What I Learned From Going Viral
A few weeks ago my family and I went to a brand new park in our city. It was huge and incredible and something special. A local copany had poured a ton of money (as in 6+ million dollars) into making the park accessible for children of all abilities. Kids in wheelchairs, kids with sensory anomilies, kids who struggles with mobility or sight… anyone and everyone can play at this park.
I’d heard about the park on the radio, but wanted to show people how cool it was and all it had to offer. So, I took a few picturs and posted them on my Facebook page. And then the notifications started coming in. Links, comments and shares. So many shares… and tags! People I knew and people I’d never met were interacting with my post. People from my hometown and people from a few hours away wondering what else there was to do in La Crosse so they could fill a full day or weekend if they made the drive. Everyone was interested in this park and shouting it out to the world via my social media post.
I posted the pictures on June 19th, 2021 and as this blog post goes live on July 7th, 2021, it has 161 likes/reactions, 184 comments and 1.1K shares.
For days afterward, I’d update my husband and we’d laugh with disbelief. 76 shares. 321 shares. 700 shares. Over 1,000 shares. I posted these pictures on my personal page which doesn’t have anlaytics, so there’s no way for me to tell you how many people this post reached, but I can tell you it was A LOT. If I had to estimate, the reach would be in the tens of thousands range.
Now please don’t think what follows in this blog post is meant to take anything away from the Trane All Abilities Park. I am thrilled people are excited about it and also that many of them found out about it through my post, but.. BUT
I am a content creator.
In addition to my eleven books (and counting) I put out one blog post and one (or more) YouTube videos a week. I share these items along with helpful advice, resources, and tips almost daily on social media. Before the 2020 Election and COVID-19, my author Facebook Page reach was decent, averaging 600-800 views and occasionally, when something big was happening (like a new book release) I’d see a reach of 1,200 - 2,000. These days my numbers are dismal. 72 people reached. 248 people reached. On a great day, 511 people reached. But never, ever has my content been shared the way this park post was shared.
It is a bit of a jagged pill to swallow that my first content to go viral wasn’t content I created. I work SO HARD to provide value to readers, writers and teachers and often times it goes (largely) unseen. This is especially frustrating in the pandemic world we have been living in for the past year or so. Without conferences and school visits and sales events, the internet is one of my only (safe) ways to reach people.
Yes, like any good entrepreneur, I have email lists, several in fact, but again, without in-person events to meet new subscribers, I am relying on the internet to bring me these people.
So, okay. I went viral. It wasn’t for my first choice of content, but I am still, at the end of the day, a positive person, so I looked for the silver lining. What could I learn from this experience? What lessons could I take away and potentially apply to my content and social media feed in the future. Here’s what I figured out.
Living Our Best Life
My pictures were of a beautiful park on a beautiful day. My kids were in the picture. They were having fun as evidenced by their smiles. Parents who saw these pictures likely thought, “My family could have fun here. We could play outside (without electronics). My kids could burn off some energy and be physically active. I could take great pictures of my kids in this beautiful space too. What fun memories we will have.” My post offered them a chance to envision themselves doing something fun and meaningful. Through my pictures they could envision living their best life at this new park. They were excited. They wanted to recate the experience for themselves and their family. They wanted participate so badly that they tagged a friend or spouse to remind them so they didn’t forget. They wanted this experience so much that they shared it on their own page so others could join them or experience it for themselves.
Lesson Learned: Create and present a desireable situation or experience that others want to have for themselves.
For Authors: Maybe this is staging your book in a cozy reading experience… in front of a fireplace, on a beach chair, alongside a cup of coffee. What would make a reader melt with longing to pick up your book and engage in the reading experience you present?
Novelty and Newness reign as King
The population of La Crosse (the city in which this park resides) is 50,000 with a surrounding population of several smaller cities adding another 30,000 or so. We aren’t a huge city, but we aren’t small either. We have parks, even one (called Kids Coulee) that is 200,000 square feet and also handicap accessible. But it was built in 1994, almost 30 years ago. That park is great, but old news. Even though this new park isn’t bigger (86,000 sq. ft.) my post about the Trane All Abilities Park did well because this park, with its bright colors and modern equipment is something people haven’t seen before. New is exciting.
Kids Coulee (1994) Trane All Abilities Park (2021)
Lesson Learned: Create content that presents an old idea in a bright and shiny package.
For Authors: Take a review of one of your your olders books from Amazon over to Canva and shine it up with a great template and bright colors. Or reveal the cover of your newest book, highlighting what makes it stand out from your other books or from other books in that genre. Make it sparkle. People like shiny objects and will follow them.
Niche Audience
This park has modern equipment to meet the needs of a very specific population. The park website states, “An estimated 12,190 people over the age of 5 have a disability in La Crosse County. That is 12% of the population.” My post did not specifically address this aspect of the park, but you can bet that the people who fall into this category (and their caregivers) read between the lines to see that this was a space they were not only welcomed to, but that it was designed specifically for them. THAT is exciting. That gets people talking. A secondary niche audience for this piece could be the citizens of La Crosse County. When thinking about audience, don’t count out the role that a community (either geographical or common interest) can play.
Lesson Learned: You’ve heard it before friends, NICHE DOWN TO BLOW UP. Find a target audience and get to where they are, where they spend money and where you can connect/build a relationship with them.
For Authors: I go into deep detail on this strategy in a former blog post called Commandeer a Committed Crowd. In this post I share examples and tips of how to find an audience and make the most of their already well developed passions and hobbies. Click here to read more.
Haters Gonna Hate
No matter how cool the content you share… no matter how many people love it… there’s always gonna be at least one hater.
Lesson Learned: It it is inevitable. Read the haters comments if you want, but ultimately, it’s not worth your time.
For Authors: Take away the helpful pieces of a critique or review and then, MOVE ON.
I will also note, that all of those things “they” tell you to do to increase post reach (react to comments, reply to comments, tag individuals you think might be interested) … I did’t do hardly any of that with this park post. It was truly information that people found valuable and exciting. THAT is why it went viral. So, by all means, engage with your content after you post it and interact with the people responding to what you created, BUT through this experience I’ve learned that if something is truly appealing, helpful, and valuable, it will do the work on it’s own.
I hope that through my viral experience you have been able to vicariously learn a few valuable lessons. I also hope that the next time you see one of my posts on social media, whether it’s about a book, video, course, workshop, tip or resource, that you’d consider clicking that little heart icon or share button so that the content I have created can find it’s way into the hands and heads of people who will benefit.
And now, I’ll step off my soapbox, because, as always, I have some more content to create.
Happy writing, reading and social media-ing my word nerds. I’ll see you next week.
~ Amanda
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