Viral content is the holy grail of online publishing. It’s what every writer wants, but few are able to achieve. But by following the tips in this article, you can take your content from ordinary to extraordinary and make it go viral!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Crafting Compelling Headlines: Learn how to create attention-grabbing headlines that entice readers to click and share. |
| 2. Storytelling Techniques: Discover storytelling strategies that resonate with your audience, keeping them engaged and eager to share your content. |
| 3. Emotion and Authenticity: Understand the importance of evoking emotions and staying authentic in your content to create a deeper connection with readers. |
| 4. Utilizing Visual Content: Explore the power of incorporating visuals like images, videos, and infographics to enhance your content’s appeal and shareability. |
| 5. Leveraging Social Media: Uncover effective social media tactics that amplify the reach of your viral content and encourage user engagement and sharing. |
Write Evergreen Content
- Good news for those who don’t have time to write new content—evergreen content is just as useful today as it was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.
- If you’re looking to share your knowledge with others, consider writing an evergreen piece. Your readers can come back to this article at any time, and they’ll still find it useful.
- Evergreen content is a great option if you want to write something that isn’t tied to a specific date or event. This kind of writing appeals to people who might not have time right now because they have other priorities (like work).
Here are some examples of evergreen articles:
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Produce Long-Form Content
Long-form content is more engaging, easier to share, and more likely to be shared on social media. This is because people prefer long articles that take time and effort to read.
Longer articles are often broken up into multiple parts (think: “How To Lose Weight Fast”), which makes them easier for readers to digest.
They also have a longer shelf-life when it comes down to sharing posts on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter – which makes it easier for your audience members to find them again later down the line if they want more!
Create An Emotional Connection
Emotional triggers are like the secret sauce to a viral story. They’re what make people want to share your content, remember it, and come back for more.
- Emotionally charged stories create an emotional connection between you and your audience, which is why they’re so memorable.
- You can use emotional triggers in two ways: 1) by creating an emotional experience for the reader or 2) by using emotional language that evokes certain feelings in readers (e.g., anger).
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Provide A Sense Of Wonder
The next step is to provide a sense of wonder. This might sound like an overly grandiose statement for the humble content marketer, but the truth is that creating a sense of wonder can be as simple as changing your wording from “he” to “she.”
If you change “he” to “she,” suddenly there’s no telling what will happen next. Your readers are no longer partaking in an impersonal story; they are experiencing it themselves, with all their senses engaged.
Even if using people’s names doesn’t work for your business, there are still plenty of ways you can evoke this feeling in your readers by using words that make them feel like they are part of your story and keep them coming back for more!
Anchor Words: Anchor words are words that help guide the reader down their path towards understanding what you’re trying to convey or sell them on buying into (for example: how does this relate?).
Anchor words also serve another purpose: They create a sense of wonder through metaphor (which I’ll get into next).
Use Keywords That Will Propel You To The Top Of Google’s Search Result Pages
When it comes to your keywords, don’t forget about the following:
The title. If you’re writing an article or blog post, use the keyword in your title.
For example, if you’re writing a piece on how to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch and you want people to find it when they search for “chocolate chip cookie recipe” then include that exact phrase in your article’s title!
Headers. If there are headers within your content (like subheadings), use them as an opportunity to repeat important keywords with each one.
Body copy and paragraphs. While it can be tempting just write whatever comes into your head without any regard for keywords at all.
This isn’t recommended because Google has gotten pretty good at figuring out what people want when they enter certain search terms into their engines and that means they’ll rate poorly on Google if their content doesn’t include those words! So keep these tips in mind:
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Leverage Shareable Content And Newsjacking Techniques
The best way to get your content in front of the right people is by creating shareable content.
Shareable content is easy to share and has the potential to go viral. Newsjacking is a strategy that takes advantage of news stories that are already trending by putting your spin on them and making them relevant to you or your business.
Do you want an example? Take this article: “How To Make Your Content Go Viral With 5 Tips From A Professional News Writer”.
I created this article because I know that most people would not be interested in reading how someone else wrote their piece of viral content (even if they were successful).
However, many people would read an article where someone shares their strategy for creating viral content!
These types of articles can help increase traffic or pageviews on your website as well as build trust with potential customers who need proof that what you’re saying works!
Invest In Promoted Content Opportunities
Promoted content, also known as sponsored content or native advertising, is becoming more and more popular on social media. As a result, you need to learn how you can use promoted content opportunities to promote your content.
Promoted content allows businesses to promote their posts through the networks of their choice.
For example, if you have a Twitter account that promotes sports news and highlights from professional leagues like the NFL or NBA.
You could choose to pay for promoted tweets during those sporting events so that people who follow the teams in question would see those posts first instead of being buried under other information on their feeds.
The reason why this works is that people are getting bored with traditional advertisements on social media they want something new! And since they don’t know what they want yet (this is human nature).
They tend only to pay attention when something comes along that looks different from everything else. The key here then becomes: Don’t try too hard!
If everyone else is doing one thing then maybe try something different–but keep it simple enough so no one will notice anything strange happening before they realize how useful it was all along.”
Create A Catchy Headline And Meta Description
Your headline is the first thing readers see when they come to your page. It needs to be short and descriptive, but catchy enough that people will click on it.
If you have time, try writing several different headlines and then testing them out on people in focus groups or through social media posts. Make sure it’s relevant to the content of your article, too.
The meta description is a snippet of text seen by search engines when someone performs a search for something related to what you’ve written about (e.g., “How To Write A News Article”).
These descriptions need to be concise and relevant as well and ideally interesting enough that people want to click through!
Creating news stories that resonate with millions is an art. Uncover the secrets of successful news writing in our guide on writing great news stories. Learn how to craft compelling headlines and captivating content for a broader audience.
Make Your Content Easily Digestible
One of the best ways to make your content more digestible is to break it down into smaller, easily-digestible chunks. The easiest way to do this is by using a variety of formatting techniques that make your content easier on the eyes and brain. Here are some ideas:
Use bullet points and subheadings — Break up long paragraphs into bite-size pieces by using bullet points and subheadings (a title for each point in the list). This also helps readers follow along as they scroll through their screens or printouts.
Include images — Images can be used in many different ways, for example, you can use them to illustrate an idea or reinforce a point made elsewhere in your writing (or both).
They’re also great when you need some visual stimulation because they give readers something interesting other than text on a page! You could even include an infographic if you think it would work well within your topic area (see below).
Add videos/infographics/etc., depending on what works best with content type – If you have access to any video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019 then consider adding short clips of what’s happening at key moments throughout history instead of describing.
Those moments verbally through text alone (for example: describing how someone looked while walking toward their fate during World War II vs showing footage from newsreels depicting this moment).
Infographics tend not only to make things easier for people who prefer visuals over text but also allow us, writers, more flexibility when creating our articles because we don’t have time constraints imposed upon us.
Like we do when dealing with longer formats such as books or articles written solely about historical events–in other words, this format allows us flexibility within our creative process which makes life easier since most people don’t want
Create Viral-Worthy Infographics And Other Visuals
Visuals are powerful because they can be shared easily, and they’re the most popular type of content on social media (55% of all posts). The key to creating a viral infographic is to keep it simple and easy to understand by any audience member.
Use visual elements like photos, icons, charts, or graphs–whatever makes sense for your topic–to make your content more interesting. If you’re writing about traveling in Asia or applying for jobs or buying a home.
For example, try including images relevant to those topics to attract an audience that would resonate with them as well.
This also applies if you have an image-heavy blog post; use relevant images throughout the piece so readers will feel like they’re getting something useful out of reading it!
Create How-To Articles And Lists
The next time you’re planning your content, think about how-to articles and list posts. These types of stories are the easiest to read, share and digest. They’re also easy to reference later on, which makes them more memorable than other types of content.
One way to use lists is by creating an infographic that’s full of tips for something specific (like “50 Ways To Improve Your Home”). Another option is to compile a series of articles into a single resource (like “50 Tips For Making Friends”).
Write Relevant, Timely Blog Posts
The best blog posts, articles, and other types of content are those that are relevant and timely. If you’re writing about something that you are passionate about or something that you know a lot about, then it will come through in your writing.
This is also a good way to make sure that the content is relevant and timely. You can always write about things which have been covered before but do so in a new light or add some interesting information to the subject which hasn’t been covered before.
Crafting high-quality news articles requires skill and finesse. Explore our top-notch tips on writing high-quality news articles to ensure your work stands out in a sea of information. Make an impact and leave readers hungry for more.
Craft A Compelling First Paragraph That Will Hook Readers Immediately
The first paragraph of your article is your opportunity to hook the reader with a compelling lead. The first sentence should be short and loaded with emotion, but also informative enough so that readers can immediately understand what the article is about.
If you can create a question that gets readers wondering about the answer (like “What happens when an ant meets a dinosaur?”), then you’re on track for success.
If you have quotes from experts in the field of statistics from reputable sources, include them! They’ll help convince readers that this topic is worth their time.
If you’re writing fiction, try including facts about things like where characters live and work or their hobbies this will make them feel more familiar with characters faster than if they were thrown into the deep end right away.
You Can Make Any Content Go Viral With The Right Tips In Action
Use evergreen content. The purpose of evergreen content is to help people find useful information, even if it’s from years ago or even decades ago. Evergreen content includes things like case studies, research reports, interviews, and infographics.
When you create evergreen content your audience will come back for more because it gives them the latest information on a topic they are interested in learning more about right now. They can also share this information with their friends who may not have seen it yet!
Produce long-form content: Long-form means that your articles should be at least 2,000 words long (but preferably 4-6 thousand).
These articles will help you build trust among readers and Google will reward this effort by ranking your article higher than other short ones on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Create an emotional connection: According to a recent study published in the Psychological Science journal, emotions play an important role when people decide what kind of media they consume.
If someone feels sad after reading an article then he or she is likely going to avoid reading similar stories again because there was no pleasure derived from reading it.
On the other hand, if he feels happy then he might want more similar material so try using humor when possible.
But not just any kind of humor; rather use something unique (specifically tailored) for each type of audience which makes them feel special instead feeling like there’s nothing unique about themselves anymore.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several ways to make your content go viral. With these tips in hand, you can start producing viral-worthy content that will help your brand grow!
Further Reading
Making Viral Content: Tips from Syntactics Inc. Short Description: Get valuable insights from Syntactics Inc. on creating content that has the potential to go viral and reach a wider audience.
Creating Viral Content: The Ultimate Guide Short Description: Rock Content provides an ultimate guide to crafting viral content that captures the attention of your target audience.
How to Go Viral: A Comprehensive Guide Short Description: Sprout Social offers a comprehensive guide on the strategies and tactics needed to make your content go viral on social media platforms.
FAQs
What are the key elements of viral content?
Viral content often includes captivating storytelling, unique perspectives, emotional appeal, and shareability that resonates with the target audience.
How can I increase the chances of my content going viral?
To increase the chances of your content going viral, focus on understanding your audience, optimizing for shareability, leveraging trending topics, and promoting your content across multiple channels.
Is there a specific content format that works best for viral content?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all format for viral content, as it can vary depending on the audience and platform. However, videos, interactive content, and engaging visuals often perform well.
How can I measure the success of viral content?
Measuring the success of viral content goes beyond views and shares. Look at engagement metrics, click-through rates, conversion rates, and overall brand awareness to assess its impact.
What are some common pitfalls to avoid when trying to create viral content?
Some common pitfalls to avoid include clickbait headlines, forced attempts at virality, lack of authenticity, and neglecting to monitor and engage with the audience during the viral surge.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
