Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses and entrepreneur to easily reach a vast global audience. As of 2023, there are 4.8 billion social media users all over the globe, offering a prime opportunity to build brand awareness and engage with customers.
When content resonates with audiences, social media takeover has the potential to spread like wildfire, reaching far beyond their immediate followers. Social shares amplify brand messages, attract new customers, and foster brand loyalty. For startups and small businesses with limited marketing budgets, social media offers a cost-effective avenue to compete with larger players and level the playing field.
Whether you’re a business owner, an entrepreneurs, or a start-up, mastering the art of your social media post and shares can propel you to new heights and growth opportunities. Understand the power of social sharing with this article.
Why Do Social Media Posts Go Viral?
Viral content depends on users sharing content from social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
When a user finds a blog post, article, image, video, or any other type of content interesting or entertaining, they can choose to share it with their friends and followers, reaching a wider audience. But why do certain posts go viral? There are several factors that urges netizens to share certain contents:
The Emotional Connection: How Storytelling Triggers Shares
Storytelling has an extraordinary ability to forge deep emotional connections with audiences. Some posts tap into the core of human emotions, eliciting feelings of joy, empathy, or inspiration. When people resonate with a story, they are compelled to share it with others.
The Power of Relatability: Why User-Generated Content Wins Hearts
People share user-generated content (UCG) because it allows them to express themselves, showcase their experiences, and be part of a community. It validates users socially as they and other netizens relate with content that aligns with their identity, interests, and values. It contributes to shared experiences and a sense of belonging.
Visual Appeal: How Infographics and Videos Capture Attention
Posts that capture netizens’ attention get higher chances of being shared. Infographics and videos break through the noise in a digital world flooded with information. Infographics visually simplify complex data, making information more digestible and shareable. Meanwhile, videos engage both sight and sound, holding viewers’ attention and conveying messages effectively.
9 Viral Content Ideas for Social Media
Viral social media posts often possesses specific characteristics that resonate with a wide audience and compel them to share it their followers. Here are some types of the social media post ideas and content that are more likely to go viral:
1. Emotional Storytelling
Content that tells a compelling story and evokes strong emotions such as joy, laughter, inspiration, empathy, or even surprise can go viral. People love sharing content that connects with their feelings and allows them to express themselves. In fact, netizens are 2x more likely to share emotional videos than weak ones.
A good example of emotional storytelling is Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign challenges traditional beauty standards and celebrates diverse beauty. Their emotional videos feature real women sharing their personal journeys to embrace their unique beauty, resonating with audiences seeking authentic and inclusive representations of beauty.
2. Humor and Memes
People love sharing funny and relatable content, which makes memes highly shareable. Its humorous, easy-to-digest nature and relatable format gives it 10x more reach than regular content. For starters, Wendy’s Twitter account is known for witty and engaging meme content that netizens just love and share.
3. User-Generated Content
Speaking of memes, part of its appeal is in users’ participation in creating them. That’s an example of a user-generated content.
UCG’s are content created by users and when they share their experiences, whether through memes, videos, art, or log posts, it adds authenticity and relatability to their content. Studies shows that netizens are 2.4x more likely to click content with real people than generic content produced by brands.
People who relate to these content share them to tell others of their similar views or experiences. For example, a reaction from a fan boosted a book into a bestseller when they expressed their enjoyment from reading it. Similar fans joined in the discussion and contributed to the book’s popularity and sales.
4. Infographics
People are 3x more likely to share infographics over other kinds of visual content since it offers a unique way to present information in a visually appealing and easily digestible format. This simplicity and clarity make them highly shareable across various social media channels, blogs, and websites, as audiences find value in the information they provide.
5. How-To Guides and Tutorials
Educational content goes viral when it strikes a balance between value, presentation, and relatability. When users find educational content that addresses a common pain point, offers a unique solution, or imparts valuable knowledge, they are more likely to share it with others who may benefit.
The key lies in making the content engaging, easy to understand, and visually appealing. Moreover, if the content is evergreen and remains relevant over time, it has the potential to continue being shared by new audiences, contributing to its virality.
6. Trending Topics and Newsjacking
Trending topics and newsjacking allows to ride the wave of ongoing discussions and capitalize on viral conversations. When done right, this strategy can lead to increased visibility and engagement with social media followers. By aligning content with popular hashtags or news events, you can reach a broader audience and spark relevant conversations.
However, it’s crucial to exercise caution and sensitivity. Ensure that your involvement in trending topics is authentic and relevant to your niche or industry. Blindly capitalizing on sensitive or tragic events can backfire and harm a your reputation.
7. Contests and Challenges
Contests tap into users’ desire for fun and rewards, motivating participants to share their entries and encourage their friends to join in. The ripple effect of sharing and participation creates a viral impact, expanding the reach of the contest or challenge far beyond its initial scope.
Look at Oreo’s pervious “Oreo Dunk Challenge” contest that viral as people shared their entertaining and inventive dunks on social media.
8. Behind-the-Scenes and Sneak Peeks
Behind-the-scenes content and sneak peeks offer audiences a sneak peek into the inner workings of a brand, product development, or upcoming events. It creates a sense of exclusivity and anticipation, and a “first-to-know” effect, making users eager to share the exciting news with their network.
9. Social Causes and Inspirational Content
Social causes that supports important social issues compel people to share such content to raise awareness, inspire others, and be part of a collective movement for good. Inspirational stories or messages of hope have a contagious effect, spreading positivity and motivating others to join the cause. As users share these uplifting messages, they contribute to the content’s virality and amplify the reach of the social cause or inspiring story.
How to Create Viral Content for Social Media
Creating content that garners the most social shares requires a thoughtful approach that resonates with your target audience and compels them to share it with their networks. Here are some key strategies to make content that gets the most social shares:
Tip 1: Know your audience. Research and understand your target audience’s interests, preferences, and pain points. Your content should address their needs and aspirations, ensuring it aligns with their values and passions.
Tip 2: Tell Compelling Stories that evoke emotion. Craft engaging narratives that evoke emotions such as joy, inspiration, or empathy and leave a lasting impact. Personal anecdotes, success stories, and testimonials can make your content relatable and share-worthy.
Tip 3: Utilize visuals effectively. Incorporate eye-catching images, infographics, and videos that complement your content. Visuals enhance the overall appeal and make your content more shareable.
Tip 4: Keep it concise and memorable. Being direct to-the-point makes your content’s message easier to remember. Shorter content tends to perform better on social media, as attention spans are limited.
Tip 5: Incorporate humor and entertainment. Integrate humor, memes, or entertaining elements to engage your audience. People love sharing content that makes them laugh or brightens their day.
Tip 6: Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC). Encourage your audience to create and share content related to your brand or products. UGC builds a sense of community and trust, leading to increased shares.
Tip 7: Address current trends and hot topics. Stay up-to-date with industry news and trending topics and incorporate them into your content when relevant. Timely content gains more visibility and shares as it capitalizes on ongoing conversations.
Tip 8: Optimize content for each platform. Tailor your social media content ideas to suit the unique characteristics of each social media platform. Understand the preferences of users on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., and adapt your content accordingly.
Tip 9: Include clear call-to-actions (CTAs). Encourage your audience to share your content by adding explicit CTAs. A simple and direct request to share can significantly impact the shareability of your content.
Tip 10: Engage and respond to comments. Interact with your audience by responding to comments and messages promptly. Active engagement fosters a sense of community and encourages people to share your content.
Tip 11: Post at optimal times. Identify the best times to post on each platform to reach the maximum audience. Timing your content calendar plays a significant role in boosting the visibility and shareability of your content.
Tip 12: Analyze and iterate your performance. Monitor the performance of your content and track social media metrics. Use insights to refine your content strategy and improve future content.
Tailoring Content for Different Social Media Platforms
Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform with 2.9 billion monthly active users globally. If you want to reach to a wide audience, then you’ll want to employ the right of social media marketing strategy.
Short, visually captivating videos take center-stage due to its being highly shareable format. Netizens there also enjoy informative posts that provide value, such as tips, tutorials, and educational content. Additionally, Facebook Stories offer an authentic and engaging way to connect with followers, sharing behind-the-scenes moments and real-time updates.
Instagram thrives on visual appeal, making it an ideal platform for businesses to engage your audience through captivating storytelling. High-quality photos and eye-catching graphics conveys your narrative in a compelling and aesthetically pleasing manner.
Instagram Stories’ ephemeral nature offer an opportunity to showcase exclusive, time limited content such as behind-the-scenes moments. Additionally, carousel posts allow for immersive storytelling, presenting a sequence of images or videos to tell a cohesive brand story.
Be sure to combine popular and niche hashtags can attract diverse users and target specific interests. Branded hashtags foster user-generated content and encourage community participation.
With its character limit, Twitter demands brevity, and creating concise yet impactful messaging is a vital skill to navigate the social media platform. Craft tweets that deliver clear, attention-grabbing messages engages new followers and attracts retweets and likes.
Its real-time nature creates opportunities for users to join trending conversations and capitalize on popular topics. By staying updated with trending hashtags and news events, anyone can insert themselves into relevant discussions and gain visibility.
LinkedIn stands as the go-to platform for B2B networking and industry interactions. To make a mark on this professional platform, prioritize crafting professional and informative content to showcase expertise and elevate brand credibility. High-quality articles, thought leadership, business blog posts, and industry-specific insights resonate with LinkedIn’s audience of professionals and decision-makers.
YouTube
Understanding the platform’s algorithm is key to maximizing video visibility and shares in YouTube. Factors such as watch time, engagement, and viewer retention influence a video’s ranking. Viewers often judge whether to watch your video based on its titles and eye-catching thumbnails, so keep them catchy and attention-grabbing.
Collaborating with other creators and cross-promoting content can also significantly boost your channel’s exposure. So, partner with influencers or creators in complementary niches to introduce your content to new audiences, driving subscriptions and shares.
TikTok
TikTok’s format thrives on short and snappy videos, typically ranging from 15 to 60 seconds. Create content that is visually captivating, fun, and entertaining. Eye-catching visuals, creative effects, and engaging transitions helps you stand out on the platform. Music and popular sounds enhances the mood and vibe of your content, so be sure to pick the perfect soundtrack for your videos.
Finally, hashtags help users discover your videos and contribute to viral potential so research and use trending hashtags relevant to your content and target audience.
Become an Social Media Sensation Overnight
Content that forges an emotional more personal connection with audiences reigns supreme. When content resonates with the audience, it becomes a catalyst for shares, likes, and comments.
By harnessing the power of emotional storytelling, authentic audience engagement and valuable content, you can supercharge their social media presence. With a strong social media and social media marketing strategy and Web.com’s online solutions, you can improve your visibility on the internet in no time!
