Having your content go “viral” is often seen as the greatest success one can achieve with digital media. Unfortunately, it’s an extremely unpredictable process, where it seems like the harder you try, the further away you find yourself. Some people see “going viral” as a process, where if you make a clever enough video with enough money, you automatically have a giant hit, but this sentiment is far from true.

You can almost hear the collective directive from nonprofit boardrooms around the country: “Make us a video challenge like the ALS Bucket Challenge; that’s what we need!” As if just wanting it and declaring the need means it will happen. This couldn’t be further from reality in the viral marketing world. The fact is, the more you try to make it happen the less likely it will actually happen.

There are basically two ways to get a viral hit.

Viral content always becomes viral in either a negative or a positive context. If your organization makes a mistake and it gets caught in a (typically) humorous way, that will often get a lot of hits. While the saying goes that there is no such thing as bad press, having your brand be universally recognized for a misstep is not exactly a good thing.

You can also hit the online big-time and find yourself at the center of a movement or cause that resonates positively with a huge swath of the population, bringing in new demographics, raising awareness, etc. This is what happened with the ALS Association last summer.

So, while viral marketing is highly sought after, no nonprofit group would ever want the former situation, no matter how much brand awareness it might bring. In order to achieve an overall positive scenario with a viral hit, there are some conditions you need to set up.

It all starts with your nonprofit’s culture.

At the end of the day, going viral is not about what tactics you employ at that moment, it’s more about generally cultivating your business during the day-to-day. You need to create a positive culture around you and your organization, especially with regard to the way you interact with your supporters.

You need a democratic approach where your charity freely empowers everyone involved (donors, volunteers) to be a messenger and an advocate. This strategy will give you a social media boost no matter what, because it helps you frame the conversation, but then hands the reigns over to your supporters, who will be warmly received by the public and especially their peers. Peer to peer referrals and endorsements are the most powerful form of marketing you can ask for.