Anatomy of a Viral Hit: How to Create a Successful Content Strategy

Anatomy of a Viral HitHow To Create A Successful Content Strategy

Presented by:

Ryan McGonagill, Operations Manager at Fractl

Jordan Koene, Former Head of SEO & Content Development at eBay

eBay and Fractl embarked on a long-term viral marketing

engagement in order to grow organic search traffic to the

Deals section of their website.

The results?

Why Viral Marketing?

Anatomy of a Viral Hit | SFIMA Nov. 2014www.frac.tl www.ebay.com

Why Viral Marketing?


Technically, to go “viral” means that more than one new

viewer is brought about (on average) through the sharing of a

previous viewer.

K > 1

What is Viral Marketing?


Today, viral marketing is now often understood to mean that

the viewership of a piece of content rapidly ballooned as a

result of sharing.

Most importantly, viral marketing is a long-term strategy that

can have a substantial impact on your marketing efforts and

your business as a whole.

What is Viral Marketing?


Where do I start?


With our research partners at Vanderbilt

University, we showed a collection of viral and

non-viral images from Imgur to more than 800

men and women between the ages of 18 and 54.

Using Robert Plutchik’s comprehensive Wheel of

Emotions, participants reported their emotional

reactions.

The Importance of Emotion



Most common

emotions:

1. Amusement

2. Interest

3. Surprise

4. Happiness

5. Delight

6. Pleasure

7. Joy

8. Hope

9. Affection

10. Excitement



● Young Millennials reported feeling fewer joy, trust, and

surprise-based emotions than other ages groups.

● Men reported more joyful emotions, and a slightly smaller

overall range of emotions, than women.

● Women reported statistically more trust emotions, as well as

more negative emotions and emotional complexity.

Generational & Gender Differences



“What Makes Me Feel Beautiful”

● Joy, admiration, curiosity, and surprise were

the main emotions that fueled this campaign.

● Similar to Humans of New York, a similar

high-visibility project.

● Top-tier coverage included features on

Mashable, Buzzfeed, Mirror, Mic.com, and

Bustle.

eBay Campaign


“Visual Car Evolution”

● Elicited curiosity, surprise, and

nostalgia for both car enthusiasts

and non-car enthusiasts alike.

● 170+ digital publishers covered this

campaign, including Yahoo,

Business Insider, Car and Driver,

Motor Authority, IB Times, and more.

eBay Campaign


We know about content creation.

But…

…how do we connect content with publishers?

Digital PR


We conducted a survey of

500+ leading digital

publishers to discover

what they look for in both

pitches and the content

being pitched.

What did they say?

Digital PR


Digital PR


Digital PR


Writers at some top-tier publications receive more than 100 pitches a day – yet 45% of writers only

publish one story per day.

In a week, this adds up to 500 pitches for only 5 story spots!

How do you break through the noise?

Digital PR


• Breaking news

• Exclusive research

• Emotional stories

• Timeliness

• Relevance

• Data

• New hook

• A story

• Interview opportunities

• Data visualizations

• Useful information

• Innovative

What Do Publishers Want?

• Well-researched

• Meets editorial mission

• Original content

• Solutions to problems

• Engaging

• Amusing

• Useful insights

• Humor

• Unique angles

• High-quality graphics

• Interesting analysis

• Storytelling


• Do your research.

• Know the publication.

• Be relevant.

• Make it newsworthy.

• Know their beat.

• Don’t use all caps.

• Be personal.

• Be concise.

• Don’t cold call.

How Do I Partner With Publishers?

• No giant attachments.

• Don’t pitch on social media.

• Know their audience.

• Avoid phony friendliness.

• Get their name right.

• Avoid the fluff.

• Tailor your subject lines.

• Use spellcheck.

• Give them a story.


“Tech Devices: What Do You Call It?”

● Exclusive research, identifiable, clean

layout, and relevant.

● 120+ stories, including Time Magazine,

Yahoo, The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, Newsday,

Boston.com, Daily Mail, and more.

● Approached by several writers asking if

they could republish, rather than vice

versa.

eBay Campaign


“The #Selfie Revolution”

● Original data, unique visualization, an

emerging trend, and timing.

● 115+ stories, including Huffington Post,

Mashable, Fast Company, Today.com,

Celebuzz, and more.

● Appealed to multiple publisher verticals,

like tech, social media, pop culture,

lifestyle, and others.

eBay Campaign


“Trading Time”

● 140+ stories including MSN, Yahoo,

Business Insider, SF Chronicle, Daily

Finance, Credit.com, and others.

● Exclusive research, unique visual format,

useful information, interesting analysis, and

broad appeal.

● Included interactive tool for

personalization.

eBay Campaign


Tenets of a Viral Campaign

Simple presentation

Exclusive research

Mass appeal

Comprehensive amount of data

Timeliness

Emotion


Learn more about this research and other

case studies at

http://frac.tl/case-studies/

Happy Marketing!


http://frac.tl/case-studies/