June 19, 2014
Vetting Your “Viral” Content: Can You Predict The Next Big Thing?
We’ve been talking about viral marketing and advertising since the 90s, and seen it come into play in forms such as music video clips, word-of-mouth advertising, and interactive online marketing campaigns, to name just a few. But how does one predict what will become viral, and create that on their own? There’s no exact science, but many have done the research, and determined a number of factors that have proven successful in viral content.
Strike a Chord
While it may be your first instinct when creating content to try and avoid offending anyone, this can lead to very neutral and sometimes boring content. The fact of the matter is, it’s almost impossible to avoid ticking everyone off, and the content that strikes a chord with people is that which takes a stand. Get passionate with your content creation, inspire emotion, and allow your consumers to vent their feelings via a comments platform. The debate will bring your readers back, and lead to organic shares to get more voices involved. In other words: We all love to state our opinions, so give us something to talk about.
Of course, emotions encompass more than just anger and agreement. Videos that make us laugh, cry, or just say “aww” are often the ones you see popping up over and over on your Facebook feed. This content is often void of controversy, and while it provides less fuel for conversation, it gets shared often, and still spreads your message. If you can figure out how to make cute kittens relate to your business, then this method may work for you. Just look at Budweiser and their Clydesdales.
Dig Deeper
No one wants to see a carefully constructed piece of their content marketing plan dismissed with the Internet’s equivalent of the cold shoulder, “TL;DR.” But a recent analysis of The New York Times’ most emailed list reveals that “too long; didn’t read,” doesn’t hold a whole lot of water after all; It’s actually the longer pieces that receive the most engagement. So if you have something important and interesting to say, don’t shy away from creating in-depth content that really explores an issue and presents a well-formulated opinion.
Immediacy vs. Longevity
Forbes recently named two different viral effects that we can use to describe successful viral marketing efforts. First is the Roadblock Effect, which refers to a kind of hyper-saturated content that becomes impossible to avoid. This is the content that is being shared by multiple users across multiple platforms, and seems to infiltrate a moment in consumer consciousness.
To achieve this kind of instantaneous shareability, you typically need some serious resources in addition to a canny sense for the right time to release your content. Weekly television shows receive this kind of bump with viewers sharing their thoughts on social media, but even brands without a captive audience can capitalize on a shared moment if they play the timing right. The downside to this is that while this content hits hard, the momentum doesn’t always last long.
More accessible is the “Stagger” approach. By targeting key influencers in your industry that will share your high-quality content, you can achieve a slower, but still steady saturation. This approach, like all quality content marketing methods, requires knowing your audience well and working within your industry to leverage the customers and collaborators who love your work. These are the people who will initially share your content, and the more of them that to so, the further the reach.
Creating intriguing content that is either very topical or solid and evergreen takes some luck, but it also takes work. Very few viral campaigns have done so without tapping into their resources, be it the right connections, an abundance of funds, the right platform or, more likely, a combination of these and other factors. Study up on what both big and small brands have done in the past, and you’ll be putting yourself in a good position to create very marketable content.
