The Dangers of going viral

Going viral gets a lot of hype on Instagram. There are, in fact, entire accounts dedicated to convincing us that once we get tens of thousands of followers (or even hundreds of thousands) we will be able to:

• Sell out our offer

• Earn 6 or 7 figures

• Quit our day jobs

• Live the life we’ve always dreamed

• And other outrageous claims.

Here’s the thing, everyone talks about the plus side of ‘going viral,’ but no one teaches us about the RIGHT way to go viral.

Let’s talk about the risks of going viral the wrong way, and then chat about how to prepare yourself so, in the instance, you do create that perfect piece of content, the ‘virality’ (not a real word, but I think it applies) ends up growing your business instead of hurting it.

Here are some of the traps businesses fall into when it comes to going viral:

1. Are not prepared for a quick increase in messages, comments, DMs, or orders.

2. Experience burnout from a rapid increase in non-core business responsibilities such as replying to messages, pressure to hire staff, requests for collaborations, and so many others.

3. Have an immediate need to change the business model to accommodate the number of new clients or customers (ex: from 1-on-1 consulting to pre-recorded courses, or a handmade to manufactured), rather than a manageable development over time.

4. The piece of content that goes viral does not relate to their niche and the rapid follower growth does not bring with it orders or requests to hire.

The good thing about the first three traps is that they are growing your business. You will very likely need to take a crash course on how to handle a much bigger business than you were used to which can feel very stressful, however your business is still growing.

The thing is, the fourth trap is one of, if not the most common, pitfalls of entrepreneurs trying to grow an audience online. The story usually happens when a small biz owner is posting content about their business, they become frustrated with how little their audience is buying or engaging with their brand, and they decide to include more personal content. They feel inspired to post a Reel about their hair transformation, holiday decorating, or anything that just might grab more attention.

Guess what… It works. That Reel happens to be just the right piece of content and they start to gain followers at an alarming rate. The problem is, those followers didn’t come to their business because they were interested in buying, they came because of that one piece of personal content. That ‘viral’ content isn’t going to help them sell their products or services because these are the WRONG followers.

The bottom line of going viral is that we just never know. We don’t have a crystal ball that will tell us which piece of content will resonate with an audience, that is posted at just the right time, using the perfect type of content, with the most effective caption, in the exact right way. The best thing to do is, if that happens for your business, to make that very special piece of content one that relates to your business and actually helps you grow.

So here is the BIG lesson of this blog, get yourself a content strategy. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, just sit down for a couple hours one day and answer these questions:

1. Why am I here? (hint: this is NOT to get followers) What are the problems I am solving for my audience and what sets me apart from others doing the same thing?

2. How can I give my followers real value in my content?

3. What content formats work best for my business? (ex: photos, videos, carousels, Stories, etc.)

4. How often can I reasonably post a week?

5. How, and how often, will I measure my content success? (ex: engagement rate, website taps, profile visits, etc.)

The last step is to look at your overall content, business, and personal growth goals and adjust your strategy in small ways over time based on what you learn. I know this isn’t sexy, but I can guarantee you will have a lot more success in actually growing a business then if you are hoping and praying for that one viral post.

**Important note: I do NOT recommend focusing on ‘going viral’ as an Instagram strategy. There is absolutely no formula; the main ‘strategy’ is a trial and error approach. Most small business owners don’t have the time to dedicate to creating the sheer volume of content needed to attempt this strategy and the hands-off outsourcing approach usually leads to a reduced connection between audience and brand. This reduced connection leads to less engagement which is in direct conflict with the possibility of ‘going viral.’