(During a content creation day for my jazz trio - Gossamer Trio)
It happened.
Finally!
You posted a funny reel a few days ago and - low and behold - it went viral!
15,031 views, 256 new followers.
WHAT?!
You pat yourself on the back, finally feeling like you’re getting somewhere on social media.
You want to capitalize on the sudden attention for your account, so you set up your camera, put on your favorite shirt, and record a nice little acoustic version of your latest song release.
You edit it up nice and tight and add a snappy caption full of story and emotion to tug all the new heartstrings that have come your way.
You add a link to listen to the studio version and even remember to put a solid call-to-action at the end of the video telling people why they should listen.
You click post, and wait with bated breath for the likes to roll in…
5 mins later… nothing.
10 mins later… likes from your aunt and an old school friend.
30 mins later… you’re up to 60 views and 7 likes.
The next day, it’s barely doubled that.
So what happened?
Why didn’t this one get even close to the views and likes of the last one?
The viral paradox is what.
Most times when something goes viral, it’s something we post on a whim because we thought it was funny or interesting - not because it was a piece of content that was really representative of our music or brand.
I’ve had clients go viral for videos of mirror balls, weird bugs they discovered, a beautiful vista they saw on tour, and a legitimately killer outfit they put together one night.
Sometimes it is a music content video, but the virality was triggered by the incredible location or because the lead singer was looking particularly beautiful.
Sometimes it seems totally random what goes viral and what doesn’t.
If the virality attracts people interested in pretty scenes, weird bugs, or cute singers, it’s unlikely they’ll also be the people interested in becoming genuine fans of your music.
So far this sounds kind of annoying, but not dangerous - right?
Wrong.
The algorithm is artificial intelligence that determines the quality of your content based on the interactions people have with it.
All the algorithm wants to do is show the best content to people to keep them on the platform longer.
When you post a video if, in the first 5 minutes, people see the video on their timeline and scroll away quickly without clicking like or even watching to the end, that tells the algorithm the video sucks and so it doesn’t prioritize showing it to other people.
So - here’s how going viral for the wrong thing can hurt your profile in the long run:
When you go viral for anything that isn’t 100% related to your original music, the quick explosion of traffic that seems like a massive win, actually just brings in a ton of people who are unlikely to engage with your music content.
And this is the result:
you post a music video
Instagram shows it to all the people who liked your mirror ball video
it’s not a mirror ball, so they quickly scroll away
the algorithm says to itself “well, this post must suck so I won’t show it to anyone else”
now your actual fans who would have enjoyed it have far less chance of even seeing it
Lame right?!
Totally lame.
The key to success on social media isn’t having lots of followers, it’s having the right followers.
The people who genuinely want to hear about your art and will engage with the content you create about it.
It’s the slow burn long-term growth, not quick flash fire virality that goes nowhere.
The key isn’t to chase virality for virality’s sake, but to add little pinches of virality-inspiring seasoning to the content you were already going to create. Content that is 100% in line with your music goals and desired fanbase.
Here are some tips for how to encourage virality:
use videos - they’re far more engaging that still images
keep your editing quick and snappy - people have short attention spans and you need to grab it in the first few seconds of the video or they will scroll away
wear bright colors or have a bright background - make it visual eye candy to grab that attention
use captions even for singing - many users watch with the sound off (annoying for musicians, I know) and captions help keep their attention longer
make the videos short and try to create something people will watch twice (or more!) - the more replays the better for telling the algorithm the post is great and worth showing to the next person too
Going viral with a piece of content you’ve created with your target audience in mind is AWESOME - if you do manage it, congrats! It’s a sign you’re doing wonderfully well with creating engaging and interesting content.
But going viral because you jumped on a dance trend or posted a video of a lovely sunset will do - at best - nothing useful at all for building your fanbase, and - at worst - actually hurt the engagement of your legit music content.
A shame cos it’s nice not to be one dimensional about content, but makes perfect sense. Thanks as always for your wisdom!
Great article with great advice. Thanks for sharing