We've all heard it before: a picture is worth a thousand words. This especially holds true with the rise of the Internet age and Internet-based marketing. One popular way to gain a viral following is to use infographics. An infographic is a picture that visually displays information in an easy-to-read format. Here are the ways you can go viral with your infographic on social media and reasons why you should choose infographics:
Choose a Buzz Topic
If you want to increase your chances of going viral, you need to be on the forefront of what is hot and trending on the Internet. Going viral is half luck, half strategy. You can dramatically increase your chances of going viral, however, if you pick a trending topic such as “Amanda Bynes rehab” when Amanda has just entered rehab or “Winter Olympics 2014” when the Olympics are just about to start. People will be heavily inputting these keywords into search engines at this time, and your infographic will have a much higher chance of being picked up by a search if you do this.
Additionally, by choosing a buzz topic, you're giving the people what they want and providing information about a subject that is extremely relevant. Your timing will be perfect.
Send Your Infographic to Directories
There are several sites that are dedicated solely to displaying infographics in a timely and organized manner. Send your infographic to these sites! If your infographic is relevant and gives good information, you can expect to be recognized on one of these sites.
Encourage Sharing
As long as it's done within a limit, there's really no harm in self-promotion. Encourage your infographic to be shared! You can do this by placing a call-to-action directly on the image itself or by having a caption on social media. The best call-to-action you can use for an infographic is usually very direct and provides an incentive. An example of this would be an infographic displaying the dangers of not eating correctly. The call-to-action on a social media site would say: “Keep your friends in the loop so they can make better decisions! Share this infographic now.”
If you provide useful information, your viewers will have no problem sharing the infographic. The call-to-action and incentive will serve as a reminder that the infographic should be shared in order to have their friends avoid harm and danger.
Do Manual Outreach
If your infographic has had some traction but has not yet reached viral status, it's time to do some manual outreach. This includes going out of your way to offer up your infographic as a free posting resource for highly-followed individuals. This can be done by using Twitter and hashtags or blogs and keywords. The important factor is to reach out to someone with a high amount of followers who specialises in the same area your infographic is in. If offer them your infographic as a free resource, they will sometimes take the offer and post it as free content. Sometimes, they will not. Either way, you're spreading awareness for free, and hopefully you will gain some more traction.
Showing posts with label going viral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label going viral. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Monday, 18 November 2013
What is going viral? And how easy is it?
'Going viral' is a phrase we hear a lot... but what does it mean? And what does it mean to us? A phrase coined in the 1990s; then it was more associated with viral marketing. It was a well-planned process that could take weeks to get anywhere; although when it did, it was huge. It boosts brands, services, products and even people into the forefront of our online world. Now it is more associated with celebrities videos or actions that get spread globally very quickly... for example Russell Brands interview on BBC Newsnight...
This video went viral within 24 hours. Yes, it is two big-named celebrities discussing politics in a way many people have not seen for years. In this instance it went viral because it was controversial. As always controversy and mass exposure seem to go hand in hand; over the past few years we have seen this in different forms - the Gangnam Style video, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke at the VMA's etc...
So in the world of celebrity it seems simple enough but is the root of this not really down to clever marketing? After all, celebrities are products, each of them is their own brand and they have the potential to make big money if they get the right recognition. They sell tickets, merchandise, magazines and more and if you are in the limelight (for whatever reason) you will sell more. This is how it works... going viral means you will sell more.
It is quite clear how we can use these examples to link going viral to the business world. Actual products and brands getting mass exposure within a short amount of time can be fantastic for sales.
As you can see, in this model, it has two main factors- spike and growth. This is a massive thing and luckily for many people it is free. Now breaking it down again, it really is about putting the right message online, to the right people in the right space. With enough market research and the right people spreading the word you can do this and you can go viral.
It must be remembered that however effortless going viral may seem, there is in fact a formula for it and if you want something recognised you must put in the hard work and research. If you were to use any social networking site to go viral and to push anything you must be marketing it to the correct audience, get people following you who are interested in what you have. It really is applying the basics of marketing and advertising onto the social media model.
Image: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk
This video went viral within 24 hours. Yes, it is two big-named celebrities discussing politics in a way many people have not seen for years. In this instance it went viral because it was controversial. As always controversy and mass exposure seem to go hand in hand; over the past few years we have seen this in different forms - the Gangnam Style video, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke at the VMA's etc...
So in the world of celebrity it seems simple enough but is the root of this not really down to clever marketing? After all, celebrities are products, each of them is their own brand and they have the potential to make big money if they get the right recognition. They sell tickets, merchandise, magazines and more and if you are in the limelight (for whatever reason) you will sell more. This is how it works... going viral means you will sell more.
It is quite clear how we can use these examples to link going viral to the business world. Actual products and brands getting mass exposure within a short amount of time can be fantastic for sales.
To tie this up to social media, see the picture below.
Image: http://www.facegroup.com
As you can see, in this model, it has two main factors- spike and growth. This is a massive thing and luckily for many people it is free. Now breaking it down again, it really is about putting the right message online, to the right people in the right space. With enough market research and the right people spreading the word you can do this and you can go viral.
It must be remembered that however effortless going viral may seem, there is in fact a formula for it and if you want something recognised you must put in the hard work and research. If you were to use any social networking site to go viral and to push anything you must be marketing it to the correct audience, get people following you who are interested in what you have. It really is applying the basics of marketing and advertising onto the social media model.
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