Making content go viral

[lludawg]

I feel like if you made an article that has the potential to go viral, you could greatly improve the traffic to your site and give it that initial boost. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make an article go viral?

 

[Kleineganz]

There is no secret formula on how to make something go viral. In a way, that's why it's called "going viral." It's completely organic and impossible to predict. Would you imagine that a silly video of someone manipulating a cat to simulate playing a piano would have gotten millions of people to watch it? I bet the person who posted that video was shocked when it got as many views as it did.

 

[alphaguild]

Word of mouth, advertising, traffic exchange, paid comments on article and social media promotion of the article is probably the best way to go. Like Kleineganz said, it hard to predict virality but you can definitely give it a push forward.

 

[Askanison]

Unique and original content. The main things that go viral quickly are funny videos. Put a cat at a play piano and make him play chopsticks and bam you have a winner. Doing something stupid and filming it isn't a sure fire way to get yourself viral though now. People are starving for original content and not a rehashed joke that has been shared a thousand times on Facebook or Reddit.

 

[xTinx]

I feel like if you made an article that has the potential to go viral, you could greatly improve the traffic to your site and give it that initial boost. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make an article go viral?

Well you need to bookmark you content at high PR, do follow social bookmarking sites (Reddit, Delicious, Diigo, StumbleUpon, etc.) and share it on top social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc). Prior to all these, make sure to write engaging content. Avoid using jargon and spouting nosebleed-inducing terms no one's familiar with. Use simple language with a call-to-action at the bottom of the write-up. You may include quirky videos and explore out-of-this-world themes and concepts. Just make sure to go back to the heart of the matter, your thrust for writing that content.

 

[tmgenterprises]

As has been said above, there is no sure-fire way to get content to go viral, but you can surely keep it in mind when creating your content. Just look at the stuff that does go viral and use the common elements in your content. Viral content tends to be content that affects the emotions of the audience. Make them feel something and they'll want to share. If it makes them laugh, inspires them or ticks them off, you have a higher chance for that content to be shared.

 

[Goat of Departure]

I don't think there's a way to make your content go viral. I mean, think about it if people can easily make they're content go viral, I think more and more people are getting a lot of attention and we'll be swimming in viral content. But the best way to make it 'go viral' is to rely on the content itself.

In terms of videos it's rather easy because it gets your attention in a matter of seconds but when it comes to articles, well it's harder since you have to capture the attention span of your audience long enough for them to finish the article and make them go "Hey! I want to share this to my friends!". If the content if good it will spread itself but first, you need to market it somewhere people can see it in plain sight.

 

[net_zen]

Create quality content often and properly spread it through all available platforms. You can't predict what piece of content will go viral but you can watch the trends and focus your creation efforts on that - it'll increase your chances. Having a user base already built, as opposed with propagating content all by yourself, is another way to increase the odds. It's one thing to share by yourself and another to get shares from multiple people.

 

[Benoit W]

Аudiеnсеs lоvе lооking fоrwаrd tо whаt will hаppеn nеxt. Аntiсipаtiоn is оnе оf thе mоst highly rеpоrtеd fееlings in virаl соntеnt, аnd thе intеrасtivе nаturе соntеnt plаys pеrfесtly tо thаt еmоtiоn. With еасh quеstiоn аskеd, usеrs build аntiсipаtiоn fоr lеаrning thе аnswеrs аnd thеir оutсоmе аt thе еnd--еssеntiаlly gаmifying thе еduсаtiоnаl nаturе оf thе соntеnt. Gаmifiсаtiоn аnd dеlаying grаtifiсаtiоn аrе grеаt tасtiсs fоr inсrеаsing аntiсipаtiоn in соntеnt

 

[pwarbi]

Sadly there isn't a rulebook on what to do to make your content go viral, because if there was then we'd all be doing it.

While I wouldn't say that it's just pure luck if something goes viral, because in a way you can manipulate how many views it gets by making sure it's something that's current and relevant, and maybe even slightly controversial, but other than that your just patiently hoping that it takes off.

 

[brofist]

Unique and original content. The main things that go viral quickly are funny videos. Put a cat at a play piano and make him play chopsticks and bam you have a winner. Doing something stupid and filming it isn't a sure fire way to get yourself viral though now. People are starving for original content and not a rehashed joke that has been shared a thousand times on Facebook or Reddit.

True. But a lot of times, rehashed content can go viral on Facebook and Reddit too. I have found that viral content on reddit does not last for a very long time. You can get a lot of upvotes but it only lasts for a few days - maybe 4 days at max before your content gets buried by new ones. I think viral content on Facebook lasts a lot more. However, articles on Facebook have very little chance to go viral - images and videos are the ones who usually get the nod here.

 

[iKnowThings]

The most important thing to understand about the viral effect is that it is caused by sharing. If it isn't shareworthy, it will never go viral. Once you share to 1 person, you share to their friends list - viral videos are basically fractally shared videos.

 

[cortana]

Viral = wicked combination of really good luck + really sharable content.