With over 1.6 BILLION views on Youtube and 88,000 #babysharkchallenge mentions on Instagram, if you haven’t heard of the Baby Shark song, where have you been? When educational Youtube Channel, Pinkfong, uploaded this simple and catchy children’s song about a family of sharks, it is unlikely they knew it would become such a viral phenomenon.
Image credit: PinkFong
The repetitive ‘do do do do’ lyrics were annoying parents across the globe and as the famous saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. Adults were forced to join in on the fun; luckily the dance moves are very simple to follow, so even dads can join in on the ‘Baby Shark Challenge’.
Some consumers have even made a hybrid post which combines both the ‘Baby Shark Challenge’ and the ‘In My Feelings Challenge’. The later involves jumping out of a (slowly) moving car and dancing to Drake’s single In My Feelings; to combine the two you may jump out of your car and dance to Baby Shark do do do do do, instead. These two trends appeared at around the same time, which is why they seem to have merged. Music and video make an excellent combination and I think we should all be thankful that social media was not so influential in 2003 when Crazy Frog was released!
You may be asking yourself, ‘why is this so popular?’ but this is not important when it comes to responding to a viral trend. Whether you find this song annoying or endearing, you should be asking ‘how can I be a part of this?’. This trend is a perfect example of what a powerful asset video is on social media. According to Hubspot, 54% of consumers wanted to see more video content from brands and the 2018 Sprout Social Index tells us that 71% of social media users watch videos online to laugh. Knowing that most of these videos are recorded on a mobile phone and made within a few minutes also demonstrates that video content does not need to be expensive, especially not when responding to a micro-trend such as this one.
Originality is always key to make your video stand out amongst the crowd, make sure your brand has their own spin on the concept. Some people have got their cats dancing along, others have even got tattoos dedicated to the trend! If you are not willing to make such a physical commitment or you do not own a cat and you are unsure of how your brand can respond to trends our social media or influencer marketing services could be a great help to you! Contact us today to find out more.
