Many businesses dream of going viral. It's a surefire way to get attention, stand out among the competition, and get new prospects. While you can't manufacture "going viral" there are certainly steps you can take to improve the chances of your business trending.
Hint—it all starts with content. Your content is the mouthpiece for your business. How loud it's heard comes down to you.
Let's talk about seven of the best ways to go viral, and how you can implement those steps within your business today.
It doesn't matter how good your content is if no one sees it. The first step toward getting noticed is paying attention to your titles. Consider what type of content your audience is more likely to click on.
People want to know what type of content they're clicking on so don't be vague. You don't want to be passive either. When sharing your latest blog or article on social media you want the headline to draw in your target client.
Lists and "how-to" posts are popular since they tell the reader exactly what to expect.
Your title is the time to be bold. If you're unsure about a title try A/B testing before releasing your content on a larger scale. Send out two emails, each with a different subject line. The one with the most clicks should be the one you share on your social media channels.
You'll improve the chances of your audience clicking and sharing simply by using the more popular headline.
Not everyone likes to read. Some people prefer to listen to their content or watch a quick video. To appeal to a wider audience, you'll need to create various types of content that are easily shareable.
Depending on the platform you're sharing on, certain content will perform better than others. For example, on social media interactive content works to get the reader involved. This includes things like polls and quizzes.
By diversifying the type of content you produce, you'll appeal to more people.
One of the fastest ways to get your content, and therefore your business trending, is to hold a contest. This can be something as simple as asking Instagram users to like, comment, and tag several users on your posts. The winner can win one of your products or services, or get a percentage off.
You could also ask your followers to post a photo of them using your product and share why they like your brand. However you choose to get your audience involved, the purpose of these contests is to increase brand awareness for your business.
While it's true that people like to skim content, long-form content is still one of the best-performing for your business. That's because it provides in-depth information that our readers are looking for.
Long-form content is anywhere between 2,000 to 3,000 words. In-depth information performs better, resulting in more shares. It can also perform better in Google, resulting in more organic traffic to your business.
This is because longer content is more comprehensive and tends to get more backlinks because it's seen as useful information.
Depending on the channel you're sharing your content, you'll want to include visuals. On social media, for instance, imagery is key. It can help you stand out among your competitors.
Infographics allow you to condense your content by pulling out the key data points and share it on social media. These are also highly shareable. By creating these snippets of information you'll also improve the odds of your audience sharing your content.
Another bonus—you can link your long-form content to the infographic as a CTA to help increase lead generation. This provides you with not just visibility but also qualified leads.
Timeliness is a crucial aspect of viral content and trending keywords help to get your content noticed. Your topics and the keywords you use in your content will also help propel your success. Most of your content should be based on your business's keyword research. This will give you an indication of how well your finished content will perform.
To come up with keywords use Google Trends to see what's trending in your industry. Any content you build off these keywords will need to be created and shared quickly before it becomes old news.
You can also set up Google alerts to be notified of any news alerts related to your keywords.
Another way to get your business trending? Piggyback off of the success of influencers in your industry. If you want to get your content seen, ask influencers in your niche to share it.
Some of them have hundreds of thousands of followers. Influencer marketing works because their followers look up to them. If they share your content, you'll get your brand in front of their audience who will subsequently trust your business.
This strategy helps you increase visibility into your brand and will help build your following as well. It will also result in greater traffic for your website and more leads for your business.
While it's not possible to guarantee that your content will go viral, there are ways to increase the odds of your business trending. It all starts with a rock-solid content strategy. Create content that provides value for your users and people will take notice.
Start incorporating these tips into your content marketing strategy today and see how your views skyrocket.
Looking for more information on driving traffic to your brand? Learn more about our services and see how we can help.
