen as social endorsements, your content is so good your audience has to share it with their friends.

Followers VS non-followers 

Excuse us while we talk about data, but numbers are important.

When we first posted the Reel on Instagram, it performed adequately, but suddenly (and randomly), we saw a quick increase in numbers.

As we look at the data today, we're on:

1.4 million views - great

14,246 likes - not awful

3,347 saves - nice

85 comments - not too bad

105 follows - eh

The watch-to-like ratio is considered low, as 1 like for every 10 views is ideal. However, it's not all doom and gloom. For a long time, we had a 50% re-watch rate; now, we're down to about 40 - not bad. And we've reached 789,852 accounts, 99.9% of which were non-followers. Have we seen any real-life actions from this? Not really. Have we seen a boost on our other content? Yes. Has it helped us understand our own socials better? Yes.

Why did this video go 'viral'? It was an office meme with a viral sound posted in May, but it's still getting likes and views, so it's fair to assume the algorithm is still pushing it and showing up on people's Instagram feeds. Something that must not be underestimated is the fact that it was very shareable and relatable content. We've seen it being shared a lot on stories, and almost every comment is someone tagging their friend. Although we can't see the actual number of shares (GDPR) - we know that the reach of this post is due to sharing.

Technically, according to the rules of going viral, we didn't get 5 million views in a week. But this post is still going.

However gratifying it is to get the likes and the love, we're not seeing the real-life results others may expect. As an agency that works in this field, we know nothing magical will happen overnight. We also know that we must maximise the success of this post. For us, that looks like social proof and learning that we can apply to our clients.

So, we suppose this blog is simply here to give you an insight into some real-life numbers and what it means to 'go viral' -ish. Our key takeaway from this is something we tell all our clients: It's not always about going viral. It's nice when you do, but you'll see more valuable results from a proper strategy that speaks to your target audience and grows them into a community.