How These 5 Brands Went Viral With Social Media Marketing

 

Social media presents a powerful opportunity for companies to quickly grow their brand. The key is understanding how to create captivating content that gets shared rapidly online. This article analyzes real social media case studies and examples of brands that went viral.

An effective social media campaign can produce incredible results. By leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, companies can connect with millions of potential customers. Crafting the right message and content strategy is critical.

Let's explore how these 5 major companies created viral social media campaigns that accelerated their growth exponentially.

1. The Ice Bucket Challenge - ALS Association

The ALS Association's Ice Bucket Challenge became a global phenomenon in 2014, raising over $115 million. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and LeBron James filmed themselves getting doused with ice water and challenged others to do the same or donate to ALS research.

● Over 17 million videos were uploaded and shared.

● Received $19 million in donations within the first 2 weeks.

● 6.5 million hashtag mentions on various platforms.

This campaign spread organically by encouraging social sharing. It activated influencers and ignited a movement for their cause.

2. Like My Status - Volkswagen Brazil

Volkswagen Brazil wanted to announce their new Novo Polo model release on Facebook. They created a campaign called "Like My Status" that only revealed images of the new car as more users liked the Facebook status update.

● Status update got 140,000 likes in 2 days, unveiling the car.

● Earned engagement was 31 times higher than traditional Facebook advertising.

● Video views of the car release exceeded 2 million.

This creative concept leveraged Facebook's core mechanic of liking to generate anticipation and buzz around the product reveal.

3. Share a Coke - Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola printed popular names on their bottles and cans under the "Share a Coke" campaign, encouraging social sharing and personalization.

● 230+ name variations printed.

● The campaign was viewed over 600 million times worldwide.

● U.S. Coca-Cola consumption grew 2% after falling for a decade.

The customization made the experience interactive and sharable, resulting in over 250,000 social media mentions.

4.Tweet-a-Coffee - Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts launched an in-store Twitter promotion that gave customers a free coffee for tweeting their purchase using a campaign hashtag.

● Earned media value estimated at $2.7 million. *campaign hashtag used over 4,700 times.

● The campaign reached nearly 3 million Twitter users.

Dunkin' harnessed the power of user-generated content. The offer incentivized sharing their branded hashtag which expanded awareness.

5. Will It Blend? - Blendtec

Blendtec manufactures blenders and created a YouTube series that showed their blenders pulverizing unexpected objects like iPhones and golf balls.

● Videos got over 200 million views.

● Sales increased 700% within 2 years.

● Brand awareness jumped from 5% to 80%.

These viral videos showcased Blendtec's product quality in an entertaining way that compelled sharing.

Social media provides invaluable opportunities to connect with consumers. All it takes is creative thinking, quality content, and an understanding of what motivates sharing online. These real-world examples demonstrate the immense growth possible with viral campaigns.

What ideas do you have to launch your brand to social media fame?