Why Going Viral Isn’t a Business Strategy for a Small Business

Going viral is not a reliable business strategy. A post might reach a huge audience, but that does not mean the people seeing it are likely to become customers. For most small businesses, a more useful aim is to help the right people understand what you do, remember why it matters and know how to take the next step.

I understand why “you need to go viral” sounds appealing. It makes growth feel like one big moment: one video takes off, everyone sees it and the diary fills up. But unless you have the time, skill and consistency to keep making content that reaches the right people, you cannot build a steady plan around hoping for that moment.

Attention is only useful when it reaches the right people

Views tell you that a piece of content was watched. They do not, by themselves, tell you whether the audience understood your service, trusted you or wanted to buy from you.

Imagine a local construction business gets a widely shared clip because something funny happens on site. That may be enjoyable and worth sharing. But if the viewers are mostly outside the area, or the clip gives them no sense of the company’s work, the attention may not help bring in the projects the business wants.

That does not mean reach is worthless. Brand awareness matters, and you will sometimes notice it in the real world: someone says they have seen your work on Instagram or TikTok, recognises your name on a recommendation, or mentions a post when they enquire. Those moments count. They are simply different from a qualified enquiry or a booked job.

Start with the customer you actually want

Before planning a post, decide who it is for. Not “everyone who might need a video”, but the sort of person or organisation you genuinely want to hear from—and the question, concern or decision they are facing.

I do not assume every business in the same sector has the same customer. Two construction firms can serve different markets; two aesthetics clinics can have different strengths and attract different people. The owner and the staff who deal with customers every day usually know more about those differences than a generic industry profile does.

That is why, when I start with a business, I want to visit it and pay attention. I look at how customers behave, what the space feels like, how staff speak to people, and which parts of the day reveal what makes the business distinctive. Then I talk with the people who know the work. The content should come from that reality, not from a trend picked because it is popular this week.

Google’s guidance for Search similarly recommends creating people-first content for an intended audience and drawing on first-hand experience. That guidance is about websites and Google Search—not a promise about social-media reach—but it is a useful discipline: make something valuable to the people you want to serve, rather than making a post solely to attract visits. (Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content)

Give people a clear next step

One thing I had to learn myself is that people do not always know what you want them to do. I used to post and hope someone would decide to message me. When I started making a direct invitation—explaining who I could help and asking them to get in touch if that sounded like them—I had an enquiry within a couple of days that led to the meeting I was travelling to.

That is my experience, not a promise that a call to action will produce an enquiry in two days for someone else. The lesson I took from it was simpler: if you want a conversation, make it easy for someone to start one.

Try a specific invitation that fits the post:

• “Planning a brand film but not sure what story to tell? Send me a message and we can talk it through.”
• “If you run a business in the North East and want a clearer plan for your content, get in touch.”
• “Need conference interviews you can use after the event? Ask me about filming them on the day.”

Avoid adding a generic “DM me” to every post without context. Tell people who the invitation is for and what conversation they can expect. A planned business content day can help you prepare useful answers and invitations together, rather than trying to invent them at the last minute.

Measure progress beyond views

Keep an eye on reach, but also record signs that content is helping the business move forward:

1. Relevant conversations: Are the comments and messages coming from people you want to work with?
2. Enquiries: How many people ask about your service, and what are they looking for?
3. Qualified opportunities: Do those enquiries turn into a useful call, proposal or booking?
4. Recognition: Do new customers mention seeing your work, even if they came through a recommendation?
5. Audience fit: Are you attracting the type of customer the business is set up to serve?

Ask every new enquiry how they heard about you, and note the answer in your CRM or enquiry record. People may have encountered you in more than one place, so treat their answer as helpful context rather than perfect attribution. If you share campaign links to your website, Google Analytics can use traffic-source information such as source, medium and campaign to help show where visits came from. (Google Analytics Help: About traffic-source dimensions)

If lots of views are not leading to recognition, useful questions or enquiries, do not automatically respond by posting more. Revisit the audience, the message and the next step. Our guide to choosing a sustainable posting rhythm covers how to keep a realistic cadence; this article is about making sure the content is aimed at the right people in the first place.

Build authority one useful answer at a time

You do not need to become an internet celebrity to be a trusted choice in your market. You need to show that you understand the customer’s problem, explain how you approach it and make it straightforward to ask for help.

That might mean showing a process, answering a question you hear repeatedly, introducing the person behind the business or explaining why you do the work the way you do. It may get fewer views than a trend. If it helps a suitable customer feel understood and take a step towards you, it can be more valuable to the business.

So, by all means, enjoy a post that takes off. Just do not make virality the plan. Make the plan about being clear, recognisable and useful to the people you want to work with—and give them a reason to get in touch.

If you want help making content that explains your business rather than chasing a trend, explore our business video production service. We plan brand films, customer stories and short social videos around the people you want to reach and the places you will use them. Tell us what your customers need to understand, and we can talk through a useful brief. The work is about clarity and relevant content, not a promise of viral reach or guaranteed enquiries.

Plan your next step

• Small-business films and photography
• Turn social views into enquiries