On a Sunday night late last year, Josh Rashid of Coffee Milano Cafe posted a TikTok video to the store’s account. The short video featured different clips of customers walking into the Middleborough, Massachusetts-based cafe and dancing, soundtracked by Los Del Rios’ iconic ’90s song, “Macarena.” The premise of the video was simple: If you wanted a free coffee, you just had to dance for five seconds.
Rashid, the store’s owner, didn’t expect much from the post. It was just a fun way to engage with customers and spark some online interaction. But then things snowballed.
By the following morning, the video had gone viral. “We woke up that morning and hit 4,000 views,” Rashid says. “A couple of hours later, we hit 8,000 and were ecstatic. Then by the end of the day, we had a million views and a lot of phone calls.”
Local news stations were calling, customers were lining up, and the cafe had its biggest sales month of the year. The video has been viewed over nine million times.
Usually, when coffee shops talk about marketing tactics and strategies, they’re thinking of active steps they can take to raise awareness of their business: Meta ads, branded cups and sleeves, well-designed websites with compelling photos. But sometimes, a menu option or post can take on a life of its own and become its own form of marketing and brand awareness.
That was certainly the case for Coffee Milano Cafe. “We just put a sign on the door,” Rashid says. “Hopefully, people would read it and start dancing for their coffee. Then, it just took off from there.”
Earned media, or press and publicity that generally relies on word of mouth—think newspaper articles, customer reviews, and, of course, viral videos—can be a powerful, and sometimes unpredictable, marketing tool for coffee shops. At its most effective, it has a clear jumping-off point, like Coffee Milano Cafe’s video, that gives news outlets and social media users something to share and get excited about.
So how can shops leverage their content to create opportunities for earned media? And how can they keep that excitement going and sustain the increased attention after going viral?
Word-of-Mouth in the Digital Era
Earned media is inherently unpredictable. A single post or spontaneous moment can take off without warning, and capture attention in ways that paid ads just can’t. And while viral moments can drive buzz, they’re only one part of the earned media picture. For many coffee shops, it’s the combination of online reviews, local news coverage, and word-of-mouth press that amplifies exposure—all without the hefty price tag of paid advertising.
For Aric Miller, owner of Sterling Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, word-of-mouth advertising is a major factor—but he’s also focused on visibility on Google. “If you’re not on page one, you’re not even on the internet,” he says. Press coverage can help play a big role here. “The more press you get, the more likely your shop will appear towards the top of Google search results. Especially if it’s a recent, positive review.”
Earned media can also introduce a coffee shop to new crowds. When Sterling was highlighted as one of Portland’s best coffee shops by the local paper, the Oregonian, the article helped the business reach a whole new audience—not just coffee lovers, but people looking to experience the best of Portland’s culinary offerings.
“It helped us connect with a completely different audience,” Miller says. “We’ve seen a lot of fresh faces, and though we always see a lot of tourism, these were not our regulars.”
Rashid saw similar benefits from his viral moment. After the video blew up, he noticed both older and younger people—folks normally outside Coffee Milano Cafe’s typical demographic—walking through his doors. “The news is more our older crowd […] ‘We saw you on the news, we had to try you out,’” he says. Meanwhile, younger customers were more likely to find his business on TikTok and Instagram.
Keeping the Momentum Up
For Rashid, the impact of the viral video was immediate. News stations came in to cover it, even going live from the cafe. The publicity helped Coffee Milano Cafe avoid the typical January sales lull—and things haven’t slowed down too much yet. “I ran my projections and thankfully, it has not slowed down like I thought it was going to,” he says.
The viral moment led to a noticeable uptick in sales. “The busiest month I had all year was that November when we went viral,” says Rashid. “That following week or two, [our increased traffic] was 100% from the video.” But he knows that the buzz is just the start—the challenge remains after the shop runs down its 15 minutes of fame. “After that, it’s our job to keep them coming back and give them a good product.”
Miller agrees that earned media can drive a short-term boost, but its effects don’t last forever. “Those things will drop off as new press or whatever supersedes it,” he says. “But that stays with people, especially the first-timers who come in. Hopefully, they’ll come back.”
That’s where the work really begins—turning a moment of visibility into lasting customer relationships. The Oregonian also highlighted Sterling’s signature Maple Sage Latte in its roundup of seasonal drinks last fall, but for Miller, media attention alone isn’t enough. It’s about making sure the experience lives up to the hype. “When we have those opportunities, we have to make the most of it,” he says. “To make sure my staff is informed about the drink and why we’re doing it this way.”
That same philosophy applies beyond the cafe doors. Rashid saw Coffee Milano’s social media following skyrocket after the video was published: The cafe’s Instagram followers grew to 12,000, its TikTok following has nearly doubled, and even its Facebook page gained 3,000 followers. But numbers alone don’t guarantee return customers. It’s about using that visibility to create an ongoing connection through memorable drinks, engaging content, and a cafe experience worth returning for.
Coffee Milano Cafe recently hosted its first dance party event, inspired by its viral moment, during which baristas gave away 80 drinks. But the event wasn’t just about the free coffee—many customers stayed to buy food and show support to the cafe afterwards. “They paid it forward,” Rashid says. And, of course, they filmed it for more social media content. “Not one person in there wasn’t smiling.”
