Brand Storytelling
Annie’s Journey as Player #536
Annie came in as the wildcard and left as a real one, showing that all it takes is heart, hustle, and one fearless move to level up.
February 16, 2025
So what is a viral video? A viral video is a video that becomes extremely popular in a short time because people keep sharing it. The video is a piece of content that connects so deeply—whether it’s funny, emotional, surprising, or relatable—that viewers want others to see it too. As more people share it, the video spreads rapidly across social media and reaches millions, creating a wave of attention and engagement that’s often hard to predict but incredibly powerful.
As a marketing agency (for example Scrolling Media) analyzes viral trends by following a structured process that involves monitoring social media, studying data, and applying key takeaways to leverage these trends effectively.
Here’s how we typically approach the study and analysis of viral trends mainly by using the Re-Make Technique :
1. Study Viral Trends and Identify Key Elements:
Start by identifying successful viral videos in your niche or related industries. Pay attention to the features that made them popular, such as storytelling style, trending music, visual effects, or humor. Ask yourself why viewers would share this content—is it funny, relatable, inspiring, or surprising? Analyze what connects with the audience so you can capture those same elements in your re-make.
2. Adapt the Content to Fit Your Brand:
Once you understand what makes the original video effective, adapt it in a way that aligns with your brand's voice, values, and aesthetic. This may involve tweaking visuals, adding your logo, or modifying the tone to better fit your brand identity. For instance, if you’re re-making a trendy dance video for a lifestyle brand, consider how you might integrate your product gradually into the video without drowning out the fun and authenticity.
for example, check out this brand to get an idea about what adapting content looks like 👆
3. Find the Right Creator or Influencer:
The right creator or influencer can make your re-make feel real and help it reach a wider audience. Look for a creator whose audience matches your target demographic and who has a style that fits the trend you’re adapting. Guide them on how to showcase your product naturally and make the video engaging while keeping authenticity at the top.
This is an influencer we worked with for the Magal Viral Video 😊
4. Add a Relatable Twist:
Often, a trend is most engaging when it reflects real life or an experience viewers can relate to. You might choose to add humor, address a common challenge, or show a “behind-the-scenes” look that makes the content feel approachable. This twist could include incorporating seasonal or regional themes to create a more relatable connection with the audience.
5. Focus on Timing and Move Quickly:
Timing is important in making a re-make video go viral. Trends can be brief, and the faster you get your adaptation out, the more likely it is to resonate. Create a efficient process for trend analysis, video production, and approval so you can capitalize on trends as they happen. Aim to release your content within days or weeks of spotting a trend. It is the same motto as the urgency on Black Friday! Check out our last blog about consumer psychology and Black Friday
6. Optimize for Organic Reach and Engagement:
Motivate viewers to interact with the video by adding calls to action such as "Tag your husband!" or "Share if this made you laugh!". Organic reach is especially valuable in viral marketing, as each share helps boost your video to a broader audience. Adjusting your video title, description, and keywords to reflect trending topics can also boost its visibility across social platforms.
In these videos popular keywords/hashtags were used like "wife humor", "husband and wife comedy", "marriage humor"
7. Consider Adding Paid Advertising if as Needed:
While organic reach is often the goal, sometimes adding a paid strategy can further increase your content. Consider boosting the post on platforms where your audience is most active.
Boosting a post on social media means paying the platform (like Facebook or Instagram) to expand the reach of a specific post outside your current followers. This feature allows you to target a broader audience based on demographics, location, and interests, helping your content get more visibility, engagement, and potential followers. By boosting a post, you up its chances of reaching people who may not see it organically, making it a simple way to increase brand awareness and inspire more interaction with your content.
Paid ads can be REALLY helpful if the trend starts losing influence, helping you reach audiences who might not see it otherwise.
Paid ads can also help strengthen your content by targeting specific groups who might have missed the organic reach, extending the life of a trend and maintaining its visibility.
8. Measure Performance and Fine-tune the Approach
After your re-make video goes live, track its performance using metrics like views, shares, comments, and engagement rates. Analyzing these results will help you understand which elements contributed to the video’s success and inform future re-make strategies.
By strategically adapting trends with the Re-Make Technique, your brand can create engaging, relevant content that maximizes reach and impact.
So, how can you find the right UGC (User Generated Content) creator for your brand?
Pinpoint Your Brand’s Key Goals - According to Cloudinary it is important to clarify the type of content needed (reviews, tutorials, unboxings) and determine target audience + content style.
Seek Out Creative Voices - use social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
You can also explore UGC marketplaces like Upfluence or AspireIQ.
Review Creator Impact- teamlewis points out that aiming for high engagement rates, authenticity, and relevant audience demographics is essential. Also, review their past collaborations and content style.
Activate Your Influencer Network - Influenctor suggests you send a personalized message explaining your brand and collaboration potential!
Lock in the Terms - KeyHole Article also emphasizes the importance of agreement on pay, timelines, and content guidelines
Synergize - Digital Doughnut shows how allowing creators creative freedom while making sure the brand messaging aligns is crucial for content success!
Measure the Impact - If we look what Clutch says, tracking engagement, views, and conversions to see content performance is key.
I can not stress this enough! 🚨
Timing is a critical factor in the success of viral videos, as it influences the reach and engagement a video can achieve. The right timing guarantees that your content reaches the audience when they are most active, and it taps into cultural trends or current events that amplify its appeal.
When the Magal Viral Video was made, everything happened fast! We did end up interviewing a few creators but we had a specific creator in mind. We originally thought this creator lived in Spain but it turned out she had moved to Bali 🫨 We wanted to deliver Magal’s product within 48 hours but for a product to arrive in Bali, it usually took two weeks! We had to think quick - and that is when we sent out a special delivery so the creator could get the product and start creating the video.
Within 19 days we were able to bring this idea to life 👏
The creator had the charisma needed to be the perfect fit for this role—ultimately, it’s about offering something unique and one-of-a-kind.
Lucille - Check Her Out 💙
Now, let's dive into Organic vs. Paid Marketing strategies:
Organic Marketing: Unpaid strategies like SEO, social media engagement, and content marketing.
Pros:
Builds long-term trust and credibility: consistent, valuable content promotes a loyal audience.
Engages an authentic audience: Often attracts followers who are very interested in your brand, leading to higher-quality engagement.
Improves search engine rankings: Through SEO, your content can rank better on search engines over time, growing visibility.
Cons:
Limited reach due to platform algorithms: Social media platforms often limit the visibility of unpaid content to promote paid promotion.
Requires consistent effort and content creation: Organic marketing depends on regular content updates and audience interaction, which can be time-consuming.
Difficulty in scaling quickly: It can be challenging to reach a large audience fast without paid support.
Paid Marketing: Paid strategies like ads, sponsored content, and influencer partnerships.
Pros:
Instant results: Paid marketing generates quick visibility, helping you reach your audience almost instantly.
Targeted reach: With options to target specific demographics, locations, interests, and behaviors, paid marketing allows for specific audience targeting.
Scalability: Paid campaigns can be scaled up or down easily depending on budget and goals, making it adaptable to several business needs.
Cons:
Ongoing costs: Running ads requires a consistent budget, and results can disappear if funding stops.
Dependence on budget: The success of paid marketing is often connected to how much you can invest, making it harder for smaller budgets to compete.
Ad fatigue: People can become tired of seeing ads, leading to low engagement or even negative perspective toward your brand.
Importance of Combining Both Strategies:
Synergy: Organic marketing builds trust and sustains relationships, while paid ads provide immediate visibility and scale. 👀
Maximized Reach: Combining both strategies establishes consistent visibility and engagement, leading to higher conversion rates. 🎊
Impact on Sales and ROI:
Higher ROI: When organic reach is combined with paid ads, it uplevels conversions by targeting already-engaged audiences.
Increased Sales: Paid ads bring in traffic, while organic content helps convert that traffic into loyal customers.
Performance-Based Insights:
What is ROI (Return on Investment)? ROI measures the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. In digital marketing, it evaluates the financial return generated from marketing activities. It’s calculated as:
Why is ROI Important in Digital Marketing? ROI is a key performance indicator (KPI) for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. It helps marketers understand their budgets, optimize strategies, and demonstrate the value of marketing efforts. In digital marketing, where budgets can be tight, ROI ensures that resources are granted efficiently to maximize profits.
How Organic and Paid Strategies Together Boost ROI: Keep in mind - when combined, organic and paid marketing strategies can greatly improve ROI by tapping into different stages of the customer journey.
Let's wrap up! ⬇️
Combining Organic Reach and Paid Advertising: Using both strategies together boosts brand visibility and engagement. Organic marketing builds trust, while paid ads provide immediate reach and impact, making sure we have sustainable growth and maximizing ROI
As you saw, it is so important to combine the two - and you can measure this using ROI.
Staying Up To Date with Trends: Our approach helps brands stay current by leveraging trends quickly. Organic content paired with paid ads promotes timely visibility and keeps your brand engaged with the right audience
The Re-Make Technique is one of our examples of how we maximize trends and bring to life viral videos!
Timing is Key: Quick action on trends and opportunities is crucial for maximizing impact. Moving swiftly allows brands to capture attention before moments pass
There is a quote that says “ Timing is the bridge that connects dreams to reality” which really connects to the world of viral video and media. If you act fast, you win.🏆
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