Chasing Viral Trends Can HURT Your Social Media Brand

Virality has a special allure like nothing else on the internet, but virality means very little without value and context.

With the ever-increasing popularity of apps like TikTok and viral trends, it's easy to think the key to success online revolves around following the crowd. Hopping on trends can be fun, right? And why not? Everyone else is doing it. But did you know trend-chasing might be hurting your brand?

I'm a social media strategist, and it's my job to study how to cultivate success online. I'm constantly watching the largest creators, finding budding accounts, and learning why some users fail and some succeed. Lately, I've found a lot of dead accounts with a few viral videos, and even a few thousand followers that never went anywhere, and I want to explain how this can happen.

So let's jump in.

How Can An Account Have Millions Of Views But No Followers?

It's easier than you think. Farming views online and creating a valuable following that buys your product or supports you as a creator are two very different things. Hopefully, you can do both, but many people don't. If you go on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, you can easily find viral videos, but upon a closer look at the user's account, you'll find many don't capitalize on newfound views. They might have a much lower follower count than expected, and worse, their following posts never recreated the high their viral video generated.

This happens when content is created for the sole purpose of entertainment but doesn't hold the value or originality to turn viewers into fans. Viewers watch the video. They might love it or relate to it, but they don't click the follow button. They got what they wanted. They were glued to the screen for those short seconds but forgot the user the moment they continued scrolling.

This happens so frequently with trend-based content. Viewers watch for the trend and not for the value the video/user provides. Often, you've given the viewer nothing to remember you for.

Trendy content can still work while generating new followers and converting those to true fans, but the key to success is ensuring your creations have a hefty dose of YOU and YOUR value. The trend is the icing, but your original content is the cake beneath. Never follow trends without putting your own spin on it. You want to evolve the content. Show the viewers your perspective. This can be as easy as relating a popular meme back to something that's happened in your own life or niche.

Don't Make Content For Views That You're Not Interested In Repeating

Sometimes, when hunting those elusive views, it's easy to create content that you don't necessarily believe in or didn't enjoy making. It seems like a small sacrifice to gain new followers trying to create one viral video, but the road doesn't end at one successful upload. Viewers won't click the follow button unless they want more of what you just gave them. So what happens when you gain a bunch of followers that want content from you that you don't want to make?

They won't engage in your future uploads and soon, you'll have a dead account. That is, unless you sell your soul and start making more of that content you never wanted to make in the first place.

This is the danger of chasing views. Sometimes the thing we know will generate views isn't what's best for our brand or own mental health. Don't commit to content you wouldn't be happy to replicate and build upon in the future. One viral upload means nothing if you can't use it as a foundation for future growth.

All Followers Aren't Created Equal

Some followers are more valuable than others. For example, there might be a large audience of 14-year-old boys on TikTok eager to see a female recreate the latest dance trend, but if your goal is to generate followers that convert into future sales for your business, and your product is for 30-year-old women, what are those young boys worth to you? They might follow, but they won't buy your products.

10 highly motivated fans are worth more than 100 passive ones. 1k views and 20 sales are worth far more than 10k views and 5 sales.

Build Your Own Brand, Don't Piggyback Off Everyone Else's

This is the lens through which you should create content. The goal is always to create value that drives a viewer to want to create a relationship with you, whether that's taking your advice, buying your product, or simply joining your journey through life, watching you document along the way.

Many of the most successful creators didn't start winning because they copied someone else's trend, but because they started the trend in the first place.

If you want to learn more, reach out via the contact form on our website and schedule a consultation with me or one of our social media strategists. We can help you take your online presence to the next level.