Can You Plan to go Viral?

The Internet is a fantastic way to share your message quickly and efficiently to all corners of the world.

What’s even more incredible is when those messages go viral.

Everyone wants to plan viral but it happens when you least suspect it. Maigen Sawyer, a friend and person who does design work for us, sent this photograph to me, knowing my love for bacon. It made sense to share it with my friends and fans on Facebook, especially after the New Years while resolutions tend to be made (and lost).

It was an instant hit. Within 24 hours, the image was viral. In one week it was seen by over 28 million people, almost 60,000 shares, had over 334,000 likes and over 14,000 comments. That’s a lot for a bacon shirt. The photo even received national attention on Bloomberg Television.

Through the thousands of shares and likes, the now viral photo eventually made it’s way back to the man who was photographed: Dave Driskell. This guy was thrown into the spotlight overnight. What’s great is everyone was complimentary – people loved the tattoos, beard, and wanted to know where they could get their very own bacon shirt. Not only that, but he’s a huge CrossFit advocate – small world considering CrossFit was featured on C-Suite! He’s already very popular on Instagram, so why not Facebook?

In the end, you can’t plan to be viral. The Internet is constantly evolving and changing as more blogs, videos, pictures, and other content is shared. For social media (and life), it’s important to be transparent and reinforce your brand through all aspects, whether that’s keeping you brand promises, refining your 118, or sharing your love of bacon with the world.

—

Jeffrey Hayzlett is a global business celebrity and speaker, bestselling author, Contributing Editor and Host of C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett on Bloomberg Television. He is the CEO of The Hayzlett Group, an international strategic business consulting company focused on leading change and developing high growth companies. Connect with Hayzlett on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or email.