Having a successful viral campaign is like being handed a big chunk of gift-wrapped free publicity. Virals are set up, distributed, and then magically travel in ways of their own. Creators may never even know the full reach of the virals that they make.

Virals have an almost mythical quality on the net. Everyone’s heard about viral campaigns that have been produced on a shoestring budget and are still travelling. If you can manage to harness that kind of content for your business needs, you’re rich in publicity for now and for the future. A good viral can work its way around the net for a few weeks; a great viral can work for years.

It will come as no surprise that these kinds of virals aren’t easy to create. There is no handbook. The most successful virals have come out of nowhere, and attempts to repeat them have failed dismally. The central element of a great viral campaign seems to be that it has never been thought of before. This is a big ask, particularly when you’re coming from a business perspective.

There are things that we can know about virals. Much like search engine optimisation techniques, viral campaign design comes from a close study of successful examples. By looking at the virals that have had huge, medium and small success rates, you can get an idea of exactly what elements are, and aren’t, involved.

An irresistible temptation

One thing that’s clear about successful virals is that they are irresistible. Contrary to appearances, internet users don’t spend their time randomly watching videos or reading articles. There is a driving force behind every internet user’s action, be that a need for information, a need for entertainment or a need to know what everyone else is talking about. A successful viral has to satisfy one of these needs in a way that irresistibly tempts users away from anything else they could be doing.

A unique offer

It’s near-impossible to be literally unique on the net, but a good viral has to be remarkable as a minimum. The best kind of internet content is interesting. The best way to be interesting is to come up with an idea no-one’s had before. Your SEO consultant can help with content ideas. Talk to us at SEO Consult.

A sense of urgency

Anyone who’s had to rework their content for SEO will be aware that time is a limited commodity on the internet. A viral campaign needs to take time into account in two ways. The first is the length of time the user has to commit to partake of the viral. You never see viral videos that are ten minutes long. Successful virals ask no more than three minutes of a user’s time. Whether that equates to three actual minutes depends on how engaging the viral is.

Time is also a factor in the sense of urgency a user has in regards to the viral. If the viral content isn’t urgent, and the user has something else to do, the user could easily forget about it.

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