Marketers aim to deliver the brand message to a wide audience. By achieving that goal, the content has to go viral and to max out on likes and shares on social media. Viral marketing is a technique to spread message quickly by capturing large number of people’s attention.
Regram is Instagram’s version of retweet. It allows Instagrammers to repost contents they desire. Repost assists campaign to grow the community and boost exposures.
Singapore Hospice Council (SHC) successfully used Instagram as a dynamic tool to create awareness about the importance of hospice care. #LendYourInstagram campaign went viral earlier in May this year. With only 8,501 followers, the video received more than 500,000 views and 800 comments in less than 48 hours.
#LendYourInstagram campaign aims to encourage audience to show concerns and to improve the quality of life-threatening illnesses patients. The 1-min video shows an elderly man relaying a message on a A3-sized paper with handwritten words on:
“My days may be numbered but my blessings are plenty.
“I want to live before I leave, which is why I’m among friends, family, and knowledgeable caregivers in surroundings that give me comfort and hope.
“Not everyone knows about hospice care. You can help someone else, simply lend us your Instagram and help share our message of care, love, and hope.”
The elderly man smiled warmly at the end of the clip and touched the hearts of many Singaporeans. The simple yet meaningful video posted by SHC on May 7, gained many attention and positive comments. Many Singaporeans commented and inquire on how they can contribute to SHC.
According to a Singaporean survey done by SHC, 50% of Singaporean do avoid the taboo of discussing about death with their loved ones.
Singapore Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, repost the video content on his personal Instagram. He inspires the citizens to support our loved ones with love and care.
Local celebrities such as Jamie Yeo and Carman Soo (@carman_soo) also grabbed the chance to share their personal stories regarding their experience with their next of kin.
Social media is the next word-of-mouth (WOM). Audience are likely trust the contents or recommendations online by their followers (aka family and friends) over any forms of advertising. Repost feature draws attention, generates trust and it opens direct line of communication between the content creator and audience.
Audience received the message that SHC is trying to deliver and I believe SHC will be on their mind when they come across hospice care. Have you watched the video yet? Do leave a comment and share with me what are your thoughts on hospice care! Cheers!
P.S. Follow SHC Instagram page (@singaporehospice) to get daily dose of cute videos of the elderly and find out the stories about the lovely caregivers.
#LiveWellLeaveWell #LendYourInstagram
Peili's Digital Marketing Blog 
Hello Peili! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and can’t help but to agree with you that Singaporeans do avoid the discussion about death. It is a very sensitive topic yet I think its important to know of our loved one’s end-of-life wishes.
There are so many videos on the web which promotes the importance of supporting our elderly but were not as popular as this. Why do you think that this particular video managed to capture the attention of viewers and was able to spread virally? I look forward to your reply, have a good day! ☺️
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Hello Brenda! Thank you for reading my blog post!
First of all, I feel that this particular video managed to capture the attention of the viewers because the video is short yet informative. The toothy elderly man in the video is adorable and sincere which successfully bring out the message of what SHC wants to deliver. Touching content typically has a higher percentage of going viral.
Many of my Instagram friends repost the video on their Instagram Stories which caught my attention. I was curious and I pressed the link. And guess what? I repost that meaningful video on my Instagram Story and share it with my family and friends! 😛
Do you like the video as much as I do? Let me know!
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Hi Peili! Great discussion topic!
I do agree with you that viral marketing is a great technique in spreading information rapidly. However, it can be a dangerous marketing tool.
There are plenty of brands’ viral marketing campaign that backfired. For example: Dove’s “Real Beauty Bottles” campaign. (https://www.fastcompany.com/40419119/dove-matches-its-new-body-wash-bottles-to-your-body-type) Many people did not buy into Dove’s body wash bottle campaign. The campaign deemed offensive and millions of people erupted on social media. The company issued an apology within hours.
What do you think of such viral marketing that generates negative buzz is successful?
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Hi Yong Xun! Thank you for your comment!
I feel that this is debatable! Although negative buzz can strongly deteriorate the overall brand reputation but Phineas T. Barnum mentioned before that “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”. Negative publicity can increase sales when a product or company is relatively unknown simply because it stimulates product awareness.
After weighing the pros and cons, personally I feel that brand reputation is more important than brand awareness. Although both factors influence and have directly impact the sales. Sometimes, it can take up to years to build a strong brand reputation, why would you allow a campaign to affect it?
Do you agree with that? I look forward to hearing from you soon! Cheers! 😄
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Thanks for the response, Peili!
I couldn’t agree with you more, brand reputation is exceptionally important! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I am looking forward to your next blog post! 😃😃
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