Your business may be close to its big break, and it can be due to going viral on social media. A post you made that you thought would get only a handful of likes ends up getting hundreds, if not thousands, if not millions, of people liking it. Now, you have many eyes on your business.
But when you do go viral, it’s not always a good thing. You may end up with disappointed customers if you can’t meet the demand. So let’s look at why you need a demand plan for going viral, and how to execute it. But first, learn how you can get more custom IG comments through BuyTopLikes.
What is a Demand Plan?
A demand plan is what it sounds like. You predict future demand and then make a plan to meet it so you have enough stock. Ideally, you’ll want to be in that sweet spot. If demand is low, you don’t want to have excess stock. On the other hand, if demand is high, you don’t want to be sold out of the product, have it constantly on backorder, or have a website that keeps crashing. In the case of going viral, you’ll usually deal with the latter.
Can Going Viral Really Impact My Business?
It feels like everything goes viral nowadays. Originally a once-in-a-blue-moon event, the algorithm now pushes content every day that gets tens of thousands of likes. Because of this, you may wonder if going viral will impact your business.
The truth is that, yes, it can. It does depend on the post; for example, you may make a funny meme that gets shared a lot, but people aren’t clamoring to check out your products. But it’s science: the more eyes are on your page, the more likely you are to get sales.
Is it Always Positive?
Going viral doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get a positive bump, as you can go viral for all the wrong reasons. You may have a dissatisfied customer who posts their experience, and then that goes viral. On the other hand, your business may make a post that backfires. For instance, you make a tone-deaf joke.
When this happens, it’s possible that you will see a reduction in business, and your response can salvage or hurt your business further. And don’t think that you can wait it out. People will eventually move on to the next controversy, but it’s still possible you never recover.
Planning for Going Viral
You should always have a demand plan for going viral, even if it’s not going to be perfect. Going viral can happen to anyone at any time, and you may never be prepared for the results. However, there are ways you can plan for success, including:
Make Your Website Scaleable, or Host the Product on a Large Site
The worst thing that can happen is when your product goes viral, and people clamor to your website to buy it. Only for the site to crash. That’s why it’s important to speak with your website development team, your host, and anyone involved to see if you can scale the website when there’s hot demand for the product.
If you cannot, consider selling your products on other sites, like Amazon. They may get a cut of your sales, but it may be worth it.
Partner or Speak With Your Manufacturers
When your product goes viral, your manufacturers may not be able to keep up with the demand, leading to canceled orders, delays, and disappointed customers. That’s why it’s essential to speak with your current manufacturers to see if they have a plan for when you go viral. If not, you may partner with another manufacturer and use their services in the event excessive sales occur.
Communicate
Have a plan to communicate with your customers when you go viral. You may plan to hire more social media representatives or plan an email campaign about order updates. Most customers won’t get angry about a product being late as long as they are receiving updates. However, if you ghost your customers, they may start to get angry.
Prepare for Things to Stabilize
Going viral only lasts for so long, and then people move on to the next big thing. You may gain several long-term customers, but others may try your product once to be part of a trend, then never bother again. Once this occurs, have a plan when things return to normalcy.
Plan for Negative Publicity, Too
You may believe your business is nothing but ethical and your products are great. But all it takes is a dud product or someone with an ax to grind for your business to go viral. That’s why you should plan for a negative reaction, too. Here are some basic tips for this:
• Don’t feed the trolls. It’s tempting to respond to every negative comment, but this may backfire.
• Be selective with your interviews. At this time, there may be many bad-faith “journalists” who want to take what you say out of context to make your reputation worse. Always investigate the person who wants to interview you beforehand.
• Respond as needed, and don’t sound too corporate. If you were in the wrong, take accountability.
• Try making it right for the affected customer to a reasonable extent. Some people will never be pleased or will slander your business for nefarious reasons.
• Remember that social media is not real life. Sometimes, going viral negatively may not even affect your business in the long run. It may be worth it to take a break from social media for your mental health.
Final Thoughts
Having a plan for your business is vital in general, but many companies lack a plan for when they go viral. No matter how small your business is or your social media page, don’t think it can’t happen to you. The internet works in mysterious ways. We hope this post was helpful to you.
