The paradox of “going viral”

How do you make something go viral?

You don’t. It just does.

The great irony of this type of promotion is you can’t plan it. If you try to go viral – whether it’s a video or a news story – chances are you’ll look like the annoying guy at a party who thinks he’s a comedian and has to be the center of attention. Not a pretty picture, is it?

I saw this video yesterday of a barking cat. It was posted 6 days ago and has been viewed 2, 688,983 times:

 

 

Did the person who posted this know this would be such a hit? Probably not. He/she just thought it was funny.

My takeaway from this is:

1. Find your peeps who think a barking cat is funny.

2. Give them a barking cat.

3. repeat.