Going viral on social media is hard and the true secret is still elusive to many. The importance of uncovering such a secret becomes even more vital when the content in question is raising awareness for a good cause. Breast cancer awareness social media campaigns have been some of the most creative, engaging, and controversial in the last decade. More importantly, they have gone viral. A great example was the bra-color Facebook status that included the poster’s name on a single-colored background. The color was supposed to be the color of the bra the poster was wearing at the moment of posting. The campaign was expanded, asking women to post the words “I like it…” and fill in the blank with the place they store their purse. The result was suggestive posts like “I like it behind the couch” or “I like it on the floor.” Both campaigns were shared amongst female social media users via private message. The goal was to raise awareness for breast cancer through suggestive posts while keeping the men online in the dark as to the true meaning.
Going Viral
Viral content requires three elements. First, the message must stand out. If a social message is not interesting, audiences have no reason to spread it. Second, the campaign must have a call to action. Social media users are bombarded with a multitude of messages each second. If a message has a good hook, the user may investigate further, but if there is no call to action, the message dies there. Third, participatory communication, or “any process through which people define themselves, what they need and how to get there, through dialogue,” is key to creating message advocates (Byrne et al., 2005). User-generated content(UGC) is the strongest form of participatory communication on social media (check out another great use of UGC by Warby Parker). Social users participate in social media and engage with content, but for content to go viral, users must adapt the message to fit their personal story, brand, aesthetic, or personality before sharing. Not only does this further engage the user with the message by crafting content around it, but it also changes the context of the message to better fit the audience the UGC will reach. This will hopefully result in action taken based upon the content of the message as the message itself is spread and shared to new audiences.
The breast cancer awareness campaign stood out with its unique and suggestive approach messaging. Direct and private messages shared amongst females on social networks acted as the call to action to raise awareness for breast cancer research and also to offer the opportunity to engage further and make a difference by passing the message on. Finally, the format in which the sharing takes place is by creating a post and sharing it with a new community. That is strong UGC if ever I did see it!
Who’s In Control?
Last but not least, the call to action harnesses the power of locus of control and digital anonymity. Locus of control, or the belief or personality trait reflected in the ownership of control over life events, should be important to marketers. The goal of social messaging is to make audiences feel like they have control and are making a real difference. Not only does the breast cancer campaign spread awareness, but it also requires an act of social users to engage and pass the message on, giving the control of where and how far the message travels to social users. Another upside of garnering message support online is that users can easily show their support without going too far outside of their comfort zone. In the case of this campaign, it was easy for women to post a few words and a block color on their feed without baring their souls to the world. Both elements made the campaign easy to engage with, easy to share, and fun to create content for. The result was millions of shares and an insane amount of participation.
Did You Achieve Your Goals?
The one area the campaign falls short is it does not garner offline advocacy. The ultimate goal of social marketing should be to garner customer action outside of engaging with the content. The creation of UGC is powerful because it expands the reach of the message and further engages each user that creates content. However, the breast cancer awareness campaign was not connected to more actionable, offline opportunities to make a difference. Therefore, the campaign’s goal was simply to raise awareness. The question then becomes, does breast cancer research need more awareness? Breast cancer research has garnered the allocation of the entire month of October to awareness for the disease. Therefore, if the goal of the campaign was actually to raise awareness, then it succeeded. However, if the actual desired outcome of the campaign was to increase donations, volunteers, or other real-world, actionable support, then I think the campaign missed its mark.
“The question then becomes, does breast cancer research need more awareness? Breast cancer research has garnered the allocation of the entire month of October to awareness for the disease. “
Posters didn’t request that UGC include links to donation pages, volunteer signups, or even general informational content. This simple addition would have made the campaign even more powerful because it increases the ways audiences can engage, support, and advocate for breast cancer awareness. The concept of the campaign was strong, the execution eye-catching, but the outcome may have left something to be desired. The solution would be for marketers to start at the very beginning and identify a clear goal. Even if the intended goal wasn’t to garner offline advocacy, the effectiveness of the campaign almost demands that options for real-world engagement be included. We can all agree that actionable support in any form to find a cure for breast cancer is good support. If that support can come from a suggestive, social media campaign, why not milk it for all its worth?
Mahoney L. M., & Tang T. (2016). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781118556900/
Recently, Jared has pivoted into the digital space as he pursues an M.S. in Marketing – Social Media. The last year found Jared working in sales for a distribution company, rounding out his wine business experience. Jared is excited to continue expanding his understanding of the history, production, and culinary opportunities offered by fermented beverages. He hopes to bring a new perspective and unique approach to beverage experiences and community engagement.
When not in the office, this enthusiastic home cook, foodie, and yogi is forever searching for off-the-beaten-track adventures around the globe!
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