Want to go viral? It might not equal sales

Have you ever seen a post show up in your social media feed that leaves you scratching your head? 

Not only does the post itself make absolutely no sense to you, but the likes, comments and shares on it are insanely good. Case in point👇

WTF? 

It is easy to think social media has lost the plot. Keeping up with internet culture is practically a full-time job in itself. But there is some science at play that you can leverage in your own content. 

Read on 👇

 

Knowing your audience 

The question that always seems to trip up small business owners who are looking to take their social media to the next level is the one that should be the easiest: Who is your target audience? 

Many, especially those who sell physical products, fall into the trap of thinking that everyone is a potential new customer. 

The hard truth is that no matter how incredible your product is, or how groundbreaking your offer, it will not be relevant to every single person on the planet, or even in your town. 

This is because your product or offer provides a solution to a problem that not everyone has. 

Go back to the beginning 

Solving problems is what sells. That is why your starting point should always be clarity on what problem you are solving and who you are solving it for. 

A good place to dig into this is your business plan. What sets you apart from others in your industry? 

(Marketers love to throw around “KPI,” but in this case, we are talking about your Key Point of Difference). 

Pinpoint the problem your product or service solves. Remember, it doesn’t have to be life-changing. Sometimes the best businesses thrive because they fix something small, annoying, or even something their customer did not realise was an issue until it was solved. 

If it’s been a while since you checked in with your business plan (or you don’t have one 🙊), your social media insights can give you a starting point. Who is already engaging with you? What content or offers get the most attention? 

Locality is always a solid first layer to work with, but the more you break your customers down into groups, the clearer the patterns become. You will start to see the similarities: shared interests, common pain points, and even the language they use. 

If you are stuck, reverse engineer from your existing audience. Look at who is showing up, paying attention, and buying, and then trace back the why. That “why” is the golden thread that can shape all your future content. 

Making sense to the right people 

Remember that post you saw at the start of this blog? The one that looked completely random, but was racking up likes and shares? 

That is the power of knowing your audience. To outsiders, it makes no sense. To the people it was written for, it hits hard because it speaks their language, pokes fun at something they deal with every day, or flips an uncomfortable topic into something funny and relatable.  

In other words, it stops the scroll — but only for the people who matter. 

This is where many small business owners get tripped up. It’s tempting to think that going viral equals success, but here is the truth: reach means nothing if it is not the right reach. 

A million views from people who will never buy from you is just noise. A hundred views from the exact people who need your solution is gold. 

It’s always easier to have a conversation with someone when you know exactly who you are talking to. That is how you build trust and break down barriers. 

Social media is no different. We have to stop the scroll, and that happens when content feels personal, relevant and a little bit clever. 

For me, something that transported me straight back to my Nightie days grabbed my attention far more than a dull, clinical “Are you 40? Go get these horrible tests” type of post. One connected, the other made me silently weep 😅 

So don’t chase “viral.” Chase relevant. The content that feels like an inside joke, a shared struggle, or a clever solution will always outperform a post that tries to appeal to everyone and ends up resonating with no one. 

Try it yourself 

Before you scroll away, take a look at your last post. Ask yourself: who was I really talking to? If you cannot answer that clearly, give it another go. 

Rewrite the same post, but this time picture a very specific person in your target audience. Write it as if you are talking directly to them — their tone, their problems, their world. Then hit publish and see what happens.  

You might be surprised at how much more engagement you get when the right people feel like you are speaking just to them. 

And in case you’re still questioning it, here’s another example of a post that makes no sense unless you’re the right audience: https://www.tiktok.com/@sydneywater/video/7511631615177674002 

Nicole Roberts | Whittle Grove Communications