Sriracha. Know what it is?
Of course you do. But do you know why you know what it is?
Chances are you heard about it from a friend, or had it in a restaurant and loved it. But realize this: you never saw an ad about it. You never turned on your TV and saw a commercial. You never logged onto Facebook and saw a sponsored post. You just heard about it.
So how does a company create an enormously viral product without any marketing?
Simple. It's an amazing product. And word of mouth is the best earned media you can ever get for yourself.
Today, social media is the plumbing to the word of mouth in our society. If you make a great product and you can get people to taste it, both literally and metaphorically, then there's a tremendous opportunity for your name to spread on its own. There are tons of brands, not just Sriracha, that don't spend a dime on marketing and win simply by making a great product that people can't help but talk about.
In this day and age, you may not have the budget to put towards marketing your product or service, but that shouldn't stop you. If you're putting out a strong product and service then your name may very well spread through the eyes and ears of those that are able to experience your offerings firsthand.
In that regard, social media has put us in a very interesting space. If you can leverage the social "influence" of one individual who's had a great experience with what your business offers, you can be well on your way to surpassing the attention that any paid budget would get you. But: you need to make sure you actually have a good product. For instance, if you're a small time restaurant that happens to have great food, all you need is that one person on Instagram or Twitter to talk you up because they love what you have to offer.
The brands and the products that will break out in the next decade with zero dollars may end up being anomalies in the grand scheme of things, but that's all predicated on them having tremendous products. You can have all the money in the world but if your product sucks, you'll end up losing the long game. However, you may very well be piss poor and not in the position to spend money on marketing, but if your product is good enough to entice people to talk about it, then in this day and age, you can most certainly win.
Gary Vaynerchuk builds businesses. Fresh out of college he took his family wine business and grew it from a $3M to a $60M business in just five years. Now he runs VaynerMedia, one of the world's hottest digital agencies. Along the way he became a prolific angel investor and venture capitalist, investing in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Uber, and Birchbox before eventually co-founding VaynerRSE, a $25M angel fund.
The #AskGaryVee Show is Gary's way of providing as much value value as possible by taking your questions about social media, entrepreneurship, startups, and family businesses and giving you his answers based on a lifetime of building successful, multi-million dollar companies.
Gary is also a prolific public speaker, delivering keynotes at events like Le Web, and SXSW, which you can watch right here on this channel.
Find Gary here:
Website: http://garyvaynerchuk.com
Wine Library: http://winelibrary.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/gary
Twitter: http://twitter.com/garyvee
Instagram: http://instagram.com/garyvee
Medium: http://medium.com/ @garyvee

6 thoughts on “How do brands go viral without any marketing?”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Purab U S says:

    EXAMPLE: TESLA CARS

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars The Vative says:

    ok then why is it taking me so long?

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Justtaylorthings says:

    I want to go viral. I will go viral. Note to self

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars J says:

    You should recycle this clip guys, it's an instagram call to action pre-wave!

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Raj Jain says:

    +Gary Vaynerchuk Hey Gary, just came across this video! I'm a music producer from LA that just pumped out a 28 track mixtape and more daily uploads on Youtube and Instagram. Could you check out my work and give me some tips on improving? I CRAVE feedback so I can get better and share my music and ideas with the world. Much love Gary <3 – Raj Jain

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Atish U says:

    Usually agree with what you say, but don't you think after a point in time you need to market regardless of the product? Product can only take you so far in reaching out to the masses, right?

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