Viral marketing is an exciting way to spread the word about your brand or product. It harnesses the power of social media to help create a buzz and increase exposure, engagement, and sales.
It’s a great way to get your message out there, but it’s also a tricky business. Crafting content that will generate the desired viral response takes strategy, planning, and knowledge.
Fortunately, with the right strategies in place, anyone can create content that hits the mark and goes viral.
Table of Contents
What is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is a form of advertising that relies heavily on social sharing and word-of-mouth to spread quickly across an expansive network of individuals.
It relies on content that is interesting, creative, and memorable enough to compel viewers to share it with their friends, family, and followers.
In this way, the campaign message can spread quickly and reach a massive amount of people in a relatively short amount of time.
The Power of Crafting Contagious Content
Creating content that captures the imagination of your target audience and encourages them to share it is key to a successful viral marketing campaign.
To get the most out of your campaign, it’s important to craft content that is innovative, creative, and entertaining. While it’s also important to remain safe and tasteful, you should aim to capture your audience’s attention.
HubSpot found that video content is shared more often than any other type of content, meaning that video should be an integral part of your viral strategy.
Tips to Make Your Content Go Viral
Creating content that has the potential to become viral is an attractive concept for any business or person wanting to increase brand awareness, website traffic or generate leads. However, understanding what it takes to make content go viral is a mysterious and artistic science that few have mastered.
Whether it’s an article, infographic, or video, these 8 tips will enable you to create content that has the potential to be shared around the internet.
- Craft a Strong Headline
An effective headline is the foundation of viral-worthy content. Think about headlines that will grab the attention of your readers and those that are likely to be shared. Make sure the headline is not too long or too broad; you want it to be captivating, yet specific. - Try Out Different Headlines
When crafting content, trying out different headlines can help to boost success. A single headline can sometimes need to be tweaked a few times before it’s perfected. Keep the headlines concise and clear, and use an interesting adjective or verb to make it stand out. - Optimize Your Content for SEO
Search engine optimization goals should always be taken into account when creating viral content. This includes crafting titles and descriptions that are tailored around primary keywords and also using the appropriate keywords within the content. As a result, search engine spiders will be more likely to pick up the content and judge it as valuable. - Be Visual
Creating content that uses visuals or videos will up your chances of creating content that has a chance to go viral. People are more likely to click on content that is easier to digest such as videos, infographics, and photos, and visuals can also help to strengthen a point that you could be making in the article. - Target Social Media
Social media platforms have the potential to drive huge amounts of referral traffic to content if used strategically. Knowing which platforms are relevant to your audience and focusing on these will make your content more likely to go viral. Sustainable marketing on social media is about creating content that both resonates and entertains your community. - Choose Visuals Appropriately
When choosing visuals for use in tall content, it pays to be picky. Images, GIFs, and videos should not only be aesthetically pleasing but they should also serve a purpose. Consider the messages that visuals give off, and make sure they’re consistent with the brand’s overall vibe. - Get Influencers Onboard
Audience numbers can be increased drastically if industry influencers or celebrities are brought onto board. If it fits with their brand, influencers and celebrities may have the potential to give your content the viral boost you’re looking for by promoting it their sizable audience. If influencers are involved, make sure to showcase their presence correctly and give them proper recognition! - Leverage Your Existing Audience
In addition to involving influencers, leveraging the audience you already have can make a huge difference. Ask them to follow and share your content on various social media platforms, and most importantly, make sure you give readers the tools to share content easily. Placing social media share buttons strategically can also help to make sharing simpler.
Maximizing Engagement and Exposure
Although crafting content that is interesting and captivating is a crucial step in the process, you must also find ways to make sure your content reaches as many people as possible.
One way to do this is to identify influencers in your industry and have them share your content. You can also take part in hashtag activism by using the correct hashtags to increase the reach of your posts.
Additionally, you can encourage user engagement by offering giveaways or contests. This helps to build your brand’s awareness and encourages people to keep coming back for more.
How to Keep Your Content Fresh
Once you’ve established a successful viral content strategy, it’s important to continue to update and refresh your content. You should post regularly and take part in trends and conversations to ensure you are relevant to your followers.
Additionally, aim to keep producing different types of content, such as videos, infographics, and memes.
Integrating Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags are an essential part of any viral marketing campaign. They allow you to piggyback on conversations that are already happening and make your content visible to people who are searching for specific topics on social media.
You should do your research to identify the most relevant hashtags to include in your content. Additionally, you can create specific hashtags to encourage more people to engage with your content.
Achieving Lasting Success with Viral Content
Although viral campaigns can be extraordinarily effective in raising awareness of your brand or product, they can also be very short-lived. To achieve lasting success, you should include an arching strategy in your content, using a ‘snowball effect’ of various quality content pieces.
You should also integrate your viral marketing campaign with other marketing efforts, such as email campaigns and other social media activities.
Conclusion
Viral marketing is an excellent way to spread the word about your product or brand.
Crafting content and messages that generate the desired viral response isn’t easy, but by following these tips and strategies, you can create viral content that drives engagement and promotes lasting success.
Utilize the power of social media to spread your message quickly and increase exposure and engagement, and take advantage of the latest trends and developments to maximize your impact.
