Virality today, honestly, is not tough. All of us know five things we can do to go viral. But that’s not true virality. The real test of virality is asking yourself: what does this virality give you? Because when a video goes viral and you get nothing out of it except some numbers and a short-term spike, virality is good for nothing. So I want to talk today about zero to viral, but virality that is impactful. How do you start from zero and go viral in a way that matters?
Step 1: Find Your Purpose
I know this sounds cliche, but this is very, very important. Why are you creating content? What is the need for your content to exist in a world where countless videos get uploaded every hour? Why do your videos stand out? Why would people choose to watch you? This purpose is critical. If you don’t have a purpose, if you’re doing things out of FOMO, it won’t work because content creation is a long-term game. And you will only be able to play the long-term game when you have a very strong purpose. Again, it’s important no matter how cliche it sounds.
Point 2: Put Your Uniqueness Out
Once you find your purpose, it’s very important to put your uniqueness out there. Let’s say you want to create content around the finance category, money management, for instance. The question is: what would you do differently? The best way to differentiate yourself from the crowd is to tell your own stories. People can copy anything: your production, your editing style. But they cannot copy your stories. So look back at your life. What are those unique stories, especially related to your subject, that you’ve encountered? It could be something from your childhood, school days, college days, anything good, sad, or happy that makes a good story. Put them out. That is the best differentiator because once you connect people to your stories, they’re not going to leave. People connect to stories. For example, if you look at Shah Rukh Khan, why does his persona resonate? Because people are connected to his story. That is very important.
Point 3: Become an Expert
You have to continuously read and become an expert in the subject you’re talking about. Many people make the mistake of asking their team to write scripts. At Binge, we are anti-script. We believe that if you are a subject matter expert and doing personal branding, you don’t need a script. You might need direction and guidance on how to speak, but the content and insights should come from you. For that, you have to increase your rate of learning. How well and efficiently are you reading? How much are you reading about your subject? Are you in the top 100 people in your field? The top 50? If yes, that’s going to be a big help. Because without insights on your subject, your content will be shallow. Shallow content does not work in the long run.
Point 4: Pattern Recognition
Once you’ve done all this, you have to follow pattern recognition. This is a principle we strongly follow at Binge because we believe humans run on patterns. Since content is essentially a way to solve human problems, the performance of videos will also depend on certain patterns. Find out the patterns in your category that are consistently performing well. Go to your top 10 competitors, see their top 10 performing content pieces, identify what’s common, draw a pattern, and see how you can adapt that pattern to your content. This will serve as a base for your first three months of content and will be the boost for your profile. This is a point many people miss, and it’s an insight that has single-handedly driven the results we get at Binge.
Point 5: Think From First Principles
When making content, do not fall into the jargon of algorithms. Always think of content as a solution to people’s problems. If your videos aren’t working, analyze them. Sit and ask yourself: why did people not like this video? Don’t fall into the trap of blaming the algorithm. No algorithm is against you. Algorithms are always in favor of good videos, and they gain nothing by not pushing good content. So if your videos aren’t working, it’s your fault. Think from first principles. Ask yourself what you could have done better. Once you start thinking this way, you’ll develop an understanding of your consumer. Once you do that, you’re done. You’ve gained the ability to decipher what people want, and that is what cracking the algorithm truly means.
Lastly: Devote Time
It’s very important to devote time to this activity. Maybe not a lot. I’m not asking you to leave your business. But devote at least two hours per week if you’re genuinely serious about building a personal brand. Don’t outsource everything. This isn’t a PR activity. It’s called personal branding for a reason. If it’s not personal, it won’t help you. You have to be involved. Find a great team, sure, but do not outsource everything, or the soul of your personal brand will be lost. You have to maintain that soul. The best brands, even at Binge, are the ones where clients are involved. We don’t expect more than four to five hours a month. That’s the bare minimum. But that’s what it takes.
So that’s my roadmap from zero to viral: find your purpose, find your uniqueness, do pattern recognition, think from first principles, and stay involved.
