I\u2019m frequently asked the question \u201chow exactly do you create content that goes viral?\u201d\u00a0 I always try and explain that while it isn\u2019t lightning in a bottle, it isn\u2019t something exactly formulaic either.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll usually start answering the question by explaining whether you\u2019re creating blog posts,\u00a0images,\u00a0videos, online marketing campaigns, web apps \u2013 you name it, it\u2019s really\u00a0all about the content<\/strong>.\u00a0 But all other things being equal, there is still a ton of great content out there you\u2019re competing with.\u00a0 How exactly do you get your idea to replicate in the petri dish of the web and accelerate out of control between real users?<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been successful at creating viral content both with posts on my own blog as well as with client projects including web applications, community building projects, new products, etc.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also created plenty of stuff that didn\u2019t go anywhere, which is all part of the process.\u00a0 The web is the\u00a0ultimate scratchpad\u00a0for communications professionals.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not failing, you\u2019re not succeeding either.<\/p>\n There is not necessarily a science to viral, although I\u2019ve been able to reproduce it enough times to have picked up on a few secrets.\u00a0 Today I\u2019ll share just 10 things I\u2019ve learned from personal experience creating viral content:<\/p>\n 1)\u00a0 Build viral into the process<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, you\u2019ve got something cool you want to share with the world \u2013 great.\u00a0 But did you build telling others in as a natural element of the process?\u00a0 If you can design what you\u2019re doing so that every participant will spread\/share your idea naturally, you\u2019ll have a much higher chance of reaching critical mass.<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0 Give away something amazing<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m not necessarily talking about something tangible (although you can do that if it\u2019s in your budget) \u2013 but perhaps more important than giving something physical away, give people a story they\u2019ll want to share and tell the next chapter themselves.<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0 Make it about them, not you<\/strong><\/p>\n Put your users in the spotlight, make them the stars, front and center.\u00a0 Give them links, give them awareness, give them motivation and empower them to control the conversation.<\/p>\n 4)\u00a0 Creativity and fun count\u2026big time<\/strong><\/p>\n What your doing has to be fun and engaging to real people, not just your corporate team.\u00a0 In other words, it can\u2019t be fun or cool in a vacuum.\u00a0 You can\u2019t focus group viral.<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0 Make it as simple as possible<\/strong><\/p>\n It should be so easy a caveman can do it.\u00a0 Less steps are better, and try to combine the sharing with one of your steps.\u00a0 Have less than three steps, two is even better.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to add more, just be sure people will actually do them.\u00a0 Also the idea itself should be scanable and easily understood.\u00a0 Viral content always must pass the elevator test (if you can\u2019t tell someone in the span of the ride in an elevator, it\u2019s too complicated).<\/p>\n 6)\u00a0 If you feel like you\u2019ll have to push it, don\u2019t do it<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, you can still do it, just realize it\u2019s not going to go viral.\u00a0 You can\u2019t force things to spread naturally between real users.\u00a0 Sure you can throw money behind something for traffic, but that isn\u2019t viral.<\/p>\n 7)\u00a0 Patience is key, allow the tipping point to build naturally<\/strong><\/p>\n If your idea is really good and starts to spread \u2013 patience is actually important.\u00a0 Your content might not go viral right away.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had some ideas surprise me \u2013 they started off slowly but I still clearly saw they were being shared.\u00a0 After it got to a certain level it just took off.\u00a0 The fact that something keeps moving, even slowly, is a good sign you\u2019re headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n 8)\u00a0 Influencers matter \u2013 but so do those in the long tail All of my ideas that went viral were shared at some point by\u00a0influencers.\u00a0 With that said, they didn\u2019t necessarily hit the influencer first.\u00a0 In many cases, influencers picked up the ideas from users in the long tail.\u00a0 Also, if influencers see enough users in the long tail sharing something, in aggregate all that noise might be too much for them to ignore.<\/p>\n 9)\u00a0 If you\u2019re having brainstroming meetings to try and make something you built go viral, the game is already over So many marketing companies build things and then later on have meetings trying to figure out what went wrong and why their idea is not spreading.\u00a0 Here\u2019s some reality:\u00a0 just because you\u2019ve hired an agency that brands themselves internet marketing experts means nothing.\u00a0 I can\u2019t count how many times I\u2019ve encountered marketing\/ad agencies that claim to be experts at producing strong linkbait or viral content and then can\u2019t show a single example of work that was legitimately shared.\u00a0 Find someone with a proven reputation for creating viral content.\u00a0 Their social proof is a quick search of Google and the social web.<\/p>\n 10)\u00a0 Relationships and reputation should shape strategy If your brand is new to the world and to the web, it is both harder in some ways easier in others to make viral content.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard, because you have no recognition and trust in the world \u2013 both strong factors when working for you.\u00a0 At the same time, people do love what is brand new and novel to them.\u00a0 These elements must be thought out and what you\u2019re doing should reflect your brand\u2019s current level of social capital.\u00a0 There are separate strategies for each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m frequently asked the question \u201chow exactly do you create content that goes viral?\u201d\u00a0 I always try and explain that … <\/p>\n
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