When social media marketers launch a Facebook campaign they want their campaigns to become viral, they want their fans to share the message among their own social networks; however, as we know not every fb campaign becomes viral. A Facebook social media campaign turns viral when in its critical point fans advocate for the brand and the message and spread the word among other fans.

Social media Facebook marketers should consider what factors made a marketing campaign viral-

First, what kinds of people are exposed to the campaign? It is important to get the message out to the right influencers at the right time. As a rule of thumb only 20% of the fans of a certain group are responsible for spreading the word about the group or brand.

Second, the message itself must be relevant to the interests of the fans that are exposed to the campaign. If the message of the Facebook campaign does not fulfill the expectations or needs of the audience, fans are not going to share or engage in the message.

Third, the environment, the message and the people that share the message must do it in the right context where people are willing to participate and share. In the right environment people are willing to participate. It is important that the message plays in harmony with the environment.

In consequence a viral Facebook Social Media campaign becomes successful if it gets to the right people at the right time with the right message, in the right environment. When those factors work together there are big possibilities that your Facebook campaign can become viral and that you can successfully survive the critical point which many campaigns do not pass. Good Luck on going viral! 

I attended Social Media Week in Chicago last September 2011 and after listening to diverse panelists I came up with the following conclusions pertaining to this growing field:

1. Participation in Social Media platforms is not the ultimate step in reaching the public; Social Media is just another communication channel, which helps us to establish a better human connection between our brands and our customers.

2. In Social Media, organizations do not have full control over conversations to be had; they can only control the message. The responses or the reactions of the people who read them are out of the social marketer’s grasp of control.  Thus, in a Social Media platform a brand does not control the full conversation, the consumers do, they control what information they received from the brand. The brand needs to be sure that their intended message accurately portrays what they are trying to convey.

3. Social Media is like the tried and true “word of mouth”, only amplified times over with the current technology. For example, one post can now reach a global audience influencing other cultures and countries. The different social media platforms enhance the social human interaction between our brand and our customers, making positioning so important! Take for instance a picture uploaded and commented on by a customer on Facebook is more likely to have an impact or response from fans of a particular community than a picture uploaded by the same brand on its official website…why…because social media is the new face of marketing when it enables continuing conversation between brands and their customers.

4. When brands use social media they should encourage a conversation between themselves and their fans. One way to draw in fans is by providing them with a compelling story. Fans do not want to be inundated with sketchy messages like, “buy me”; Brands should create a healthy virtual environment to enhance customers to share their experiences with them. Therefore, in social media it is important to cultivate a relationship in which the customer feels their opinion matters and is being heard. Otherwise why would a fan continue to invest time if their personal gain is not being felt?

Do you have any other thoughts about Social Media? Let me know!