Creating buzzworthy content for your brand is an art form.  Connecting with the masses to spark emotion is a method not to be taken lightly.  Scripting information that hits all the hot spots a person looks for in reading, and letting it spread like wildfire.  More often than not, this is strategically done…and not just a string of luck.

Top 5 positive emotions portrayed in viral content:

1 - Amusement
2 - Interest
3 - Surprise
4 - Happiness
5 - Delight

A recent study by the ever-noteworthy Moz.com found that the most successful formula for a highly shareable post is:

Emotional Experience + Element of Surprise = Viral Content
 

Creating share-worthy content for your business

Relevance
If your goal is to create a shareable post for your business, you need to keep the content relevant to your brand.  In some way, shape, or form, the content eventually needs to relate back to your brand and what your brand does.

Originality or Newsworthiness
Through experience, we know that publishers are looking for authentic work…authentic ideas and ideas they’ve never seen before in your industry.

Emotionally Driven
Is your idea alluring, entertaining, and unexpected?  The best content evokes surprise, curiosity, anticipation, or controversy.

Where do I start?

One of the most important pieces of your content is your headline.  Your headline pulls your audience in immediately by creating anticipation.  You want to create a “knowledge gap”...piquing curiosity, and wanting them to know more, without over-hyping the story.

Design your content with visuals…graphs, images.  Anything that can visually express your idea quickly.

Keep it personal.  Show your audience you’ve done your research…that you’ve done your homework.  Find common ground with your audience and let them know how you relate to your subject, and how it affects you, at surface level.

Creating shareable content can be hit or miss…but it works well for creating awareness and attracting new customers in a non-traditional way.  For a relatively low cost, it’s a great way to increase some mass appeal!