Yearly Archives: 2023

Virality. Many brands want to go viral, but it’s more of a mystery to create viral content in a digital age where the most unpredictable content can reach millions of views overnight. There is no secret recipe for the perfect viral video, and yet there are videos that receive millions of views every year. What’s the secret?

Unfortunately, virality is more of an art than a science. While there is no tried-and-true formula for virality, there are some elements that we consistently see — and knowing what that puts you one step closer to attaining that viral glory.

So let’s identify some of the commonalities that can make them internet-famous.

The Science of Virality

From the latest trending Twitter or TikTok moment to some of the oldest viral moments to come from YouTube, like “Keyboard Cat” or “Charlie Bit My Finger,” the science of a viral video is an ever-changing imperfect formula.

How do videos go viral?

While for YouTubers of today, it may take a lot of luck, some common elements of viral videos can set you up for success. According to HubSpot research in the 2022 Video Marketing Report, these are the most prevalent characteristics:

Title length: Videos had short titles (3 words or less)
Run-time: Videos had shorter run times (3 minutes or less).
Captures viewer’s attention in first few seconds: Videos featured the element of surprise (defined as seeing or hearing an expression of surprise, such as a scream or gasp) or interesting propositions breaking of norms.
Content is relatable in nature: Videos featured relatable circumstances, situations or subject matter that viewers of multiple different backgrounds could relate to.
Production quality: Videos displayed a musical elements reflecting high production value in resolution, props, and well-thoughtout ideation.
Talent: Many viral videos were composed of songs, dances, or performances that required practice and talent.

The Art of Viral Videos: Applying Data to Real-Life Scenarios

The Marketing Report also includes survey data marketing professionals about which factors are most effective for creating viral videos, the most commonly cited characteristics are as follows:

Short and concise title (3 words or less) and run-time (3 minutes or less)
Uses engaging story-telling format
Invokes pleasant emotions like laughing
Involves elements of irony or surprise
Allows participation to be made public
Is practically useful

You can translate this list to craft a unique, viral message representing your brand, and we’ll give you our take on how to tap into each.

And while some of these items (like a short title and run-time) are self-explanatory. But others (like story format, elements of irony and surprise, public indicators of participation, and practical use) may need to be more evident, so here are some tips for addressing these more complex factors.

1. Tell a Story

Since the beginning of language, humans have been programmed to consume stories. Stories influence our thinking and provide sensory experiences. Because of these responses, people are attracted to content in a conventional story format.

Ensure you have the traditional elements of a narrative (beginning, character, conflict, climax, and resolution) present in your video, and your viewers will identify it as a story.

You could also experiment with using well-known tropes in your video — for example, you can convey an idea through a common tale like a pirate story to simplify what it’s like to use a “Smooth CRM for Rough Seas” like HubSpot:

The ad narrates how giving our CRM platform to characters, such as pirates, would alter their stories and help them find the treasures they’re looking for. This kind of video is a cute, funny way of incorporating that theme while still focusing on the brand’s mission.

2. Be Ironic

Irony is among the most common factors among viral videos at an astounding 90% of surveyed videos. That makes it a high priority when crafting your viral message.

How do you incorporate irony? You do what the majority of the sample videos did — demonstrating the breaking of social norms.

Think: Are there any social norms associated with your brand or product? Can you break one of those relevant norms in an ironic yet on-brand way?

Let’s take a look at an example. Marvel published a brilliantly ironic video for the release of Thor in 2011. Called “Little Thor,” the video is a parody of the adorable Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial that starred a little boy dressed as Darth Vader trying to harness the power of the force.

In “Little Thor,” a girl dressed as Thor is going around the house, trying to use Thor’s hammer to wield great power on the dog (appropriately named Loki), a doll, and her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

As we watch this, it’s practically identical to the Volkswagen commercial, and we assume it’s probably another video in the same series. Ultimately, the father comes home, and she runs outside for one last attempt with her hammer. We assume that her father will sound the car’s alarm, just as the father did in the VW Super Bowl commercial, but instead — the car explodes! We then realize this commercial is not for Volkswagen but for the upcoming Thor movie.

This video is ironic on multiple levels. First, it’s an ironic parody of a popular ad. Second, the child dressed as Thor is a girl, which goes against gender stereotypes (and breaks a social norm). Third, the car explodes, which is ironic since the video is a spoof of a car commercial.

An ironic video like that is a humorous way to introduce people to your brand personality.

3. Surprise the Audience

Half of the viral videos contained an element of surprise.

Why do people like to be surprised? In a world where we view thousands of ads daily, people are tired of seeing the same things repeatedly. A surprise is a nice, refreshing change of pace to all that monotonous content.

So how do you incorporate elements of surprise while still making your video relevant to your company?

Your company should be the surprise.

More specifically, your company’s benefits should be the (pleasant, funny, cheerful, etc.) surprise element to your video.

Take the iconic Old Spice commercial, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” video campaign. It’s an excellent example of using a surprise element to exaggerate the benefits of their body wash in a fun, ironic way.

The ad features a towel-clad actor in a bathroom with the shower running behind him. He says that, while your man is unfortunately not him, your man could smell like him with Old Space body wash. Then suddenly, the shower backdrop is pulled right out from behind him to reveal that he is on a boat! This story continues with constantly changing wardrobe, props, and backgrounds.

Viewers are constantly surprised and excited to see what “the man your man could smell like” will do next.

While not every brand has the budget to do a video like Old Spice, think about how you can surprise your audience in small and big ways — it could help your video get shared.

4. Encourage Sharing

Berger said that people are more likely to participate if they can publicly indicate their participation. Why? Because people like to show off and feel like they’re in the know.

It’s easy for people who interact with you in person — a branded t-shirt, bumper sticker, or pen will do the job just fine. But it’s harder to provide public participation indicators for people who interact with you online.

Correction: it was harder to provide them before social media came around.

Nowadays, social sharing buttons are on practically every form of online content: YouTube videos, website articles, audio clips, etc. This allows people to share the content they enjoy with their friends, who can then share it with their friends, etc.

By incorporating social sharing buttons on your videos and wherever you end up hosting them, you meet your audience’s need to share their experience with others.

5. Think Practicality

The two things we all have in common are that we all have problems, and we’re all looking for solutions to fix them.

People always search for informational content, from headache remedies to looking up recipes for a last-minute potluck dinner. Chances are, your customers are also looking for information regarding your field or industry. And it’s in your best interest to provide it for them.

By creating a practical, useful video, you accomplish a few essential things:

You provide information to people who prefer to seek it on their own.
You can encourage those people to share that information with their networks (accommodating those seeking advice from their friends).
You establish yourself as a helpful tool and source of information, increasing trust (and hopefully loyalty).
If you have strategically placed calls to action in your video, you can convert viewers to the next stage of the buying journey.

Can your video provide practical information that your customers might be looking for? A good first step is to identify a problem your customers are having and provide information on how they can fix it.

Maybe you sell makeup, and you have a lot of customers who aren’t sure how and when to apply it — you could create a how-to video for tips and tricks to apply makeup. Or maybe your company provides eye exams, but many first-time children are scared of the visit — you could film a tour of your office, with a step-by-step explanation of the eye exam for mothers to show their children.

By providing this helpful information, you help people associate you with solutions — which come in handy when they want to buy something down the road.

Take Pillsbury’s video for “Crescent Mummy Dogs,” for example. It’s an instructional video that shows how you can make a fun, playful dish for your children at Halloween. Parents might be searching for a recipe like this for their child’s school party, and Pillsbury has provided the recipe and a how-to video to accompany it. This way, they make completing this recipe as easy as possible, so parents who try it love it and will be more likely to share it with their friends — and heck, maybe even buy Pillsbury dough to make the recipe.

Set Your Next Video Up for Success

There’s no magic formula for the perfect viral video — but there are some general guidelines to help get you there. By understanding the elements that make content successful, you can predict (and even create) the content that will become popular. It’ll allow you to create videos that are more likely to be widely distributed online strategically.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As we embark on the new year, marketing managers and project leads will determine their strategy for the first quarter based on the big question, “Are we in a recession?”.

Typically, a recession is considered two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP). The U.S. entered a recession in the Summer of 2022, but according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP actually grew slightly at 2.6% in Q3.

So while we can’t fully confirm that we’re going to be in one again, we know that your marketing team is looking to you for answers. In this article, we’ll provide industry insight into the current state of the economy and best practices for marketing leaders to better address employee concerns.

Are We in a Recession?: Marketing Leaders and Data Weigh In

To see what brands think about the current economy, we used Glimpse to survey 300+ U.S. marketers to ask them if they think we’ve entered a recession in detail.

1. Do you think the U.S. economy is in a recession?

Marketers overwhelmingly (78%) say the U.S. is currently in a recession. This comes as no surprise as many marketers are already adapting strategies in response to changing consumer spending habits. Let’s go through some of the sentiments behind their answers.

Reasons Why We Might Be in a Recession

Consumers are spending less and exercising more caution and discretion.

People are spending less because they don’t know how long the recession will last. As a result, they pay less for products or services. They’re focusing on using their money for sustainability over risks and are spending less on nonessential goods.

Inflation has made everything more expensive for marketers and consumers.

In plain terms, higher prices make it harder to make ends meet. Instead of shopping for the latest, innovative tech, many have to delay payments, purchases, and planning. After all, no one wants to spend money when gas and food are priced so high.

Marketers are struggling with their budgets — and 37% have already seen budget cuts.

Consumers aren’t spending as much, and in response, many businesses’ marketing budgets are shrinking. This limits the projects marketers can conduct and impacts how many and what type of marketing activities they can do. One survey respondent even said, “We’re needing to spend more to get similar results from six months ago.”

2. Do you expect the U.S. economy to be in a recession in the next three to six months?

Most (67%) marketers expect the recession to last over six months, and one-third expect it to last more than a year if we break down the stats even further.

One of the respondents left a resounding statement summarizing this prediction better than we could’ve put it ourselves. “Between COVID-19 uncertainty, high prices due to inflation, supply chain and venue availability issues, people are hesitant to plan large events for the next 12 months. I expect that will continue at least for another year or until there is some sense of stability in the market.”

The first year of the pandemic was the shortest recorded recession on record. Many wonder how our economic path may look, so we also asked how they think a recession now would compare.

Marketers expect the impact of the recession to be on par or worse than COVID.

One-third of marketers say the recession will have a more significant impact than COVID, while another-third expect the effects to be about the same. It’s an ongoing debate that only the Federal Reserve can speak to. Still, according to recent financial news, the trend for economic growth is projected to be negative in the first quarter of 2023.

Financial figureheads such as Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive of JP Morgan Chase, shared in an interview with CNBC that consumers and companies are in good shape, but that trend “may not last much longer as the economy slows down and inflation erodes consumer spending power.”

How to Navigate Uncertainty as a Marketing Manager or Project Lead

1. Take steps to recession-proof your business.

Learning how to recession-proof your organization takes time. It requires leaders to take a step back and think creatively about how they approach business. Some actions you can take include sales forecasting, fostering stronger business relationships, or diversifying your revenue streams.

2. Lead with transparency.

Your team may already be aware of economic uncertainties, but it’s your job to ensure they know how it could impact their jobs. Amidst uncertainty, the best thing you can do as a leader is to openly share information and manage expectations — so none of your employees panic or wind up blindsided

Business.com has even identified a link between transparency and morale, citing that increased transparency can improve employee morale, boost retention, and create a better bottom line for your company.

3. Reduce spending where you can, but not to your detriment.

Rethinking your budget is smart, but you still want to empower your marketing team to do impactful work. Look at your systems and processes and determine which ones add the most value to your team’s objectives. You might even identify redundancies and save time and spend.

4. Keep benefits that your employees rely on the most.

Cutting frivolous employee perks and benefits is an agreeable — if uncomfortable — course for leadership to take in times of uncertainty. The benefits to keep should be essential to your company’s compensation philosophy. And don’t take away too many, like healthcare or time off — you don’t want to risk losing talent because their priorities aren’t being met anymore.

Are we headed for a recession?

As marketers, we’re not experts in financial markets and shouldn’t be a source for investment, HR, and legal advice.

It’s not our call to make, but for 2023 — regardless if we’re officially in a recession — we advise that marketing managers and project leaders stay vigilant and expect the unexpected. Have a game plan to present your team and prepare for uncertainty.

Post Content

Back in September, we covered quiet quitting: Specifically, what it is, how the term got popular, and ways to address it.

Now, we’re hearing directly from marketing leaders and getting their thoughts on the phenomenon, courtesy of our Executive Leadership survey of 500+ leaders.

In this article, you’ll find out what they think about quiet quitters (Spoiler alert: It’s not pretty), why they think it’s happening and how they plan to address it.

What Marketing Leaders Know about Quiet Quitting

To start things off, most of the marketing leaders we surveyed (73%) say they’re familiar with the term “quiet quitting.”’ In fact, 57% agree that quiet quitting is happening to some degree within their organization.

To what extent? Well, marketing leaders think only 17% of their employees are quiet quitting. However, our consumer trends data suggests otherwise.

In our survey, 33% of full-time employees reported that they are quiet quitting their current job. Since this data is self-reported, this figure is likely higher.

Yet, 80% of leaders surveyed say they would know if an employee on their team was quiet quitting.

This suggests that two things could be happening: Employees are great at hiding the fact that they’re quiet quitting or leaders are a bit out of touch with their employees.

Regardless of where the true number lies, 57% of marketing leaders are concerned about this phenomenon and 66% have explicitly discussed how to address it with their leadership team.

What Marketing Leaders Think about Quiet Quitters

It’s fair to say that marketers leaders aren’t fond of quiet quitting – 77% of those surveyed say it’s “unacceptable.”

Despite studies suggesting that quiet quitting is a reaction to bad management, that’s now how most marketing leaders see it.

64% of those surveyed believe quiet quitting is a reflection of poor work ethic, while one-third of respondents view it as setting healthy boundaries.

When asked why they believe employees engage in quiet quitting, 39% of respondents placed the blame on employees and say it’s due to a lack of accountability.

38% said employees see no benefit in going above and beyond at work.
36% said burnout.
34% said employees are unhappy with the workplace culture.
32% said lack of work-life balance.

Our Consumer Trends survey does suggest that burnout and workplace culture play a major role in job satisfaction.

The report found that of the 29% of consumers who are considering leaving their current job, 25% say the reason is burnout and 20% say they’re not happy with the workplace culture.

Now that we know how marketers leaders view both quiet quitting and those who engage in it, let’s cover what they plan to do about it.

How Marketing Leaders Plan to Address Quiet Quitting

Although most marketing leaders believe quiet quitting is a reflection of the employee rather than the employer, 77% admit that it’s their responsibility to prevent it.

Where do you start? Well, 73% believe the determining factor in an employee’s desire to quiet quit is their relationship with their supervisor.

This theory was supported by a Harvard Business Review workplace study, which found that managers who were successful in managing employee and business needs had the highest percentage of employees willing to go the extra mile for the company.

In addition, 37% of company leaders believe motivating employees with rewards is a way to prevent quiet quitting.

Other measures included:

Employee recognition
Work-life balance
Mental health and wellness support
Accountability
Work culture improvement
Career growth opportunity
Remote work
Management training

Based on responses from both employees and leaders, it’s clear there’s a disconnect regarding who’s to blame for quiet quitting along with how common it is.

Leaders are looking at employees and vice versa. The one area there is some overlap is when it comes to addressing it.

Marketing leaders agree that they should take an active role in preventing it and their solutions seem to align with what employees are looking for.

It’s unclear how this phenomenon will evolve but one thing’s for sure: Leaders will have to take accountability if they want to prevent this issue they deem so unacceptable.

Twitter has been going through many changes over the last few months, prompting some brands and marketers to wonder if they would consider leveraging other platforms.

Here are some alternatives if you want a backup in case Twitter changes too much or is no longer the place for your brand. Keep in mind that by including this list of alternatives, we aren’t suggesting that marketers should abandon or majorly pivot a Twitter strategy that works for them. We are merely providing similar platform options for those preparing for potential future pivots.

Top 3 Best Twitter Alternatives

These alternative social media have similar features to Twitter.

1. Mastodon

Launched in March 2016, Mastodon has about 2.5 million monthly users. Like Twitter, the platform allows users to post and follow their favorite people and organizations and like and repost content. However, there is one major difference between Twitter and Mastodon. While Twitter is a single platform, Mastodon is a “federation” comprised of interconnected, independently operated servers.

These interconnected servers are called the “fediverse,” and each server has its own rules. As a user, you can interact with users from other serves outside your own, but the rules of the server you’re assigned determine what you can do. If you don’t like your server, you can switch to a different one, but then you have to abide by the rules of your new server. However, you can keep the relationships and connections you made in your original server as you move to a new one.

Mastodon emphasizes community, therefore marketers may have a difficult time finding their footing for their business in fediverse.

Pro Tip: If you’re interested in pivoting, I’d suggest investing in influencer marketing to connect with your target audience on Mastodon.

2. Hive Social

Hive Social was launched in 2019 and has about 2 million users. The mobile-only app looks similar to Twitter, allowing users to scroll through the platform and “heart” and repost content. Users can also use hashtags to find desired content or audiences. But that’s about where the similarities stop.

Unlike Twitter, Hive boasts a much simpler chronological feed — rather than one that is algorithm-based. It also doesn’t have a character limit, allowing much longer posts that resemble Tumblr posts.

And finally, Hive Social is much more customizable than Twitter. Users can choose background colors for their profile, and add their pronouns and astrological signs. One unique customization feature that stands out is the ability to sync your Apple Music or Spotify account and play a song or two for users visiting your profile.

For now, Hive Social doesn’t have a “verify” feature like Twitter, which can pose a problem for brands and content creators concerned about users impersonating them.

Pro Tip: Should you decide to pivot to Hive Social, you should be aware that the app is only run by three people who are still working out different bugs as more people flock to the app. One bug is the app’s tendency to crash since the massive influx of users.

3. Cohost

According to its website, cohost is a web-only social media platform with over 111,000 users. The platform was launched in February 2022 and is invite-only for now.

Like Twitter, Cohost allows users to follow other users and share, like, and post comments under posts. However, users cannot publicly see a post’s likes or see who or how many people follow another user.

The platform also doesn’t allow ads, doesn’t have a character limit, and it doesn’t have a recommendation algorithm — so posts appear in chronological order and can be pretty lengthy.

Pro Tip: Cohost also stands out because multiple people can co-own a single page — a great feature for brands and content creators doing collaborative projects.

Twitter Alternatives for Building Community

If you’re looking for a social media platform that allows you to build a community around your brand, the following platforms are worth looking into.

4. Reddit

The longest-running app featured in this blog, Reddit was founded in 2005 and has 430 million monthly active users. Reddit is a social sharing site split into thousands of smaller communities called “subreddits.” Each subreddit is dedicated to a particular topic. Most subreddits have their own set of community rules users are expected to follow.

Users can submit links, pictures, videos, questions, and information for other users to vote on. The more likes a post gets, the more visible it becomes. The more downvotes a post gets, the less visible it becomes.

Marketers can host Q&A forums called Reddit AMA’s (Ask Me Anything) to engage with their audience and answer questions about a product or service. Marketers can also be active in subreddits that correspond with the niche.

Pro Tip: Reddit also has Reddit Ads feature that marketers can use to stand out on the website, measure the success of their content, and connect with their target audience.

5. Discord

Discord is a voice and chat platform launched in May 2015, and it now has over 150 million monthly users. Users are able to start and join different servers within the platform to discuss niche topics or connect with their favorite creators.

Pro Tip: The platform doesn’t have any native advertising tools, but it’s a great avenue for brands to discuss with their audience about shared topics of interest in real time.

6. Tumblr

Microblogging website Tumblr was launched back in February 2007 and now boasts 135 million monthly active users. Tumblr allows users to share texts, photos, videos, quotes, music, and more in an infinitely scrolling blog format. The platform seems to be experiencing a resurgence in popularity. In fact, between October 4, 2022, and November 17, 2022, there were over 1 million tweets about Tumblr.

However, if marketers are interested in leveraging the platform, it’s important to note the platform appeals to younger and more alternative crowds. About 2 out of 5 users on Tumblr are between the ages of 18-25 and most media on the platform appeals to millennials and Gen Z.

Pro Tip: Fandom content as well as niche products and clothing lines typically do well on the platform.

Twitter Alternatives for Audio Content

One of Twitter’s most popular features is Twitter Spaces, which allows users to host and participate in live audio conversations. Here are some social media platforms that have similar features.

7. Clubhouse

Launched in April 2020, Clubhouse skyrocketed in popularity at the start of the pandemic when many people were stuck at home and looking for community. The audio-chat app attracted notable public figures and creatives like Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Mark Zuckerburg, Ashton Kutcher, and Malcolm Gladwell. They would use the platform to connect with fans and promote their work.

While the app has since waned in popularity as other platforms dabble into audio chats, Clubhouse still boasts 10 million weekly users as of mid-2022 — meaning there is still a sizable audience to tap into on the app.

Pro Tip: Marketers can use Clubhouse to have live conversations, Q&As, and panel discussions with their followers.

Twitter Alternatives for Short-Form Content

Twitter is mostly a micro-blogging and text-based platform, but it’s common for marketers, brands, and content creators to post short-form video content. Here are some alternative platforms that prioritize short-form video content.

8. IG Reels

Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, all of whom interact with IG Reels. Instagram Reels was launched in August 2020 to compete with TikTok. Videos on IG Reels can be up to 90 seconds long, and users can add music, viral sounds, and various special effects and filters to their videos.

Pro Tip: Users can earn money from Reels via the Instagram Reels Play Bonus program. This program is invite-only and allows creators to earn money based on the reel’s performance, the number of reels produced, and the creation of themed reels.

9. YouTube Shorts

Launched in September 2020 to compete with TikTok, YouTube Shorts is the short-form video section of YouTube that boasts vertical videos that are 60 seconds long or less. As of June 2022, YouTube Shorts has amassed 1.5 billion monthly active users and over 30 billion daily views from global users.

Another incentive to pivot toward YouTube Shorts is its future monetization program that will launch in 2023. Starting in early 2023, creators can apply to the YouTube Partner Program by meeting a threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90s days. Both current and future YouTube Partner Members will also be eligible for revenue sharing on Shorts, according to YouTube.

Pro Tip: Marketers can tease long-form content like longer videos and podcasts by condensing compelling snippets into YouTube Shorts.

10. IG Reels

Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, all of whom interact with IG Reels. Instagram Reels was launched in August 2020 to compete with TikTok. Videos on IG Reels can be up to 90 seconds long, and users can add music, viral sounds, and various special effects and filters to their videos.

Pro Tip: Users can earn money from Reels via the Instagram Reels Play Bonus program. This program is invite-only and allows creators to earn money based on the reel’s performance, the number of reels produced, and the creation of themed reels.

11. TikTok

With 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok was launched in 2016 and propelled short-form videos into mainstream popularity at the start of the pandemic. Though there are several ways to monetize content on TikTok and paid ads are available, brands and marketers often have to leverage influencer marketing on the platform to connect with their target audience.

The reason is that many of TikTok’s users are younger and fall into the Gen Z demographic, and Gen Z is less keen on content from brands and more interested in content from people.

Pro Tip: TikTok videos can also be repurposed into Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to give them a second life in front of a wider audience.

If your current Twitter strategy has remained successful throughout all the platform’s changes, you likely won’t need to look into any alternatives. However, if you’re looking for a new platform to pivot to in the event Twitter changes too much for your brand, you now have 11 new platforms to check out.