How did I get 9.5 million views overnight?
Short answer: no earthly idea. ???
I like to say, “The content you create today is a gift you give your future self.” BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THAT GIFT IS GOING TO ARRIVE.
Maybe it’ll be a random Thursday night, 10 months after you publish something, when you get a Google alert that something you created has gone “viral.”
That’s what happened to me yesterday when I discovered that THIS BAD BOY had 9+ million views and climbing and, as a result, my gifs were now catalogued in the Facebook and Insta DM gif library. (See the Awkward Marketing library of gifs here.)
Yes, I went “gif viral.” I’m GIFAMOUS, Y’ALL.
Not exactly how I pictured it but I’M OWNING THIS and taking it to the bank. Kinda.
My stepmom asked me, “Do you get paid for this?!?!?”
Uh, no. No I do not.
The only payment I receive from being a viral gif sensation is the satisfaction of knowing that people who hated me in high school MIGHT unintentionally stumble on my face when trying to illustrate a point and shake their fists at the sky.
At the same time, visibility pays in dividends when you have a personal brand, so I could also say, “Yes, I DO get paid for this” because brand awareness and being top of mind is part of the sales equation. People can’t pay you if they’ve forgotten you exist, right?
So, in a long game, roundabout way, I just struck (fool’s) gold.
This isn’t the first time I’ve gone “viral,” though it’s definitely the first time the virus has spread into the millions.
And lemme just tell ya — millions of views aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. What’s better? Hundreds of the RIGHT views.
I’ve created a few posts and videos that have gone “industry viral” meaning, no, they were not embraced by random teenagers in Scranton, but they HAVE made the rounds in the business and marketing world.
And those posts paid off for me WAY MORE than these 9+ million gif views.
When something goes MEGA viral it’s reaching an audience of people who are, by and large, NOT your ideal client.
When something goes INDUSTRY viral, your view counts and traffic numbers are much lower, but profits are higher becauuuuse a greater percentage of the audience needs something you sell.
My best example of this is my “industry viral” post You Don’t Want Marie Forleo’s Website: I didn’t get millions of views on this post, but I didn’t need to. A few thousand strategic views by the right people (potential web design clients who admire a specific website and want to build an epic brand of their own) were all I needed. Honestly, even a few hundred views would do.
You don’t need millions and millions of views to make millions and millions of dollars.
You just need a few hundred of the RIGHT views.
For a painful example of the reality of virality, look at Arii, the Instagram influencer with 2+ million followers who COULDN’T SELL 36 T-SHIRTS! Ouchhhhhhhhh.
EVEN THAT COVETED INSTA SWIPE UP COULDN’T SAVE HER!
Then there’s Tarzan Kay, who had a list of only 750 and had three wildly successful launches.
“Going viral” is overrated. Industry viral?
THAT’S WHERE IT’S AT.
Numbers only equate success when the people behind those numbers are the right people.
A few dozen of the right people > millions of uninterested ones.
But, hey! I’m still counting my gifamy as a win. Sometimes a lil’ validation FEELS like a million bucks.
p.s. Have you seen the hilarious vid this viral gif came from? Scoot over to YouTube to see it (and subscribe while you’re there!)
