Question: What’s worse than spending your valuable time creating stacks of content for your blog, social media accounts and website?
Answer: The only thing that’s worse than that is wasting your valuable time creating stacks of content for your blog, social media accounts and website that doesn’t get views or drive results.
A lack of interest in promotional content is a very big problem for a lot of businesses in today’s world.
Even though the whole world is at your fingertips via your digital device, non-engaging content can make like an unanswered high-five.
The good news is that every time you upload a blog, information page or social media post, there is literally nothing standing in the way of it going viral.
Well… maybe there are a few things. Carelessness in putting it together, a lack of a proper social media strategy, not paying attention to the optimal posting times – the list goes on.
Here are eight ways that, whatever your digital marketing platform of choice, you can make your content stand out from the crowd and give your content the best possible chance to go viral.
Image Source: Wonderopolis.org
1. Be controversial
A lot of people shy away from creating controversial content for fear of offending their target audience. I can tell you for a fact though that if you write something which people don’t agree with, you’re going to get just as many people who do agree with you. Just pick a relevant subject which is in the news, relate it somehow to your business, and create your controversial content.
People respond to opinions much more than they respond to articles offering both sides of the story. That’s because your personal viewpoint helps people to connect with you and makes people who share your opinion feel as though they’re not on their own.
Luckily, we live in a country that supports freedom of speech, so you’re entitled to your opinion, no matter how controversial it is.
One word of warning though: make sure you don’t come across as aggressive or say anything that spreads hate. Always have a well-reasoned argument and a bit of data to back your position up.
2. Be unique
How many articles do you see on a daily basis telling you how to get more Facebook likes or promising to reveal how to increase your Instagram followers authentically? Blah, blah, blah. So many people are saying the same thing just because, once upon a time, it worked. But that tactic doesn’t work anymore.
The chances are that if you’ve read an article on the latest digital marketing strategy, so have your followers, and they’re going to gloss straight past your article faster than you can say ‘this user has ended their browsing session unexpectedly.’
Pick a subject that nobody’s writing about and get your own unique viewpoint out there.
3. Spark emotion
Emotion doesn’t just mean making people cry, although if you can achieve that with your content, hats off to you.
The emotion you need to evoke to make content go viral can be anything from the whole spectrum of human feelings. Experiment with trying to make your reader laugh, cry, get angry, feel frustrated or gain wisdom.
It’s guaranteed that if you can make your audience feel something, they’re more likely to share your content because they want the people they know and love to feel something, too.
It’s all about human connection; it’s what people live for.
Jonnie Walker – The Man Who Walk Around The World
4. Solve problems
Useful content is what people are primarily looking for. Think ‘five tips to do this’, ‘ten ways to do that’. Figure out your target audience’s pain points and then give them some short, sharp, accurate content on how they can solve their problems (ideally by using your products, services or insights).
If you can strike a chord with just one person, they’re guaranteed to share with someone else who shares the same pain.
5. Use correct grammar
This is crucial. If your content is filled with errors, sentences that are hard to read and misplaced punctuation, there’s no way it will be taken seriously. If you don’t have the time or skills to woo readers with your wordsmithery, hire a professional proofreader who will guarantee that your content is grammatically correct.
6. Get visual
Big long blocks of copy are daunting to read and will never gain the attention of a broader audience. Include relevant images as well as short, sharp sentences, bullet points, headings and highlighted keywords and phrases. Use a font that is easy to read and once again, if you’re not sure what this is, it’s crucial that you consult with an expert.
Image Source: HubSpot
7. Promote like crazy
If you’re committed to growing your brand, it’s no longer enough just to post a link to your most recent blog on your Facebook page. The more people that can see your blog post, the more likely you are to go viral, so it’s important you use the services of marketers who know exactly where to place your content to make sure it gets in front of as many people as possible.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to estimate how many pieces of content are pumped out to the digital stratosphere every day, but one thing’s for certain – you need to be at the top of your game to give yours a chance to go viral.
If you want global visibility, you have to work for it. Get creative and push the metaphorical envelope as far as you can. If you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, hire a media company to do it for you and make sure you add your goals to your marketing brief.
Guest Author: Jo Robinson is a freelance content writer for Media Shark. With a full and varied career background including police forensics and professional fundraising, Jo’s a whiz with words and knows how to create content that appeals to a wide range of audiences. With a fine eye for detail and a no-fluff approach both on and off the keyboard, Jo specialises in writing persuasive and engaging blogs to help you reach your business goals. You can contact Jo directly here. Follow Media Shark on Twitter and Facebook.