how to go viral: lessons from the most shared content 2015

How To Go ViralInsights from the Most Shared Content of 2015

Viral Posts Are Outliers#WriteOn

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Insightful Outliers

• We can learn from viral posts and examine the elements that helped them go viral

• Gain insights into what we can do to make our content more shareable

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Not Looking at Celebrity Content

How To Go Viral2015 Examples

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1. Surprising

Champagne Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease (938,000 shares)

1. SurprisingThe Cause of Addiction Is Not What You Think (2m shares)

2. Leverage A TrendZombie-Themed Cruise (1.5m shares & 400,000 comments)

3) Inspire people51 Beautiful Sentences in Literature (1.4m shares)

4) Create Stunning Picture List Posts

52 Places To Go In 2015 (522,000 shares)

The Guardian: Overpopulation, Overconsumption in Pictures (700,000 shares)

5) Exploit Cute Animals & Babies

This Site Will Make A Stuffed Animal Clone Of Your Pet (683,000 shares)

6) Be Amusing

Earth Endangered By New Strain Of Fact-Resistant Humans (1.4m Shares)

When You Realise, You’ve Had One Too Many (827,000 shares)

7) Be Controversial

Interactions (likes/shares) of Donald Trump’s FB Posts

8) Quiz People

What Is Your Most Dominant Character Trait?(3.9m shares)

8) Quiz People

The Color Quiz (5m Shares)

Baby Name Popularity Interaction (781,000 shares)

9) Provide Warnings

10) Tell Them The Secrets Of Success

How Successful People Stay Calm (127,000 shares)

10) Tell Them The Secrets Of Success

11) Health, Diet & Fitness Tips

The Only 12 Exercises You Need (968,000 shares)

12) Secrets of Love & Dating

To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This. (885,000 shares)

This Is How We Date Now (1.6m shares)

13) Secret To A Long Life

109-Year Old Woman Says Secret To Long Life Is Avoiding Men (1.9m shares)

14) Share A Heart Warming Story

Husband 108, Wife 105, Celebrate 82 Years Married (580,000 shares)

What Can We Learn?

• Viral posts are outliers• Not just about content but ignition and

amplification• Are there common elements to viral

posts that make them shareable?• Combined elements eg quiz on a

popular topic, picture list posts

Shareable Elements?

Emotional element Content Element Topic Element Format ElementAmusingSurprisingHeart WarmingBeautifulInspiringWarningShocking

ImagesFactsChartsQuotesVideoInteraction

Trending topic(e.g. Zombies)Health & fitnessCats & DogsBabiesLong LifeLove

List PostQuizStoryCurationResearch InsightsPractical Tips

Content Creation Questions

• Does the content have an emotional element?• Does the post include shareable content types,

such as facts, images and quotes?• Is the topic one that resonates with your

audience? Is it trending?• Is the format one that works well with your

audience, such as practical tips or a quiz?

Headlines• Great headlines matter• Can you use the shareable elements?

1. Emotional words e.g. Surprising2. Topic e.g. Zombies3. Type e.g. Facts4. Format e.g. List post

“10 surprising facts about Zombies”

Thank You@Buzzsumo @steverayson