Dr. CartoonTV CREATORS GUIDE
Creators 101
How do I go viral?
By “going viral,” your animated-content will spread quickly to thousands or millions of people. Going viral can boost your profile, attract new fans, and turn you into an internet sensation overnight. However, virality doesn’t automatically translate into success, money, or a long-term career. Much like a hit song, going viral is often more about the moment than it is the music. There is no set way to go viral, but there are certain things you can do to help put yourself in a position to be seen by millions—just know going viral takes planning and effort to capitalize on the moment and transition that momentum into sustained success.
“You can’t plan to go viral. What most people do when they want to go viral is they
pay a
lot
of money for fake views
to hopefully boost their algorithm. You have to rely
on the foundation—once you build your foundation and something hits a nerve and you
start seeing love across platforms… If you plan it, you’re gonna be spending a lot
of money, but that doesn’t equate to streams or long-term success as a creator.”
—Ryan Hobbs,
Pandora
“Once you have reached a certain caliber in your career, and you have label budget
, there are things that can be done on your behalf to help create a viral moment. At
the end of
the day, it still depends on the fans. There are things that go viral every day that
nobody could’ve guessed. There are things that go viral that have been pushed by
major labels, and there’s a lot of
marketing
strategy behind it.”
—MeLisa Heath, Artist Manager
“Lil Nas X is a perfect example. As much as he goes viral, he’s created the
opportunity, where the probability of him becoming viral is a lot higher. He looks
at the internet in that fashion of being clever. You can never plan for virality,
but you can position things that would maybe make you more probable for it to
happen.”
—Karl Fricker, VP of A&R, RCA Records
“Being viral or going viral is a moment. You can capitalize on it, and you can do
something with it. The term ‘viral’ is like an unexpected explosion, moments in time
you’re trying to harness. They’re important for getting to the next level, but
ultimately creators development is about knowing yourself and your
fanbase
and building contebnt that really transcend just a moment of virality.”
—Adam Small, A&R, Saweetie
“There’s no doubt that with the emergence of TikTok and other social media platforms
thriving, there’s no shortage of people who are building business around the promise
of going viral. If there was a definitive answer to this question, everybody and
every creator would be going viral. Unfortunately, there’s no formula. Make the most
compelling content that you possibly can, and maybe engage some marketing platforms
to get you in the game. But there’s no way anybody can truly look you in the face
and say, ‘I can make you go viral.’ There’s people who can help you take a swing,
but cannot guarantee that you’re gonna connect.”
—Seth Faber, Head of
Artist and Label Strategy, Stem
“You can’t force anything to go viral; you can only create the right conditions for
it to happen. Consider what types of content or messages would be of interest to
your fans. Share content that you think they might enjoy, and hopefully share with
their friends. But as with any marketing campaign, consider what you want the
outcome to be and build that into your planning.”
—Mark Tavern, Music
Industry Educator
