Contents
- Definition of Virality
- Value of Virality
- Formats of Viral Content
- How to Create Viral Content
- How to Recognize Viral Content
- How to Measure Virality
Definition of Virality
Virality is a key characteristic of content that allows us to assess the likelihood that users will want to share a post. Viral content spreads actively through social networks, messengers, and other channels, making it a powerful tool for increasing audience reach.
Creating viral content enables companies to achieve significant results at minimal costs. For example, a post about the new "Vkusno i tochka" gathered nearly one and a half thousand shares, indicating its high virality.
Value of Virality
With the right approach, virality can serve as an effective tool for promoting a business, creating a chain reaction and increasing product popularity. Viral content provides wide audience reach, allowing users to actively engage with it, discuss, and share. This not only saves budget but also promotes the brand.
The main tasks that viral content addresses include:
- Maximizing audience reach at minimal costs;
- Improving brand recognition;
- Increasing user loyalty;
- Generating traffic;
- Attracting leads;
- Increasing sales.
Formats of Viral Content
It is impossible to definitively determine which types of content have the greatest potential for virality. According to SocialPilot Team, potentially viral publications can include:
- Puzzles and riddles;
- Infographics;
- Motivational stories;
- Quizzes;
- Research;
- Guides and instructions;
- Recommendations, such as top 5 best movies.
The Quick Sprout team highlights 17 types of content that are in demand among audiences but emphasizes the importance of thinking about content in terms of ideas rather than formats. Almost any type of content can become viral: textual, graphical, audio, or video. The key is having an interesting idea and content.
How to Create Viral Content
To create truly viral content, it is essential to study your audience. Research conducted by the New York Times identified six types of characters who share content, each with their own motives and distribution channels. These include:
- Altruists: share information to help others;
- Careerists: seek to create a positive image;
- Hipsters: creative and popular, prefer visual content;
- Boomerangs: share important information;
- Connectors: initiate discussions;
- Selectives: carefully choose what to share.
For successful creation of viral content, one must find a unique idea that will engage the audience. Marketing professor Jonah Berger identified six factors that determine virality:
- Social Currency: content that helps users create the desired image;
- Triggers: topics actively discussed in society;
- Emotions: strong emotions provoke the desire to share;
- Public Visibility: popularity of content among the audience;
- Practical Value: information that is useful to others;
- Stories: narratives with heroes and personal experiences.
How to Recognize Viral Content
It is impossible to predict whether content will go viral. However, its potential can be assessed in the first days after publication. An example is the case of Caitlin McNeil, whose question about the color of a dress went viral and attracted huge audience attention.
The potential virality of content usually manifests in the first days after publication, when user responses grow exponentially.
How to Measure Virality
In viral marketing, the speed of dissemination is measured using the k-factor, which is calculated using the formula:
K = i * c
Where:
- i — the number of shares of the content;
- c — the response rate to the shares.
The response conversion is calculated as the ratio of the number of users who shared the post to the number of users who saw the initial publication. Achieving a k-factor greater than 1 indicates growing interest in the content.