For many digital brands and businesses, creating viral content is the ultimate aim. However, creating viral content is tough. It often happens spontaneously and be difficult to plan or predict. As a result, there is a degree of mystery around the process, Some believe it can only be achieved through the dark arts of marketing trickery and algorithm manipulation. In this article, we discuss how going beyond clickbait and delivering value-driven content can help you go viral.
What is Clickbait?
Clickbait is a relatively new phenomenon that was born out of the digital media age, although similar tactics have been used in media for decades. Think of sensationalist newspaper headlines; they are a rudimentary form of clickbait.
Clickbait uses headlines or images that are attention-grabbing to generate clicks and engagement. However, in an attempt to stand out, clickbait can be misleading or deceptive and is often pointed to as a key contributor to online misinformation.
Clickbait can work if your only goal is to generate clicks, and it can sometimes help content go viral. However, if you’re looking to connect with and relate to consumers, it is an ineffective approach. It has the potential to leave consumers feeling deceived and make your brand appear dishonest and underhanded.
The Importance of Value
Tens of millions of images and videos are uploaded across social media platforms every day. It’s become increasingly difficult to cut through the noise and create content that has a meaningful impact.
To do so, creating content that offers something of value to audiences is key. We can see this evidenced across a range of industries. For example, tutorial videos on makeup and tech products perform well on social channels, and instructional cooking videos are extremely popular on platforms like TikTok.
Consumers today are looking to learn from the content they consume. Research has revealed that audiences are 131% more likely to purchase a product they have seen advertised in educational content and 83.6% of consumers will opt for a brand that delivers valuable content.
How to Deliver Value Through Content
As an affiliate marketer, creating content that engages viewers and has the potential to go viral is crucial. One of the most effective ways to do so is by ensuring your content offers something of value.
First and foremost, you need to identify what consumers are looking for. Market research and competitor analysis are vital here. Examine successful viral content and assess how it strikes a balance between entertainment and education, and then use the same techniques in your own content.
You can also use surveys and questionnaires to build an accurate picture of what audiences hope to gain through the content they consume.
How you deliver value through content will depend on the type of content you are producing. If you’re making images, infographics can be an excellent way of conveying information in an engaging, eye-catching way. For video content, tutorials and walkthroughs are perfect. These can be used to showcase products and offer tips and tricks. Tutorials also work as written content, which can be a more cost-effective approach.
Going Viral
The importance of delivering value through content cannot be overstated. However, that’s not all it takes to go viral. Doing so requires careful thought and consideration, and often a degree of luck.
To improve your chances, first, you need to assess the current cultural climate. What’s popular right now? What memes and topics are trending? Referencing these in the content you make will help it gain traction straight away.
Additionally, your content needs to be sharable. If viewers aren’t sharing your content and sending it to friends, it’s never going to take off and go viral. Value is a key factor in this, as is newness. Your content can’t simply be a rehash of things that have come before. It needs to do something novel, to approach a subject in a new and interesting way. For videos, this could be the way it is shot or presented, for example.
Making content that references current trends, is valuable and is sharable are the keys to going viral.
In Conclusion…
Creating viral content is never easy. To give your content a better chance of taking off and reaching a mass audience, ensuring it delivers valuable information to consumers should be your top priority. Focus on providing useful information in an engaging, relatable way and your content will be successful across your social channels.
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