Breaking Through: How to Make Content Go Viral

We are in a world where we are constantly bombarded with content. From the very second that we wake up and check out Facebook feeds to snip bits of content on our commute to the news while we're eating dinner and finally, one last check before bed. As advertisers, we're tasked with breaking through that content. Developing something so compelling that it bubbles up into someone's feed. That our audience jumps at the opportunity to share.The world we play in is filled with negative news. An African American student was beaten by cops for having a fake I.D. California has one year of water left. The ice of Antartica is melting at an irreversible rate. A skim through one's feed means opens up the possibility of starting the morning on a high note or worried about the state of our world.

So how do we, as advertisers break through?

STEP ONE

Leverage star-power or a voice that has an existing audience.

STEP TWO

Create a piece of content that has genuine human emotion and evokes emotion from anyone with a soul. We are bombarded with so much negative news. Can your story be a source of hope?

STEP THREE

Put it on a channel that seems native to whomever the story is coming from.

STEP FOUR

Wait. If it doesn't go viral, it probably wasn't a piece of content that moved people. Even the tiniest decisions can be critical. There is no magic formula, only the obligation to tell a story that is meaningful and genuine.

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