Why Virality Is Not All That

(And A Bag of Chips)

I’m a content marketer. Knowing that, what I’m about to say will probably leave you scratching your head. But here goes.

Good content is only one part of a solid marketing strategy for an organization. Too many fakefluencers are out here waxing poetic about the value of “going viral” on social while ignoring the staples of what promotes true growth: giving great customer service, building brand loyalty, and retaining existing customers.

If you’re solely focused on creating chaos to get eyeballs on your content without a plan for how to convert those eyeballs into paying customers, you’re wasting your time.

Yes, discoverability is important. But it’s not the only step in the process (or even the most important). Some brands are so obsessed with getting new eyes on their assets that they ignore their existing customers. It’s a huge mistake considering between 40-60% of revenue for businesses comes from repeat sales.

The awareness trap

Here's the thing about viral content. It’s fantastic at keeping you “top of mind” with your ideal customers, but it’s a terrible conversion tool unless you’re reaching people who are already in the final stage of the buying funnel—those ready to pull out their credit cards and make a purchase.

Most viral content catches people in the awareness or consideration phases. They might think, “Oh, that's clever” or “I should remember this brand,” but they're not ready to buy. Without a strategic nurture sequence to move them through the funnel, those viral moments become digital tumbleweeds. They’re impressive to watch, but ultimately worthless for your bottom line.

Why brands are addicted to the viral chase

Before we dig into solutions, let's address the elephant in the room. Why are brands so obsessed with going viral in the first place?

The answer is simple. Virality feels like validation. It's immediate, measurable, and shareable with stakeholders. When your post hits 100,000 views, you can screenshot those metrics and present them in the next board meeting as proof that your marketing efforts are working. It's tangible evidence that people care about your brand, even if they're not buying from it.

There's also the lottery mentality at play. Brands see competitors or influencers strike gold with a single viral post and think, “That could be us.” They chase that one-in-a-million moment instead of building consistent systems that create sustainable growth. It's the marketing equivalent of buying lottery tickets instead of investing in a retirement fund.

Social media platforms fuel this obsession by design. Their algorithms reward engagement, and their analytics dashboards put reach and impressions front and center while burying the metrics that matter for business growth. When platforms celebrate your “most successful post ever” based on views rather than conversions, they're training you to optimize for the wrong outcomes.

Finally, there's the ego factor. Viral content makes marketers feel like rock stars. It gets them featured in industry publications, speaking opportunities, and LinkedIn congratulations from their network. The professional validation is intoxicating, even when the business impact is negligible.

Purpose-driven content vs. vanity metrics

Virality for the sake of being seen without a clear purpose is content marketing fool's gold. It looks valuable, generates impressive engagement reports, and makes for great screenshots to share in marketing team meetings. But it's ultimately hollow.

The brands that build sustainable growth understand that every piece of content should serve a specific function in their customer journey. Whether that's educating prospects, addressing common objections, showcasing social proof, or nurturing existing relationships, there's always a strategic “why” behind the “what.”

When your viral moment hits, ask yourself: Does this content move my ideal customer closer to a purchase decision? Does it demonstrate value? Does it build trust? If the answer is no, you've just spent resources on digital entertainment, not marketing.

The real conversion killers

While everyone's chasing their viral moment, they're neglecting the unglamorous work that drives sales.

Picture this: A SaaS company spends weeks crafting the perfect LinkedIn carousel about productivity hacks. It goes viral—50,000 likes, thousands of shares, comments pouring in. The marketing team celebrates with champagne and screenshots for their portfolios. Meanwhile, their onboarding emails have a 12% open rate, their free trial users are churning after day three because nobody's walking them through the setup process, and their customer success team is overwhelmed with support tickets that could be prevented with better documentation.

That viral carousel brought in 500 new trial signups, but only 8 were converted to paid accounts. Why? Because while they were optimizing for shareability, they forgot to optimize for usability.

This is what happens when brands prioritize the dopamine hit of viral metrics over the steady work of conversion optimization:

· Broken customer journeys. Your viral post brings traffic to a website that takes forever to load, has unclear calls-to-action, or doesn't match the promise of your content.

· No follow-up strategy. Viral content creates a spike in awareness, but without email capture, retargeting pixels, or content sequences, those viewers disappear into the digital void.

· Misaligned messaging. Your viral content appeals to everyone, but your product serves a specific niche. You've attracted the wrong audience entirely.

· Ignored existing customers. While you're courting new followers, your repeat customers—the ones driving revenue—feel neglected and start looking elsewhere.

Building systems that scale

Instead of betting everything on lightning-in-a-bottle viral moments, focus on creating systems that consistently move people through your funnel.

Develop content that speaks to different stages of buyer intent. Create awareness content, sure, but also produce consideration-stage pieces that address objections and decision-stage content to make the sale easy.

Build email sequences that nurture viral traffic into qualified leads. Capture those fleeting visitors and guide them through a strategic series of touchpoints that build trust and demonstrate value over time.

Invest in retention marketing. Create content specifically for existing customers—tutorials, advanced tips, community features, and loyalty programs that keep them engaged and buying more.

Track metrics that matter. Viral reach means nothing if it doesn't translate to email subscribers, qualified leads, and ultimately, revenue. Focus on conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and repeat purchase rates instead of vanity metrics.

Focus on what really converts

Viral content isn't inherently bad. It's just incomplete. It's the appetizer, not the main course. When you build a marketing strategy that treats viral moments as one touchpoint in a larger customer journey rather than the destination itself, you create sustainable growth that doesn't depend on algorithmic luck.

Your competitors can chase the next viral trend. You'll be too busy serving your customers and counting your revenue to notice.

Not sure how to do that? Schedule a hassle-free consultation with me to discuss a marketing strategy that drives sales based on your business goals.