FUNNY? CUTE? TOPICAL? - THAT'S WHAT GOES VIRAL

By Carlos Pinho

I am often asked by clients, "How do I make my content go viral?" Experts in the field all agree on one thing, and here is the answer.

It is important to remember that with so much noise in "cloud space" it is key to grab all the attention that you can and it will take more than just words to grab that attention.

People react visually and are stimulated by things that are "funny", "cute," and "topical", and that is the content that grabs your attention and goes viral. Think “Gangnam Style". 

PSY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyT_KyAqDEc

The following graph from Channel Meter shows how Psy's "Gangnam Style had close on a billion 'hits' on You Tube by December 2012, surpassing even Justin Bieber's "Baby" which until then had been the clear favourite with over 800,000 You Tube 'hits' at the time. 

The challenge is how to blend the writing with visuals in a manner that keeps the reader engaged in your piece to the end, and, if you’re lucky, even elicit a comment or response.

Justin Bieber 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4

With a surfeit of choices and social media platforms out there to choose from, the demands on people’s attention is increasing all the time.  People simply do not have the time to read, much as they would love to.

It makes it more difficult to not only attract the attention of your reader but more importantly to keep the attention of the reader if you only present screeds of writing. Children’s books are stimulating precisely because of the pretty pictures.

An article or blog post can have up to 1000 words or more should you wish. The key to keeping the reader hooked and engaged from the first sentence however is to pepper your writing and content with visually appealing graphics, cartoons, photo's, video, montages, music and more.

The Black Eyed Peas hit "I Got A Feeling", performed for the kickoff of the 24th season of The Oprah Winfrey show, was another example of how content goes viral. The BEP were enjoying major success on the radio playlist charts at the time and their 'flash mob' video was a perfect example of content that was topical, and which went viral.

Black Eyed Peas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX6oSs7FHs0

By being topical, funny or cute, andusing visuals, graphics, video and music in your content, you achieve the following: -

1. The use of visually appealing content has grabbed the readers’ attention
2. You are able to break your writing down into "bite size" chunks, interspersed with various media elements, thereby avoiding boredom or “tune out” in your reader
3. You get your point across while allowing the reader to take a breather
4. They are more likely to read to the end of the article, especially if it’s ‘on-topic’
5. It encourages engagement with your brand and “repeat” business (they keep coming back to your site) and may even sign up for a weekly newsletter  

Debate around the written word and its future in a digitally driven world continues to rage on. The naysayers will have you believe that the written word is dead. Just look at how people communicate in semiotics almost exclusively these days to see that they may have a point.

I’m on the side of the people who love and preserve words, but I’m also mindful of its place in a society that is increasingly turning to quick “fast-food” consumption of their media.

There is a place for words.

It’s how you package them that will determine what is “junk mail” and what is worth keeping.

And that makes the difference between the content that gets the attention and what just falls off the grid.

Total word count for this “piece” is a little over 500 words, long perhaps, but the use of the elements discussed above has hopefully kept you engaged to the end, and may even hopefully elicit a comment or two.

Copyright © Carlos Pinho 2013