On July 31, I got a news alert. Scaramucci was out as the White House Communications Director after 10 days. I don’t know why but the first thing I thought of was avocados. So, my very first tweet that had the link to the news article had that reference.
I’ve had avocados that lasted longer than Anthony Scaramucci did as Communications Director. https://t.co/gLKgsaRgNT
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) July 31, 2017
I even thought it was funny enough to post as my Facebook status that morning, which received a lot of engagement. I was going to go on with my day. I needed to get ready for my flight.
Then, I got hit with a couple more ideas to post on Twitter. After all, the entire internet was on board. This was the creative relief we needed from the onslaught of, well, reality. So, I tweeted out a few different references. I used different hashtags. I sometimes referred to him as The Mooch and other times, used #Scaramucci.
A couple got likes. Some retweets here and there, but nothing major.
Until.
RT if you’ve had a popcorn kernel stuck in your teeth longer than Mooch in the WH.
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) July 31, 2017
This was actually a throwaway tweet. I just kind of posted it as I thought about it and then posted my favorite, which had a Game of Thrones reference. I thought if any of my tweets that day got any traction, it would obviously be the Game of Thrones one.
To my surprise, it wasn’t. It was my ‘throwaway’ tweet that resonated the most with people for some reason. It was even included in a Buzzfeed News roundup.
I said RIP to my notifications and got ready for my flight.
My one “viral” tweet reinforced what I’ve been telling my clients about content marketing and social media all along. So, here are my learnings from my 24 hours of internet fame.
You have to be flexible with your content
Once you have a content strategy and editorial plan in place (and for the love of coffee, please have these in place), what you put out into the world cannot be repetitive. You won’t know what resonates with your audience until you’re putting out content that actually resonates with your audience. This means that you have to be flexible enough to play around with the wording and types of content you’re releasing into the world.
While it’s important to have a consistent voice, that doesn’t mean your voice has to be rigid.
Hashtags don’t guarantee exposure
I really thought that this tweet would be the one that got the most engagement. I was using multiple references, and #GameofThrones is still relatively active on Monday mornings.
Ned Stark was alive on #GameofThrones longer than The Mooch lasted in the WH. #Scaramucci
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) July 31, 2017
As you can see, I was wrong.
Numbers don’t tell the whole story
My viral tweet received over 153K impressions, but what does that mean? Not much, to be honest. It means that with over 900 retweets, it made its way in front of a lot of eyeballs on Twitter, but I only got a single follower from it. 87 people cared enough to click over to my profile to learn more about me.
When you’re asking your social media manager or content manager to create viral posts, are you thinking about the implications? Just because something strikes a chord with your audience doesn’t mean it’ll lead to money in the bank for you.
Want to break down the actual ROI of content marketing? Jay Baer has a great formula. Spoiler: It involves actual math.
Don’t squander the first impression opportunity
My tweet had nothing to do with the content marketing and strategy services I offer. The audience it would drive to my profile were most likely not my target customers. But what if one set of eyeballs belonged to a small business owner scrolling through Twitter between phone calls or while eating lunch? My pinned tweet when I woke up that morning was a general post about the services I offer, linking to my website.
After the tweet picked up traction, I quickly drafted another tweet that I pinned to the top of my profile:
The popcorn kernel is just a small taste of my skills. Ready to take your #content to the next level? Let’s chat. https://t.co/y6YG95ZfPW pic.twitter.com/QqgZ1cD75v
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) July 31, 2017
Cheesy? Yes. But potentially effective.
It was an unexpected experiment that was fun while it lasted. That’s the thing about content marketing and social media. Not everything will be a home run.
Amplifying your voice through the noise requires planning, tenacity, and a whole lot of flexibility.
Have you ever had a tweet go unexpectedly viral? What was your experience like?
