Why Does Content Go Viral?

10 years ago

I think that most viral content is either hysterically funny or "over-the-top" heartwarming. People like to laugh and people like to be reminded that there is hope for humanity.

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TimothyTorrents

10 years ago

Originally Posted by ElijahM

I think that most viral content is either hysterically funny or "over-the-top" heartwarming. People like to laugh and people like to be reminded that there is hope for humanity.

This ^^

If you want to increase the chances of your content going viral throw in a bit of humor and make it fun to read. People will share it.

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Jonathan Heusman

10 years ago

Very good point Elijah. When a piece of content is more on the extreme side in some form, then that can definitely gives it a lot better chance of going viral.

Originally Posted by ElijahM

I think that most viral content is either hysterically funny or "over-the-top" heartwarming. People like to laugh and people like to be reminded that there is hope for humanity.

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euraffiliates

10 years ago

I have seen the most viral contents are the fear creating contents. Many unethical marketer use it to mint money.

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Alex Mensah 10 years ago

Originally Posted by euraffiliates

I have seen the most viral contents are the fear creating contents. Many unethical marketer use it to mint money.

Usually i share funny things the ones that elicit fear dont really move me to share.
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  Many people like to be acknowledged. They like to be recognized. By sending and sharing they expect thanks, reciprocation, and to be seen as someone that knows how to find cool stuff. It's the same reason many post on forums and blogs.
  
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JPaston

10 years ago

Most of us want to be seen as 'clever' in having discovered something fresh and entertaining. So, if it tickles our funny bone or is outrageous or gossipy then we will want to share it.

That's why certain videos on YouTube and pics on Pinterest get thousands and sometimes millions of views.

It's not just that they are entertaining. It's that they are unusual enough to make people want to make themselves look good by sharing.

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katrim

10 years ago

Grumpy cat, ridiculously photogenic guy, overly attached girlfriend, I think things can go viral because they have a certain attribute in an exacerbated (yet cute or sad) way.

Goes viral because they have more of "something" that makes a lot of people relate to.
So it has to be something seep and simple that facilitates people getting the same message and pass it forward in the fastest way to transmit an idea, feeling or principle.

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tonio79

10 years ago

Hi Jonathan

It has to be something that engages the majority of the public - that we can all relate to.

I suppose in a way that a stand up comedian is a success if we relate to what they are saying - does it ring true with us?
Is there that moment where we say - "OMG that is exactly right.....i have to tell my mate Angela."

If so....then it will go viral - be it funny, sad, informative, new - or many other possibilities. It just has to engage us.

Tonio

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Jonathan Heusman

10 years ago

Originally Posted by tonio79

Hi Jonathan

It has to be something that engages the majority of the public - that we can all relate to.

I suppose in a way that a stand up comedian is a success if we relate to what they are saying - does it ring true with us?
Is there that moment where we say - "OMG that is exactly right.....i have to tell my mate Angela."

If so....then it will go viral - be it funny, sad, informative, new - or many other possibilities. It just has to engage us.

Tonio

Great points Tonio! If you can manage to relate to people on a deep/personal level, that is huge! That is why relating emotionally is such an important thing because we all have emotions.

Great stuff!

Jon

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XanBarksdale

10 years ago

There was actually a book recently written about this very topic. It's called Contagious by Jonah Berger and it is extremely entertaining (and educational for Internet Marketers!).

Here is a link to it on Amazon (not an affiliate link):

Contagious: Why Things Catch On: Jonah Berger:...

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fxmaui92

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Jonathan Heusman

Here are my top 3 reasons why content goes viral.

1) It Elicits the RIGHT emotions - People love feeling feelings. And when they feel certain feelings, they want to share that with their friends, family and anyone who will listen.

2) The content is top notch - Nobody shares crappy content.... unless it is so crappy that they share it for the comedy value. Create great content that people enjoy and they will share it.

3) There is an incentive - If you can give people a reason to share a piece of content, they are much more likely to do so. An incentive can come in many different forms, from an emotional incentive, to an actual tangible incentive. Figure one out and you are set.

Stack these 3 things into one piece of content, and you just might make some magic happen!

What do you think makes content more likely to go viral?

Great list! Making an emotional connection is definitely #1 on my list. This is the simple way to build trust!

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smith5

10 years ago

It depends upon individuals respective characater ....a person who want to project himself as intelligent among their peer circle will share informative content, similarly a fun loving person may share funny things, like that....

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John J M

10 years ago

As was mentioned earlier, I agree that it has to make the person who is sharing look smart, funny, cool. If you can think in that way, the content itself will usually end up pretty good as a result.

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NewParadigm

10 years ago

It goes viral because people share it with others. Why? They think they can elicit emotion from others, they are hoping to get some thanks, and a wow. Almost as if they produced it themselves. help people 'wow' other people and your idea will go viral.

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xpesos

10 years ago

Yea i know this viral power, i still remember the day when my article went viral, it was "A crocodile on plane kills 19 people"
It was story from African country about crocodile who was at large in plane and caused plane crash

You just have to find something very interesting or unique full of curiosity

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Slin

10 years ago

Depends on the niche, sometimes things go viral because they are presented as "secrets".

Take for instance those conspiracy theorist guys, they can get things to go viral pretty quickly, just because people think that they are learning things that nobody else knows.