Going Viral: The Small Business Golden Ticket
Can I get a witness?
The raging pandemic and forced quarantine of 2020 was fertile ground for the rise of TikTok and our new habit-forming, vertical video scroll.
The interest-based algorithm contributed to our addiction. For the first time, it didn’t matter how many followers you had. “Influence” was no longer the determining factor for the reach of any particular video. It just had to be good, as judged by those who saw it. In the golden age of that platform, first-time creators often got millions of views.
The shift presented a great opportunity for small businesses. Suddenly, the power of story and authenticity was rewarded with lines out the door and bigger nightly deposits. The examples were many, and for those who follow these things the “greatest hits” are fondly remembered: Tacos don Gera, Charlie’s Chicken, and Horrornoments, to name a few.
TikTok is still my window to the world, and the feed now is either chaos, despair or frivolity. In the old days it was always heartwarming to witness the phenomena of a viral small business hit. The comments were fantastic.
Virality is never the goal and, unless you’re Mr. Beast, generally can’t be orchestrated. Consistency is key, building a conversation with your customers. And from the careful-what-you-wish-for department, the golden ticket can ultimately push you off track. Just ask Veruca Salt.
What all of those small-business viral hits had in common is that they were produced by someone who genuinely admired the subject and recognized the power of their story. Each video existed because someone felt compelled to capture it with an “everybody needs to see this” impulse.
Once empathy sparks, a rooting interest sets in. That’s where Hero Network fits.
Jon Henry is the owner of Jon Henry General Store (imagine that!) in downtown New Market, Virginia. He understands social media and generates a lot of content across platforms. His videos usually revolve around the store operation: what’s fresh and what’s happening.
He’s also a cornerstone of the community and contributes to several charitable causes, the definition of a small business hero.
None of us can see ourselves clearly or objectively. There’s a lot of “aw, shucks” in our favorite entrepreneurs. They’re too busy running the business to worry about self promotion. A curious interviewer can ask the right questions to scratch at authenticity and draw responses that make a connection.
The resulting video hits differently and outruns the usual performative selfies or AI slop. Jon Henry took part in an early Hero pilot, and his video was an outlier compared to his usual content.
“It’s easy to post ‘watermelons are 99 cents,’”Jon said after his Hero video treatment. “It’s much harder to talk about our impact on the community. Being interviewed and having the editing done was certainly easier.”
At Hero Network, we recognize the power of authentic video storytelling and its ability to elevate those deserving small businesses in our communities. Only you know the stories that deserve to be told. We’ll help you tell them well.
- Dean Gyorgy