Going Viral Is a Trap — Here's What to Do Instead
A 17-second TikTok video just sold out a niche shampoo line in 48 hours. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t sponsored. It wasn’t even good lighting. But it worked, and now every CMO between Hobsonville and Hawke’s Bay wants to bottle the chaos. Viral is back, and the marketing world is scrambling.
Except viral is a terrible North Star.
When you chase it, you trade strategy for spectacle. You trade depth for FOMO. Brand managers start referencing 'vibes' with straight faces. Strategy decks include GIFs. And somewhere, your brand positioning gets squashed under the weight of a trending sound. It’s not that viral can’t be useful, it’s that we’ve forgotten how dangerous it is when it's used as a default ambition rather than an accidental gift.
What should you do instead? Get weird. Get specific. Look at the brands that are genuinely flourishing right now — they’re not broadcasting, they’re narrowcasting with conviction. I’ve been watching a tiny New Zealand stationery brand that launched with 12 followers and a newsletter written like a personal diary. Their sales doubled. No influencers. No shorts. Just clarity, voice, and an unshakable sense of self. That’s the real gold. Not the viral clip, but the aftermath, when you retain the new customers with honest, high-quality storytelling. Because here’s the unsexy truth: retention is cooler than reach. It just doesn’t come with a dance challenge.
Except viral is a terrible North Star.
When you chase it, you trade strategy for spectacle. You trade depth for FOMO. Brand managers start referencing 'vibes' with straight faces. Strategy decks include GIFs. And somewhere, your brand positioning gets squashed under the weight of a trending sound. It’s not that viral can’t be useful, it’s that we’ve forgotten how dangerous it is when it's used as a default ambition rather than an accidental gift.
What should you do instead? Get weird. Get specific. Look at the brands that are genuinely flourishing right now — they’re not broadcasting, they’re narrowcasting with conviction. I’ve been watching a tiny New Zealand stationery brand that launched with 12 followers and a newsletter written like a personal diary. Their sales doubled. No influencers. No shorts. Just clarity, voice, and an unshakable sense of self. That’s the real gold. Not the viral clip, but the aftermath, when you retain the new customers with honest, high-quality storytelling. Because here’s the unsexy truth: retention is cooler than reach. It just doesn’t come with a dance challenge.