Have you ever read an article that has thousands of hits, or a blog with thousands of followers and wondered, "how?" It is a hard game, trying to predict which Content will go Viral and which will flop. There is a small handful of blogs, websites, and writers that seem to dominate the internet, so how do we make the same happen for us?
Writing viral content isn't as tough as it looks
Searching the internet for hours, researching which topics are currently trending can be exhausting and frustrating. Although it is very important to write about a topic that will inspire cyber-readers to share your article, there are other ways to enhance your online presence.
I have researched the top blogs and sites on the internet, and I have found that they all have these five, easy tips in common.
Enhance the virality of your article
1. Understand current market trends online, and especially on social media. See if there is an area or topic that may have a specific need or problem.
For example, solve an interesting problem that has not been solved before. Lifehacker posted a blog on "How to Crack A Wi-Fi Password." It is not surprising why this content quickly went viral — who hasn't been in stuck without wi-fi and no access to the password?
2. Write longer content, instead of short blurbs.
This is tricky because readers like for everything to be quick, but analysis of the most shared content online revealed that blogs and articles that were at least 2,000+ words were more likely to be shared than shorter content.
3. Make your article easy to skim over.
Again, longer articles are more likely to be shared, but they should also be easy to skim through. Readers want to get an idea of what the article is about, without having to read through every paragraph. This could be due to short attention spans, small screens, or lack of time. Either way, catchy headlines, keywords that are relevant to the content, and numerical lists all enhance the virality of your content.
4. Evoke positive emotions.
Articles that evoke happiness, and especially humor, are much more likely to go viral. Second to humor and happiness, content that plays on the feeling of unity is also more likely to be shared.
5. Use images!
We love pictures! And again, we especially love funny pictures! Most of the blogs that went viral in 2017 included photos-of cats, hilarious memes, photobombs — you get the idea. This also makes your audience want to read through your content more thoroughly.
