Why Content Goes Viral: What Analyzing 100 Million Articles Taught Us
There is a great article over on HuffingtonPost.com today that is most definitely valuable to Marketers.
I included the bullet points here in the post. For the whole story go to Why Content Goes Viral: What Analyzing 100 Million Articles Taught Us*|*Noah Kagan
1) Long form content gets more social shares than short form content.
Key Ingredient: Aim for at least 2,000 words per post.
2) Having at least one image in your post leads to more Facebook shares
Key Ingredient: Implement those social meta tags and add a photo to EVERY post! They determine what potential readers see before they even visit your article.
3) Having at least one image in your post leads to more Twitter shares
Key Ingredient: Adding images to your content and posts will help it get shared on Twitter as well as Facebook!
4) Invoke awe, laughter, or amusement. Appeal to people's narcissistic side
Key Ingredients:
-Be entertaining... nobody wants to bore their friends.
-Quizzes work... people share content that helps them identify who they are.
-Have an opinion... being controversial may divide the crowds, but those who agree with you are more likely to share your content.
5) People love to share lists and infographics
Key ingredient: If you're writing long-form content, remember to keep it easier to scan, and not a wall of text. Structuring it as a list post is a simple way to do that, but if you're not writing a list, make sure you write easy to read paragraphs, and use sub-headlines and bullet points.
6) 10 is the magic number for lists
Key Ingredient: If you're writing a list post, try to round it up or down to 10 items.
7) People tend to share content that looks trustworthy
Key Ingredient: Remember to have a byline at the beginning of every post, and a bio at the end to make your content look trustworthy.
8) Getting one extra influencer to share your article has a multiplier effect.
Key Ingredient: Incorporate and ask influential people into your content to significantly increase your sharing.
9) Re-promote your old content on a regular basis.
Key Ingredient: Don't let your content be a 1-hit wonder! Repromote your old posts at least a week after it's been published. Alternatively, find old content that ties into an upcoming event/holiday, and repromote that the day of the event.
10) The best day overall to publish content for social shares is Tuesday
Best Day Overall: Tuesday
Best Day For FB: Tuesday
Best Day for G+: Tuesday
Best Day for Twitter: Tuesday
Best Day for Linkedin: Monday
Best Day for Pinterest: Monday
I included the bullet points here in the post. For the whole story go to Why Content Goes Viral: What Analyzing 100 Million Articles Taught Us*|*Noah Kagan
1) Long form content gets more social shares than short form content.
Key Ingredient: Aim for at least 2,000 words per post.
2) Having at least one image in your post leads to more Facebook shares
Key Ingredient: Implement those social meta tags and add a photo to EVERY post! They determine what potential readers see before they even visit your article.
3) Having at least one image in your post leads to more Twitter shares
Key Ingredient: Adding images to your content and posts will help it get shared on Twitter as well as Facebook!
4) Invoke awe, laughter, or amusement. Appeal to people's narcissistic side
Key Ingredients:
-Be entertaining... nobody wants to bore their friends.
-Quizzes work... people share content that helps them identify who they are.
-Have an opinion... being controversial may divide the crowds, but those who agree with you are more likely to share your content.
5) People love to share lists and infographics
Key ingredient: If you're writing long-form content, remember to keep it easier to scan, and not a wall of text. Structuring it as a list post is a simple way to do that, but if you're not writing a list, make sure you write easy to read paragraphs, and use sub-headlines and bullet points.
6) 10 is the magic number for lists
Key Ingredient: If you're writing a list post, try to round it up or down to 10 items.
7) People tend to share content that looks trustworthy
Key Ingredient: Remember to have a byline at the beginning of every post, and a bio at the end to make your content look trustworthy.
8) Getting one extra influencer to share your article has a multiplier effect.
Key Ingredient: Incorporate and ask influential people into your content to significantly increase your sharing.
9) Re-promote your old content on a regular basis.
Key Ingredient: Don't let your content be a 1-hit wonder! Repromote your old posts at least a week after it's been published. Alternatively, find old content that ties into an upcoming event/holiday, and repromote that the day of the event.
10) The best day overall to publish content for social shares is Tuesday
Best Day Overall: Tuesday
Best Day For FB: Tuesday
Best Day for G+: Tuesday
Best Day for Twitter: Tuesday
Best Day for Linkedin: Monday
Best Day for Pinterest: Monday
On the whole, you get what you pay for.