The social media Expert’s View — Timing and amplification are key

Timing is everything

Viral content relies on a piece of quality content reacting imminently with a very topical conversation. We call it ‘news hijacking’. Timing is everything and some kind of amplification is almost always required. By amplification, I mean mainstream media picks up on it, a paid and targeted Facebook ad gives it momentum or maybe an influencer supports the virality by reposting. You can have amazing, topical content that is uber-creative and very reactive to a trend; but, that with zero amplification gets no results whatsoever and doesn’t become viral.

Brands always want viral content

It’s unrealistic to expect virality and most (informed and experienced) brands accept this. Unfortunately, influencers are under zero pressure and should do more for their fees in most cases. They have almost zero accountability for the performance of any particular post and offer little to no metrics or insights from within their social media platforms. This will change as things become more regulated in the UAE with media licenses for influencers.

Defining viral content

Viral content is defined by the volume of earned media it achieves. By earned media, I mean content that isn’t paid (ads) or your own asset (your own social channels or website), but your content being published on other channels. A Facebook share or a retweet of your post is deemed as earned media, and these form the core metrics for working out virality. Also, there’s online media coverage — like a video getting picked up by media outlets and published as part of an article.