1The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content: Technical Optimization
@PaxtonMGray @97thFloor
2The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Paxton Gray
Director of Marketing Operations
/in/PaxtonMGray
@PaxtonMGray
4The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“How do I get my content to go viral?”...
5The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
...is the wrong question to ask.
6The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Viral Content...
That’s the wrong tree
7The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
If your goal is virality, you’ll probably miss the things that can help you go viral
8The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
9The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Lack of time (69%)
10The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Lack of time (69%)
Producing Enough Content (55%)
11The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Lack of time (69%)
Producing Enough Content (55%)
Producing Content That Engages (47%)
13The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“Give me viral content”
14The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“Give me viral content”
68% of digital marketers feel more pressured to show an ROI.
(source: Digital Distress, by Adobe)
15The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
The Content Marketer
17The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
*gulp*
Only 48% of digital marketers feel highly proficient in their job
19The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
The Content
82% of digital marketers state that “reaching their customers” is a main
concern(source: Digital Distress, by Adobe)
20The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“Dear marketing gods...”
21The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“please let this go viral.”
24The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
60% of content marketing goes unused
(source: SiriusDecisions.com)
26The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Lack of time (69%)
Producing Enough Content (55%)
Producing Content That Engages (47%)
28The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
I will help you
- To produce More Content
29The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
I will help you
- To produce More Content- To increase Content Engagement
30The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
I will help you
- To produce More Content- To increase Content Engagement- To save Time
31The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Viral content isn’t predictable...
32The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
...consistent, targeted and well-optimized content
campaigns are.
33The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
So from now on, when I say “viral,” I mean content that...
34The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
#1: Reaches A Mass Audience
35The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
#2: Is Promoted By Its Consumer
36The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
#3: Is Inexpensive To Spread
37The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Reaches A Mass Audience
Is Promoted By Its Consumer
Is Inexpensive To Spread
38The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
...basically, consistent, targeted and well-optimized content
campaigns.
39The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Let’s start at the beginning
40The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Pre-Production Production Distribution
Typical Model
Focus On Content Ideas
Focus On Technical
Focus On Promotion
41The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Pre-Production Production Distribution
Typical Model
Focus On Content Ideas
Focus On Technical
Focus On Promotion
Better Model
Pre-Production Production Distribution
Focus On Content Ideas
Focus On Technical
Focus On Promotion
42The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Step 1, Ideation:Put your audience first
43The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Good content isn’t about what he wants
44The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
It’s about what they want
45The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
If you give them what they want, they’ll do most of the work for you.
46The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Fortunately, you know what they want
54The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
If you show them something new, something they care about, you’ll catch their interest.
55The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
220,000 Visits
in 48 hours
95 Links
30 Domains
57The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Last Month:
Over 200 million unique visitors
7.8 billion pageviews
58The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Visit these subreddits to get some ideas of what’s trending online:
https://www.reddit.com/hot
https://www.reddit.com/r/all
https://www.reddit.com/r/all/top/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/
59The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Use redditlist.com or redditmetrics.com to find active and trending subreddits related to your industry.
64The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
In Two Years:2.8 Million Visits
21.3 Million Pageviews
65The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
In Two Years:2.8 Million Visits
21.3 Million Pageviews
No Promotion
67The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Google receives over 1,000,000,000,000 queries/yr.
68The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
And over 15% of them have never been seen before
69The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
The world is telling us what it wants, we just have to figure out how to use the data.
70The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Josh Moody’s
KW Research For Content Marketing
72The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW Research
73The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
This is more than just the AdWords keyword planner
74The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
Start with a small list of carefully selected words
75The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
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keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
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keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
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keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
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keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
keywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeywordkeyword
Multiply that list by 1,000 with autocomplete tools
76The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
Ad Search Volume, Suggested Bid and Moz Difficulty Score
77The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
Benefit = Volume x Bid
78The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
KOB = Benefit / Moz Difficulty Score
79The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
Then sort by KOB
80The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
Find keywords near the top that have a common theme and group them together
Common Theme
81The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Keyword Volume Bid Dif Score Benefit KOBKeyword 201000 1.45 0.52 291450 560481Keyword 49500 3.6 0.64 178200 278438Keyword 18100 3.58 0.62 64798 104513Keyword 14800 1.3 0.45 19240 42756Keyword 12100 1.37 0.55 16577 30140Keyword 9900 0.79 0.44 7821 17775Keyword 9900 0.89 0.46 8811 19154Keyword 8100 0.71 0.47 5751 12236Keyword 6600 1.74 0.48 11484 23925Keyword 6600 0.96 0.42 6336 15086Keyword 6600 1.06 0.47 6996 14885Keyword 6600 1.32 0.47 8712 18536Keyword 6600 1.16 0.44 7656 17400Keyword 6600 0.48 0.46 3168 6887Keyword 5400 0.64 0.4 3456 8640
Common Theme = Your Next Piece of Content
Common Theme
82The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW Research
Group words with good volume & low difficulty
83The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW Research
Group words with good volume & low difficulty
84The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW ResearchRanks 1st for 66 KWs
On 1st page for 253 KWs
Group words with good volume & low difficulty
85The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW Research
Group words with good volume & low difficulty
Ranks 1st for 66 KWs
On 1st page for 253 KWs
Consistently generates over 30K pageviews a month with no promotion.
491,865 pageviews
86The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
“buffalo wild wings copycat recipes”“buffalo wild wings sauce recipes”“DIY buffalo wild wings sauces”“buffalo wild wing sauces”“make buffalo wild wing sauces”“buffalo wild wing copycat sauces”“how to make chicken wing sauces”“buffalo wild wings at home”
KW Research
Group words with good volume & low difficulty
Ranks 1st for 66 KWs
On 1st page for 253 KWs
Consistently generates over 30K pageviews a month with no promotion.
491,865 pageviews
Even though it didn’t go viral initially, it now brings in significant traffic and shares with no promotion
87The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
It turns out that all the content you thought didn’t go “viral” is good for something after all.
88The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Step 2, Creation:Improve Content Shareability
89The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Open graph and Twitter Card Markup
90The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
<meta property="og:title" content="10 Savory Kale Smoothies" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Kale does not taste the best, but it's packed with nutrients that are so good for you. We wanted to share some kale smoothies for you try; we're sure you'll find one you love!" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:url" content="http://www.blendtec.com/blog/10-savory-kale-smoothies/" />
<meta property="og:image" content="http://54.193.67.233/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10-kale-smoothies-1.jpg" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Blendtec Official Blog"/>
<meta property="fb:app_id" content="50696200937743"/>
91The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
<meta property="og:title" content="10 Savory Kale Smoothies" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Kale does not taste the best, but it's packed with nutrients that are so good for you. We wanted to share some kale smoothies for you try; we're sure you'll find one you love!" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:url" content="http://www.blendtec.com/blog/10-savory-kale-smoothies/" />
<meta property="og:image" content="http://54.193.67.233/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10-kale-smoothies-1.jpg" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Blendtec Official Blog"/>
<meta property="fb:app_id" content="50696200937743"/>
92The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Provides high levels of control
Maintains a consistent User Experience
Multi-Platform
Improves CTR and conversions
93The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
50%of the world’s internet users are active Facebook users.
94The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
31%of the top 1,000,000 sites (by traffic)
use Open Graph markup
Only
Source: Builtwith.com
97The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Facebook Debugging Tool
98The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Increase Content Depth and Quality
99The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
by John Doherty On The Moz Blog
Content Length
100
The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
It doesn’t matter what they say,
101The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
It doesn’t matter what they say,
size matters.
102
The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Step 3:Repurpose and Repromote Old Content
103The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
And over 15% of them have never been seen beforeAfter 3 days on any social platform, your content is officially OLD.
104
The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
But you can give it new life through repurposing and re-promotion.
110The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
29k Extra Views
111The Elements of Viral-Worthy Content // @PaxtonMGrayDigital. Marketing. Elevated.
Improve your chances of going viral by working the following technical elements into the mix:- Give the audience what they want- Use social platforms to understand
what’s popular- Build content around KW research- Use and optimizing open graph- Repurpose and promote content on
other platforms
Summary