The Viral Content Cheat Sheet: 10 Research-backed Virality Quotients that Work Like Magic

The idea of Virality is as long as civilization itself, with some folk tales being passed on for centuries and others dying a slow miserable death after reaching the neighboring cave. If your next-cave neighbor hated you because you stole his freshly-skinned bison or just because he didn’t like your story….well no chances of having it go viral.

With the rise of the internet however, this social pandemic of ideas has become more common and replicable and researchers have been scanning human behavior around virality for some years now, with most prominent being the Heath brothers, Jonah Berger and Malcolm Gladwell.

So, what is it about a piece of content—an article, a picture or a video—that takes it from simply interesting to fascinating and shareable? What pushes someone not only to like a story but to pass it on?

 

My analysis of what makes things go viral (or the Virality Quotient as I like to call it) is based on the research laid put in the books above and many many studies done on the topic and really the first important question you need to ask if you are looking to find the holy grail of virality is this…

 

If you came across this content, would you share this with your crowd?

 

Yep it sounds too simple but really that’s how it starts. But I can’t just leave you all hanging after that single question now, can I? So I have put together a spiffy little cheat sheet that you can use to create your own Next big hit!

Before you post another piece of content on your blog or share a picture, tip or quote on your social media channels, ask the tough questions in the cheat sheet and keep asking these questions until you get a resounding yes!!

You don’t have to get ALL of these right, only a few to begin with but keep the cheat sheet handy for all content you create or share.

Get Your Copy of the Viral Content Cheat Sheet Here

Want more actionable persuasion wisdom? Get Your own Non-Icky Persuasion Toolkit below.

How to Create Viral Content: FREE cheatsheet

5 Comments

  1. Angelica on April 15, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    This is great thanks for sharing! 🙂

    • bushra.a on April 16, 2014 at 6:46 pm

      Thanks for dropping by Angelica and I am glad you enjoyed the post!

  2. Lily on April 15, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    Great tips. I find I now write my posts on one focused topic and then choose the headline after I’ve told a compelling story. That helps me choose a post title that is relevant, but catchy (and hopefully viral).

  3. Susan on April 16, 2014 at 4:20 pm

    Awesome list! Opens a whole new way of thinking about my posts 🙂 thanks for sharing it!

    • bushra.a on April 16, 2014 at 6:45 pm

      Glad you found this useful Susan!

Leave a Comment





ENTER YOUR EMAIL AND LEARN NEW PERSUASION HOOKS EVERY WEEK THAT YOU CAN USE RIGHT AWAY ON YOUR CLIENTS, PROSPECTS OR SPOUSES

(Not your children; this isn't magic!)