You’ve probably encountered an ad of some shape or form while scrolling through social media. But sometimes ads are not so obvious, and this is where viral marketing comes in…
Viral Marketing (noun)
1. The marketing of products, services or brands through word-of-mouth communications. This often occurrs when something goes viral on the internet or when there is “hype" online surrounding the product/service/brand.
2. TikTok
Okay, TikTok is not the only means through which viral marketing is facilitated, but it is the one that this article will focus on– especially given its role over the past 2 years. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that we were all stuck indoors, bored out of our minds. But TikTok offered a way to pass the time and make us laugh during one of the biggest and most miserable moments of the 21st century. During the early and middle stages of the pandemic, TikTok’s user base grew by 75% and it is now the third most used social media platform, behind Facebook and Instagram.
With these higher usage rates, viral marketing has found a home on TikTok. Through several examples, we can observe how viral marketing works on TikTok and how it can be leveraged to elevate sales and boost engagement, particularly among younger audiences. It should be noted that the following examples focus on TikTok specifically, despite the fact that other social media platforms also played a role (I just personally think that TikTok played the greatest role).
PART 1: Euphoria
First of all, I promise there are no spoilers for those of you who have not yet watched Euphoria. Though, that may be beside the point since many TikTok users have practically spoiled everything already.
And this is exactly what I'm talking about.
Euphoria’s first season hit the scene in 2019, but it was ultimately the second season, released in 2022, that generated so much hype. In fact, Forbes stated that the number of viewers doubled for Season 2 compared to Season 1. I’m not saying that it was only TikTok that contributed to this rise in viewership, but Tik Tok certainly held a veritable influence over Euphoria. For instance, social media analytics demonstrate that social media buzz significantly increased for Season 2 compared to Season 1, with most engagement coming from Youtube, Instagram and TikTok respectively.
Some of the TikTok videos that helped boost engagement were makeup and fashion-related. TikTok users were so inspired by Euphoria's costumes and make-up looks that they tried to replicate these looks themselves, even replicating specific characters at times.
Other popular TikTok trends involved sharing and recreating iconic scenes from the show, meming them and using quotes and sounds from Euphoria (even remixing the sounds) to create their own videos. Many times, scenes were re-enacted and comically exaggerated, and these trends are still ongoing since the season ended.
What caused this major rise in social media engagement for Euphoria? Because it appears that not only was social media a tool that drove viewership for the TV show, but Euphoria did something right in the first place for people to go crazy online.
My view is that Euphoria creators knew how to appeal to a Gen Z audience. They know the current fashion trends, they know what teenagers want to watch and they know what teenagers are excited by. Maddy is a Euphoria character who is known for her sleek and bold outfits. Whatever she wears is current and trendy, compelling young viewers to wear similar outfits. The Euphoria aesthetic of glitter and neon is just emblematic of Gen Z culture - take this quote from Thinkhouse HQ Insights:
“The powerful aesthetic of Gen Z makeup is bold, experimental, fun and unconventional – a reflection of their diversity and fluidity. Neons, crystals, glitter and rhinestones are commonplace around the eyes…TV shows with significant cultural impact like Euphoria have helped to normalise this take on beauty.”
Then there’s the plot and drama that teenagers are engrossed by: friendship, toxic relationships, betrayal, unrequited love...they are all shared experiences among teens that teens heavily resonate with. Thus it's both Euphoria's content and visuals that sparked Gen Z's to speak up about the TV show on their own social media platforms. In turn, this made everyone else want to watch Euphoria because of the fear of missing out, because of not knowing what the memes meant or because they were attracted to the visuals and drama playing out on TikTok. This is viral marketing.
PART TWO: Olivia Rodrigo
Driver’s license.
Two words. One overplayed song. And a heartbroken teenage artist.
When Driver’s License was first released, it blew up a storm on the internet. This was partly fuelled by the fact that most Gen Z’s recognised the artist, Olivia Rodrigo, from Disney’s High School Musical the TV series. However, Olivia’s off-screen romance and break-up with her co-star, Joshua Bassett, is what really fuelled the rise of Driver’s License. Specifically, it was the rumour of Joshua cheating on Olivia with another Disney celeb that caused gossip and speculation to explode across the internet.
Cue January 2021 when Driver’s License was officially revealed to the world. The lyrics compelled everyone to believe all the rumours as Olivia hinted at a particular “blonde girl.” Not only did the release of Driver’s License play in on the buzz and speculation that were already in the works, but it propelled teenagers to go into a social media frenzy. Once again, memes were shared across TikTok and the song was used to parallel other similar yet iconic celebrity love triangles and cheating situations. Teens were singing covers of the song or alternative versions of the song. For example, one creator sang Driver’s License from the guy’s perspective, writing his own lyrics to match. As of today, there are 1.4 million TikTok videos using the original song (excluding any remixes or mashups).
Again, TikTok creators facilitated the rapid rise of another brand – Olivia Rodrigo. As users raved about the song, those who didn't know about it felt inclined to listen to it and share their thoughts, encouraging more people to listen. Word spread like wildfire and within a matter of days, the song hit number one on several major streaming platforms. This moment in time signifies the emergence of a new teen pop star and viral marketing played a massive role in fuelling her pop stardom.
I must say that it’s not only the drama surrounding Olivia and the drama unfolding on TikTok that elevated the song to its popularity. It’s also the lyrics and the emotions conveyed in the song that resonated with teenagers. The song centres around young love and heartbreak, which is another common thread among teens. It makes them want to share their thoughts and emotions too. Accomplishing this on platforms like TikTok is a form of release for teenagers, and unknowingly it fuels viral marketing.
PART 3: What's next?
These two examples show us how viral marketing can massively change the prospect of a product and brand. However, for Euphoria and Driver’s License, the fact that influential celebrities were already involved made this process a lot easier. So how can this be accomplished with ordinary products?
What Euphoria and Olivia Rodrigo did well was capitalise on teenagers’ experiences and resonate with them through these shared experiences. Therefore, if you're aiming for viral marketing to elevate your brand, it is first crucial to know your audience well. Then you can tailor aspects of your brand, product and marketing to align with your target audience’s interests. Moreover, brands can incentivise or influence customers to share their thoughts on the internet, and they can do this in creative ways. For example, they can release their product at strategic times as Olivia Rodrigo did with her song.
As you can see, social media is such a creative tool that can be harnessed by marketers to hype up their products. And if marketing to Gen Z’s, then think no further than TikTok because there is a world to explore.
Written by Chamudi Wijetunga
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