What’s the best way to guarantee that you’ll never create a viral post? Easy – try to go viral.
Where e-commerce brands are concerned, virality can often come from unexpected places. A simple explainer video can clock up millions of views, whereas a creative take on a viral trend can fall flat.
But, as we’ll explore in this article, getting it right can help you reach new audiences and get more eyes on your product. Which will hopefully translate to a bunch of extra sales and revenue 💰💰💰
Let’s get into it…
Example #1: Beardbrand
Beard care is big business, with the US men’s grooming market expected to surpass $6 billion in 2024. That’s great news for Beardbrand, which sells products for grooming, styling, and maintaining beards, hair, skin, and mustaches.
Still, there’s a ton of competition in the sector from big names like Aesop, Bulldog, and Dollar Shave Club. If these companies don’t get their marketing right, they risk falling behind.
Beardbrand did a fantastic job with this post starring architect-turned-influencer Greg Berzinsky:
@beardbrand Mustache HACK – How To Trim Your Mustache At Home @berzinsky1 #beardbrand #beardstyle #beardhack #groominghacks #mustache ♬ original sound – Beardbrand
It’s a simple concept; nothing more than a short explainer on how to do a better job of trimming a mustache. Yet it did serious numbers, generating over 416,000 likes and 10.8 million views on TikTok alone.
Why it Works
This collaboration shows just how effective influencer marketing can be when you:
- Find influencers who align with your brand and audience
- Work with those influencers on a long-term basis
Greg and Beardbrand have been working together for the best part of a decade now. It’s an obvious fit, because Greg clearly loves having a beard – it’s a core part of his whole look. So when he shares grooming advice, people listen 🧔
As well as working with the right influencer, Beardbrand succeeded here because they weren’t trying to sell anything (at least, not directly). There’s no built-in call to action, or even a gentle recommendation to try a specific Beardbrand product. All of which makes the content feel more authentic and increases its viral potential.
Example #2: Scrub Daddy
If I asked you to name a likely topic for a viral video, “cleaning products” probably wouldn’t be too high on your list.
Yet Scrub Daddy has become an unlikely success story on TikTok, building up 4.3+ million followers and more than 90 million likes. It’s all thanks to videos like this (startling sexual) April Fools’ Day post:
@scrubdaddy We took all those “scrub me daddy 😩” jokes seriously… #scrubdaddy #smile #cleantok #cleaningtiktok ♬ Hot Sexy HipHop Blues Guitar – RockEagle
Why it Works
This post – and Scrub Daddy’s whole TikTok strategy – highlights what I’ve just decided to start calling the brand-consumer humorous content expectation gap.
Catchy name, I know.
Fact is, consumers love amusing content. Research from Oracle and podcaster Gretchen Rubin discovered that 91% of people prefer brands to be funny. What’s more, if a brand uses humor…
- 80% of customers would be more likely to buy from them again
- 80% would recommend the brand to friends and family
- 72% would choose the brand over competitors
- 63% would spend more with the brand
But here’s the kicker: a staggering 95% of business leaders admit they’re afraid of using humor in customer interactions.
Scrub Daddy’s success on TikTok stems from the fact that, unlike a bunch of other brands, it’s prepared to push the boundaries in a bid to create funny content. And because they understand their audience, their content regularly hits the mark.
Example #3: BlendJet
As a general rule, product-centric social media content is less likely to take off. Especially if the product in question isn’t particularly sexy, like a kitchen appliance.
But rules are made to be broken, and BlendJet proved that it’s possible to go viral on TikTok with a simple-but-effective product-centric video:
@blendjet Enjoy these 8 #oddlysatisfying blends in a #BlendJet2, Valentines edition 💝 #asmr #asmrtiktoks #asmrfood #asmrvideo #asmrsounds #asmrtingles ♬ original sound – BlendJet
It’s been liked 46,000+ times on TikTok – and BlendJet’s product is front-and-center throughout the minute-long video. If this was a paid social campaign, you’d have to pay big money for that sort of awareness and engagement.
Why it Works
BlendJet’s video demonstrates the value of jumping on social media trends. In this case, they actually combined two separate trends:
- ASMR
- “Oddly satisfying” content
Of course, replicating a trend is no guarantee of viral success. We’ve all seen plenty of brands fall flat while trying to crowbar themselves into an existing conversation. But the quality of BlendJet’s creative and messaging shone through here – whether or not you’re interested in blenders, you’ve got to admit that this video is oddly satisfying!
So satisfying, in fact, that it went viral despite the last 20% of the content being taken up by a pretty aggressive CTA.
Example #4: Rhode
When it comes to virality, Rhode has a major advantage of the vast majority of e-commerce brands, thanks to its founder being none other than Hailey Bieber.
(In case you didn’t know, Rhode is her middle name.)
As such, they’re super well placed to generate a ton of attention, regardless of what they post. But we still recognize good content when we see it, and this Instagram carousel definitely deserved to blow up:
View this post on Instagram
Why it Works
There are a couple things I like about this post.
Firstly, the imagery is simple yet striking, with a consistent bold color palette, which helps it stand out in a busy social media feed. It’s also a strong format, given that Instagram carousels typically generate more engagement than standard image-based posts.
And then there’s the urgency and scarcity factor. This is a limited-edition product, which (obviously) means it’s only available for a short period of time. That makes it feel more desirable, which adds to its viral potential.
Example #5: Recess
Sometimes, you see a viral video and think wow, I could never have come up with that – sooo ✨ creative ✨
Other times, brands achieve virality by taking tried-and-trusted content formats and executing them effectively.
Our next example, from soft drink brand Recess, definitely falls into the second category:
@takearecess🌟dry january giveaway alert!🌟 to celebrate the new year (and the new you) this dry january, we’re giving away our adorable Recess mini fridge to 3 lucky winners. and, it’s stocked with a 1 year supply of Recess! you’ll be the ultimate dry january queen this new year to enter: 🩷 like this post 🩵 tag your dry jan bestie in a comment ❤️ and follow @takearecess – T&Cs: US only. official sweepstakes rules: no purchase necessary. you must be over 18 years, a legal US resident. giveaway starts on december 30, 2024 and ends 11:59 pm est on january 8, 2025. odds of winning depend on the total number of entries received. void where prohibited. winner selected and notified by january 9, 2024.♬ original sound – Recess
There’s nothing spectacular about this video, yet it’s generated well over 11.5 million views on TikTok alone.
Why it Works
This is another video that combines two distinct elements to generate viral results. In this case, those two elements are:
- A social media competition, which prompts viewers to “like” the content and tag a friend to be in with a chance of winning a mini fridge, plus a year’s supply of Recess drinks and powders.
- A topical trend, namely Dry January, which aligns perfectly with the brand’s range of alcohol-free craft mocktails.
If Recess had run this promotion in any other month, it likely wouldn’t have resonated so much. Which just goes to show you that timing is everything when it comes to going viral.
Example #6: Casper
Creating viral-worthy social media content for e-commerce brands is a whole lot easier when your content is aesthetically pleasing.
Sadly, Casper doesn’t have that luxury. Because, let’s be honest, mattresses are pretty boring to look at.
But this limitation can also be a blessing, forcing Casper’s social media team to get creative. Which has helped them produce viral posts like this one, which had clocked up over 180,000 views at time of writing:
View this post on Instagram
Why it Works
This is another strong example of content that feels authentic to the brand in question.
Casper isn’t chasing virality here. Instead, they’re posting about a topic that naturally aligns with their brand and product – in this case, dreaming.
It also feels super relatable. Let’s be honest, we’ve all woken up feeling certain that we’ve had the most fascinating, memorable dream in the history of humankind, only to immediately forget everything that happened.
And when your content is relatable to a broad audience, while also feeling authentic, you’ve got a great chance of going viral.
Example #7: Warby Parker
Warby Parker gives us another example of effective e-commerce influencer marketing in this collaboration with singer-songwriter, poet, and comedian Elle Cordova:
View this post on Instagram
It clearly resonated with the D2C eyewear brand’s followers, clocking up 1.2+ million views at time of writing.
Why it Works
Sure, successful influencer marketing is about finding influencers who align with your audience and values, yadda yadda.
But this video goes deeper than these fundamentals, because it’s not just a straight collaboration with an influencer – it’s a collab featuring a specific character (or rather, a pair of characters) created by Elle Cordova.
Elle first introduced us to the eternal conflict between the Grammarian and the Errorist in an Instagram Reel in November 2024. Warby Parker’s social media team clearly liked what they saw, because six months later, they teamed up with her for their own version – in which all the characters in the video are sporting stylish pairs of Warby Parker specs.
The collab works so well because it’s kinda like an inside joke. People who already dig Elle’s comedy are pretty much guaranteed to enjoy it, meaning the video effectively has a ready-made audience.
All of which makes for a relatively low-risk campaign.
Example #8: Pact Coffee
When we think about going viral, we typically imagine a piece of content driven by – or starting – a short-term trend. But it’s totally possible to create evergreen viral content that stays relevant months or years after the original post.
For instance, Pact Coffee shared this TikTok about how to use a French press:
@pactcoffee You’ve probably been using your cafetière wrong the whole time 🤯 #specialitycoffee #specialtycoffee #coffee #cafetiere #lifehack ♬ Sunshine – WIRA
There are no gimmicks here; the video just does exactly what it sets out to do. Yet it’s been viewed over 5.5 million times on TikTok alone. That’s nine times more than their second-highest-performing post.
Why it Works
Pact Coffee clearly did their research to unearth a topic with plenty of evergreen potential.
The term “how to use a French press” gets over 27,000 searches a month on Google in the US alone. And, as we can see from Google Trends data:
- The volume of searches for this term has increased significantly over the past two decades – likely because ground coffee has become way more popular.
- Activity around these searches is spread pretty evenly throughout the year, albeit with a big annual post-Christmas spike.
Of course, it also helps that Pact is something of an authority on everything coffee-related, so people are eager to learn their French press wisdom.
Want to learn more about creating impactful, viral-worthy social media content? Sign up for one of our upcoming social media conferences.
Featured image by Pixabay.
