Startup Brand Social Strategy: How to Make Innovation Viral

Going viral doesn’t happen by accident. Sure, there are the one-hit wonders of Tiktok and legends of Vine (rip), but achieving consistent virality isn’t accidental; it’s intentional. In today’s digital age, social media is an indispensable tool for businesses, especially start-ups, to grow a broader audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales. Crafting viral content, as daunting a task as it may seem, can be a game-changer for your innovative idea and potentially attract thousands, if not millions, of eyes to your brand in a short time. You need a well-thought-out strategy and creative approach to make your startup stand out in the crowded social media landscape. Let’s explore effective strategies to create viral social media content that will propel your start-up to new heights.

1. Understand Your Audience

The foundation of any successful social media strategy is knowing your target audience inside and out. Most quantifiable data will be available through the insights and analytics reports native to the respective platforms. Things like age, gender, watch time, views, country of origin, and city of origin will be reported regularly by the app.

When it comes to qualitative data, you must conduct thorough research to identify their preferences, interests, and pain points. You should correlate the qualitative with the quantitative data to unearth insights that will lead to consistent growth and results. 

2. Relatable Storytelling

It is human nature to be drawn to the things we relate to. Engage your audience by weaving compelling narratives that showcase the existing problem and the solution your business brings. No one cares about your start-up’s journey, mission, or the people behind it.

• As cold and calculated as that sounds, the average watch time per video on Tiktok is only about 3 seconds. How can your journey, mission,
• or the people surrounding you be summarized and well-represented in 3 seconds?
• They can’t, however; the problem you solve can.

Once you can relate to your audience about a common problem you both have that you have the solution to – then you can share anecdotes, customer success stories, and case studies demonstrating the impact your products or services have made. Authentic and relatable storytelling creates emotional connections, fostering loyalty and encouraging sharing.

3. Curate Eye-Catching Content

Content is king, and video is mandatory. It doesn’t matter what camera you use if you edit in the app or pay a studio to produce content. Just use video; it’s a powerful tool that captures the most attention in the fast-paced world of social media. It also gives the most immediate data. Want to know your watch time on your last reel or TikTok? It’s quicker to check that than how effective your digital graphic ad was on the same platform. Now that doesn’t mean to neglect other mediums; not all platforms are catered for video, so invest time creating high-quality images, videos, infographics, and GIFs that reflect your brand’s identity, and post the proper content on the platforms where your audience lives. Create content that is consistent, stimulating, memorable, and shareable.

Need inspiration? Create two groups of competitors, aspirational and contemporary. What are your immediate competitors doing? What can you learn from their successes and failures? What are the companies you aspire to be doing? What can you implement at your scale?

4. Showcase Your Innovation

As an innovative startup, you have a unique value proposition. Leverage what differentiates you into an advantage by showcasing how your products, services, or ideas solve your audience’s problems. In congested markets, there may be many solutions. Why is your’s the best? Is your product the most optimal? Most efficient? Is the technology proprietary and the idea groundbreaking? Whatever niche you are in, welcome competition and be open to solving problems without assuming constraints.

A great company to take inspiration from is Scrub Daddy. They innovated the ordinary dish sponge with proprietary technology and then used great branding and content creation to build a community that has expanded past their niche. They now have expanded to cleaning products and have started making content that puts a Scrub Daddy spin on TikTok trends and viral sounds, all while promoting their brand, reputation, and line of products to people of all ages and demographics. I hate doing dishes. I dont even own a Scrub Daddy, but I follow them on TikTok –  and every time I walk past one in the supermarket, I want to throw it in my cart because of their branding and content. 

5. Keep it Concise and Engaging

Start videos with a hook; as I said, the average watch time per video on TikTok is only about 3 seconds. Content should start engaging and then be followed with messaging. Encourage interaction with your content by posing questions, running polls, or hosting contests. User-generated content (UGC) campaigns can also be incredibly powerful for increasing engagement and spreading your message. TikTok even allows you to embed users’ comments in new videos in a way to reconnect with engaged audiences. Create content that is easy to share so that users can forward it to their friends and followers.

6. Monitor and Analyze Performance

In a full circle, come to Jesus, eureka moment number 6 leads right into number 1. Use data to monitor and analyze your performance and learn more about your audience. Tracking the performance of your social media content is made easy by using the aforementioned analytics tools native to each platform. Using this data and critical thinking, you can understand what type of content resonates best with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. Continuously learn from your successes and failures to refine your approach and content. Identify what works and what doesn’t. Use these insights to refine your strategy continually and improve your content’s chances of going viral.

Time To Soar

Creating viral social media content for your innovative start-up requires a combination of creativity, audience understanding, and data-driven analysis. By telling authentic stories, leveraging innovative solutions, and engaging your audience, you can significantly increase your chances of going viral. Remember to stay consistent with your brand identity and monitor the impact of your efforts. With dedication and perseverance, your start-up can soar to new heights and achieve social media success.