Strategically Communicating

“Going viral” is the Holy Grail of digital content production. But how do you make your content go viral?

Here are a few fool-proof strategies to help you on your quest:

1. Put it in front of your audience. If you build it, they don’t come anymore. Find out where your audience is and put your content there.
2. Make it easy to share. Your audience should be able to save it, pin it, clip it, share it, retweet it, and repost it all with the click of a button.
3. Keep it open to interpretation. Don’t get too attached to your content’s intended use or meaning. Allow your audience to adjust your content to however and whatever they want to share with their friends.
4. Make it relevant to more than one audience. Anyone looking at it should be able to get something out of it.
5. Increase your chances by making more content. Virality is unpredictable, so don’t put all your eggs into one piece of content.

(Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013)

In 2015, the most watched video of the year was an Android commercial, featuring animals from different species being friends. It was viewed 6.4 million times.

Which brings me to my last tip:

6. Include cute animals. All the tips, tricks, strategies, and industry expertise in the world can’t argue with the fact that cute animals go viral.

Reference:
Jenkins, H., Ford, S. and Green, J. (2013). Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. New York University Press, New York and London.