What if you share something revolutionary with your 500 Facebook friends? Let’s estimate that 200 of them see the post, 40 of them actually click on the link and 8 people actually share it with each of their 500 friends. Voilà, You have become viral!
Producing original content via the internet is imperative to any business in today’s market because it proves authority, creativity and innovation. Social media is low-cost and if crafted correctly has the ability to reach a vast market.
So what makes your content sharable to a viewer casually scrolling down a social media page? We have identified 9 ways to make your content go viral.
1. Be personable and Offer Real Value
Your content should be valuable, useful, relatable and offered for free. This will make your content appealing to people and it positions your company as an authoritative leader in the space. In fact this article is doing that for us right now. 🙂 Another example: if I were operating a clothing company in Park City, Utah, I might write a piece containing valuable information on the various fabrics that are suitable to our diverse weather patterns and environment. This article will have broad appeal with anyone who lives in similar weather conditions and temperatures. The clothing company is now considered an expert in the space by both people and by Google because it is transparent with its research. This transparency adds real value, increases your relevance and ultimately improves brand attribution for the company’s products.
2. Appeal to Niche Groups
Another strategy is to focus on a niche. Sometimes the material truly appeals only to a particular group such as the yogi community or snowboarders in Park City. It is important to always understand your customer profile and to create shareable content that meets their specific interests, hopefully in an area that has not been addressed thus far.
3. Reaffirm the Viewer
It is human nature to seek reassurance or appreciation. Memes is universal because people can relate to their thoughts and emotions. The same application must be applied your content if you want it to become sharable. People need to relate to what you are saying which is why it’s important to keep it real. You want the tone of the company to be authentic and approachable. This technique is classic Aristotle and the art of persuasion through pathos, or appealing to one’s emotions.
4. Keep it Simple
Too much to read or too busy of a design can easily turn someone off from understanding the true message. Ease of comprehension is crucial when crafting a piece to go viral. You can be specific but don’t overwhelm the reader with technical jargon. One tip is to test the reactions from younger kids or individuals above the age of 75 to see if they can discern the point of the content.
5. Create Often
In order to gain a reputation, producing work often not only gets your name out there more, but it can be a strategy to optimize your search or increase followers organically in this new world of digital marketing. The most popular sites and most successful companies have the strongest and most engaging presence on the Internet. This is not a coincidence.
6. Enchant the Audience
Delight your viewer with a surprising twist at the end of the article, a funny animation or any other source of entertainment (remembering ease of comprehension). This will make it memorable and worth sharing and talking about.
7. Make it Relevant
Most people will not click on a post let alone, share it with their peers. People weren’t sharing Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump’s proposed policies all over the internet in 2014. Although the current presidential candidates were somewhat established at the time in politics, nobody was sharing frequent articles about their agendas until it became relevant to them and their future. The message must be worth telling others, it doesn’t matter if its purpose is for humor, sympathy or information; persuade someone to want their network to know about it by making it very relevant.
8. It’s Got To Be Eye Catching
You must hook a person in the beginning, even if they would have found the content valuable had they read it. We are constantly barraged with information, so use images and a great headline to persuade someone to want to find out more about the subject. You don’t need a bunch of images but studies do show that one image will dramatically help your engagement.
9. Make it Bold
The data or material presented needs to be thought-provoking. Nobody will share it if they have seen something similar or if it regurgitates “common knowledge.” Take a risk, and put yourself out there! At Render Branding we are constantly coming up with unique ideas that create impact and resonate with people in deep and meaningful ways. Give us a shout if you need help.