“I want to create a viral campaign.”

If you’re a marketer, you’ve sat across from a client who’s uttered those words. And as long as it’s not your first day in the business, you’ve spent the next 10 or 15 minutes gently explaining why that’s an impossible ask.

If virality had some sort of formula, every brand would have a viral post. Content that ricochets around the globe–of course, let’s create that!

But in addition to the desired goal being unrealistic, is it even something worth wanting?

Here today, gone tomorrow

Online content is ephemeral. Chartbeat reports that most articles shared on social media receive 80% of their traffic within 26 hours of publication. At 48 hours, almost all are fading into the ether.

If your post goes viral, you’ll see that lifespan expand, but only slightly.

To illustrate the point, let’s think back on some of the biggest viral moments we’ve seen in the digital age. Maybe it’s that time Kim K. “broke the internet.” Do you remember what publication that photo ran in?

How about a more recent example: Who’s the pygmy hippo that became an internet sensation in 2024, and where does she live? (That would be Moo Deng, a resident of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand.)

What’s the point in having the most talked-about content one week if everyone’s forgotten it by the next? If your brand isn’t already a household name, it’s going to fade away right alongside the other finer details of the viral content.

What’s the alternative?

The opposite of chasing virality is building your brand.

Unlike that viral hit, brand-building takes time, but it also creates staying power.

With a viral hit, you get the quick high of millions of shares and a burst of chatter on X. But by next week, everyone’s moved on to something else and your video and brand are a distant memory.

Brand-building won’t blast your name across the internet all at once. But it ensures those who do get to know you will remember you next week, next month, or next year.

Brand-building won’t blast your name across the internet all at once. But it ensures those who do get to know you will remember you next week, next month, or next year.

Investing in your brand

Listen, we’re not going to tell you building a brand is easy, but it is necessary for the long-term health of your business. And the work is incredibly rewarding when you begin to see your efforts pay off.

It’s also a comprehensive effort—brand does not begin and end within your marketing department. Your brand is a physical and emotional representation of your company’s culture and mission. Your marketing team creates your logos and brand voice to reflect who you are and what you do, but they’re interpreters of your brand, not the god-like creators of it.

This connection between your image and your broader work is exactly why brand-building has staying power. Unlike a viral post, which becomes popular because of some self-contained quirky or funny element, brand sticks with viewers because it’s representative of who you are.

Creating a 30-second TikTok video may seem preferable to all this effort, but there’s a reason any marketer you speak with will choose brand-building over virality every single time. That hard work creates lasting results rather than fleeting recognition, which is ultimately the key to longevity for any business.

Ready to build a brand with staying power? We’re here to help you get it done.