Save Time and Money by Deciding NOT to Do This
Let’s get one thing clear, you definitely have the right to try to come up with your own content and hope against hope that somehow, some way, it will become viral. You’re more than welcome to do that. But let me tell you, if that is your plan, prepare to waste a lot of time, money and motivation.
I don’t know about you, but for me, there is nothing more demoralizing than putting in a lot of time, effort and emotional energy into something and not seeing any results. No traffic, no conversions, no cash, no way. You only have to go through a few more days or weeks of that experience for you to want to give up.
That is precisely why a lot of people fail with viral content marketing. They see that it’s not working, so they give up. The sad fact is, they set themselves up to fail. They let themselves down.
How come? The pursue the wrong strategy. They try to come up with something hot, new, awesome, revolutionary, and groundbreaking. But for every single marketer who is able to pull that off, there are countless others who fall flat on their faces.
My advice to you: don’t do it. Seriously. Don’t even try.
Let’s get real here. Just because you think a content idea is hot and “will go viral,” it won’t necessarily mean that it will… In fact, in most cases, that never happens.
Unless you can read the minds of your target audience members, you would be better off not coming up with your own stuff. Coming up with some new viral content can be expensive both in terms of time and money.
The Better Way
So what is the best way to do viral content marketing? First, you need to zero in on your niche. Remember, not all the viral content out there being shared over and over again are in your niche. In fact, the vast majority are probably not in your niche.
Focus instead on proven winners in your specific niche. You need to look at how many times they’ve been shared. You need to look at how many times they have been retweeted. These are good indicators of how truly viral they are.
It’s extremely important that you focus on how many shares a piece of content has gotten. This is a good indication of how “viral” it is.
Let me tell you, it doesn’t matter how many times people like it, bookmark it, comment on it – none of that matters. Because when they do that, they’re not directly recommending that piece of content to their circle of influence. They’re not pushing that piece of content to people who may share the same interests when they click the “like” button or leave a comment.
Don’t waste time considering social engagement signals that don’t really push the ball forward. Focus on what counts. Focus on how many times a piece of content has been shared or retweeted.
Once you have found this material and you made sure that it truly is related to your niche, add a call to action to filter the eyeballs of niche audience members. This is a crucial part of the process.
If you were just going to poach niche content that has already gone viral, you’re not really adding much value. You’re also setting up false hopes for yourself.
How come? Well, chances are, the vast majority of people sharing that cute video that you found and reshared are not in your target niche. You have to call people to action to a link paired with that viral video or viral picture that filters your niche audience members.
For example, if you are passing along a video of a cat giving its owner a high five, you can put a call to action saying, “For amazing cat training tips, visit this site.”
Now, please understand that the vast majority of people sharing that cute and funny video of a cat giving high fives or fist bumps probably don’t even have cats. They just think that the video is funny. They just think that it’s cute and awesome. They believe it puts a smile on people’s faces. But let me tell you, most of those people are probably not in your target market.
The good news is, by putting a call to action with the content that you are ‘resharing’, some people who are members of your niche audience would click through. You have prequalified them. This is how you piggyback on tried and proven viral content that is either directly or somewhat related to your target niche.