How to create viral content: a success formula

Together with the turn of the search engines to users and taking into account user factors that we have repeatedly written in our blog, related issues become interesting, such as the relationship between the theory of planned behavior and the spread of viral content. This text tells about the assessment of viral potential on the example of the already legendary campaign Scarecrow from Chipotle. The unique viral video was viewed more than 13 million times, not only due to the wonderful animation and well-planned campaign, including the motivation of user activity through applications. Behind the concept of this viral material is a whole science, which Christine Tinski told about. In the spring of 2014, she published this article on the YouMoz Blog. The article’s material is quite controversial, as is its presentation, however, it touches a topic that is close to the philosophy of the SocialTask product: information noise from your content in social media can be obtained much easier than it seems. Translation is made for and posted with the permission of the analytical department of the company ALTWeb Group .


The translation is given in a slightly abbreviated and modified for ease of understanding.

When creating content for a site, we face a daunting task: to create content that resonates with our audience, stimulates activity and often spreads virally.
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You have to spend a lot of time watching what is already working and you always want to build a process based on the lessons learned from living examples. One of the most important factors is the need to update the content again and again until we ourselves feel that there is a viral potential in it and that the user can “sink” to what he has seen. What are the main components of this process? What does the formula for creating successful viral content look like? That's how:


Yes, perhaps it looks a bit scary, but I will calm you down: in fact, it is not that difficult. Let's figure it out together.

Click the buttons

Let's start with the assumption that every person in your audience is potentially able and willing to share your content, just still does not know about it. Push the right buttons for the right people - and voila! - a great virus.

What buttons are we talking about?

Theory of planned behavior

In 1985, Aysek Aizen, currently a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, developed a theoretical basis for a model explaining and predicting human behavior. Since then, the Theory of Planned Behavior has been widely used to explain human behavior and has been exhaustively studied in a number of scenarios. Today we will apply this theory to the exchange of online content.

The theory of planned behavior states that each of us makes a decision (rationally) whether or not to support a certain type of activity. Accordingly, a reasonable explanation for making a decision is based on finding the number of discrete variables, which means that if you can define each of these variables, you can predict the behavior.

Details of the theory:

The theory of planned behavior can be divided into four components:

• Attitudes to behavior (AB)
• Subjective norms (SN)
• Perceived Behavior Control (PBC)
• Behavioral Intent (BI)

Using these elements, we can simplify the formula I gave at the beginning of the article.



Now let's define the terms in order to better understand the meaning of this equation.

Attitudes to behavior (AB)

Anyone who throws out some information in their own way understands the potential positive and negative consequences in response to what they shared, as well as the severity of these consequences. This is the attitude to behavior. There are two main points:

1. How content-sharing assesses the potential consequences of its actions (e)

In a situation of behavior related to the distribution of content, this is a group of potential consequences that may occur as a result of the action taken (and the person who distributes the content understands this).

2. The strength of these potential effects (b)

In our case, this is how, again, by distributing content, we estimate how powerful the consequences will be. It may be that by distributing some content, we assume that those for whom it is intended, can perceive it ambiguously. In this case, this variable will show how ambiguous the content will be perceived.

From this point of view, let's see an example of the Chipotle campaign. This video gloomily narrates about the artificial food industry and is aimed both at raising awareness from the audience and drawing attention to the fact that Chipotle offers an alternative in nutrition.

Such a setup requires a detailed study of their own position on the issue, otherwise there is a risk of losing. After all, such a movie Chipotle could provoke dissatisfaction with companies that adhere to the opposite philosophy. Nevertheless, Chipotle weighed the pros and cons, and decided to launch a campaign: obviously, having come to the conclusion that there will be more positive effects than negative ones.

A number of comments were really negative: they remembered that Chipotle was selling soda (and obviously not compatible with the principles of healthy nutrition - approx. Transl.) And complaints that the accompanying campaign had no version for Android.

But in general, the campaign was met with extremely positive and received more than 11 million views on YouTube with more than 61,000 likes and a rating of 3.5 stars in applications. Here it is clear: the negative consequences could not outweigh the positive ones.

Subjective norms (SN)

This is how the distributor imagines the potential reaction of his audience. This is what motivates him to meet or not to meet certain standards and ideas of those who see the content.

This segment can also be divided into two sections:
1. Strength and depth of norms and ideas of those who see the content (n)

Attached to our situation, this indicator is derived from the general expectations of society about the behavior and its norms, which are important for your audience. And this figure also says how strongly these expectations are rooted in society.

2. The force of motivation forcing to adhere to certain rules (m)

In our case, this is our assessment of the consequences related to how the content meets (or does not meet) the norms and expectations of the group of society to which it will be presented. In simple terms (this would be a long time ago - approx. Trans.), This is how you imagine the reaction of your audience to the content.

Before Chipotle launched the Scarecrow campaign, the study most likely showed that people are concerned about the quality of the food they eat. The campaign would allow them to reach this concerned audience and at the same time enlighten and reassure.

If they had made a mistake, the whole strategy would have collapsed, and they themselves would have sounded like moralists.

Perceived Behavior Control (PBC)

This is how the information distributor understands, factors that can limit or, on the contrary, facilitate behavior, as well as the strength of these factors. Like the previous elements of the formula, this can also be divided into two components:

1. Controls (c)

In our case, these are all factors that make the distribution of content a task easier or more difficult. Geography or technology that can interfere or speed up the dissemination of information?

2. The power of controls (p)

Attached to the content distribution situation, this variable represents an approximate assessment of the content distributor on how difficult or easy this content is to distribute.

The Chipotle campaign stopped in this case on the Android system for which the application was not written. However, this turned out to be an obstacle of not such a large force, and just enough of the video was enough for many. Well, the Chipotle team itself tried to make people aware of the video and the application and it would be easier for them to share them.



If we take the sum of all these factors and their component parts, then we will be able to predict the behavioral intention, i.e., the attractiveness of the content for the user, or how much he wants to share this content. Thus, the formula will have the following form:

How to apply the formula in practice

We dismantled the components of the impulse that prompts the user to want to share content. We need this in order to be able to think carefully about each component in order to accurately assess the factors that ultimately affect the user's behavior. Share our content, or not? Let's start with the following:

How can Behavior Attitude (AB) be used:

Recall Attitude to behavior (AB) determines the positive or negative effects and their strength / severity. The consequences may be different:

• The type and strength of emotions that content will cause in response. Human beings are extremely prone to emotions and empathy, therefore, evolutionarily, we have developed many ways to share emotions: from facial expressions to the complexity of human language or body language. We are adapted to spread not only ideas, but also emotions associated with them. The same applies to how we share content online. Content conveys emotions, and we really strive to see a reflection of our own emotions in those who are not indifferent to us. When we share the content that has touched us emotionally, we potentially would like to respond again to feel these emotions and relive the moment when we first felt them. This is one of the reasons why emotionally filled content is often warm and cozy. People are more willing to share content that makes others feel good, rather than content that makes everyone feel bad. The stronger the positive emotional reaction, the higher the content of viral potential. If they share content with negative content, they are aware that those who receive such content will act on the basis of experienced negative emotions. Therefore, negative content is shared only if there is a different, additional motivation, some additional value of the content, in addition to emotions as such.
• How the content reflects who shared it. Content can be perceived as an extension of one’s own ego. This is another reason to share content, including because it allows us to gain a foothold in our own point of view, in how we perceive ourselves. We think about how this content will affect how people around us see, as well as how this content allows us to better understand ourselves. Pay attention to your own habits: how you share content on Facebook. You can quite understand which of your friends are more interested in politics or in the family, whose mood is rather good, and who is depressed, etc. All this can be assumed only by the type of content they share. We all share something more clearly each time describing ourselves.
• What is the tangible benefit for you of sharing content? The New York Times published an interesting study that pushes us to share content. The conclusion of the study is that we are sharing content when we can have tangible benefits from this. The study suggests five leading motives for distributing content:

• Share useful or entertaining content with others. According to the survey, in 94% of cases, respondents carefully assessed how the content distributed by them would be appreciated by those who subsequently see it.
• Show yourself to others. Content is divided to better identify their priorities, both for themselves and for others.
• Develop and strengthen your relationship. In 78% of cases, respondents admitted that they share content in order to keep in touch with those with whom they do not communicate much.
• Feel "in touch". 69% of respondents thus feel their connection with the world.
• Tell about some business or brand. 84% of respondents admitted that in this way they declare the business or brand in which they believe.
• What it all means: If the content simply carries information, we are unlikely to get a viral effect. We need to evoke strong emotions in the reader. If an article, schedule or video doesn’t catch much, the reader will not even think about sharing them, because there is no initial emotional experience that I would like to experience again or do something related to the topic.

How can the Subjective Norms (SN) be used to enhance the viral effect:

Recall that Subjective Norms (SN) is how you, by disseminating information, understand how much your content meets the standards of the audience. Subconsciously, we always consider the following things from this category:

1. How does content relate to accepted standards? Even if the content is fully consistent with your standards, but it may be contrary to some standards of the audience, you rather slow down and will not hurry to share them. It is important to note that the audience here is important, so social norms can vary greatly depending on the audience. Most often, we can easily distinguish different groups with different (or opposite) subjective norms. Compare it with your own behavior. If you want to share the latest release of the Comedy Club, you can be thoughtful if your page is read by some of your friends or relatives who only watch state-run television channels.
2. How much do moral norms affect the distribution of content and how pronounced can the consequences be in case of violation of these norms? If you know that the content will contradict the subjective norms of your audience, this will not always stop you. To begin with, you will think about how severe the consequences will be. After all, not all social norms are equally perceived. For example, a murder does not correspond to the ideas about the norms of behavior in society, but it’s also not appropriate to cough without covering your mouth. Therefore, you first weigh the pros and cons, and then you can decide whether to violate the norms or not.
3. Can a part of the audience act like a rogue, contrary to the norms? This can be, if sharing the content, we do not take into account all the norms, but only the norms of a particular individual, most often the one that can be the source of the most significant consequences. So, your behavior will be different depending on whether you have a leader in your friends or not.
4. The rates may also vary depending on the channel through which information is distributed. Anonymity here will play a huge role, as it can remove any hesitation at all about whether to share content or not. If a person is not threatened by the consequences, then the behavior becomes more straightforward. This is important to take into account, because different channels of information exchange have different levels of anonymity of users. If you have 4chan, Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, you will most likely be sharing different content through these channels. Not only subjective norms will vary depending on the selected channel, but also the desire to comply with them.

What it gives us: When you invent and implement content, remember that not everyone will share the same kind of content with equal readiness. Conduct a study of your target audience to find out what they most often share, what they discuss. And then create your content on the resulting patterns.

How you can use Perceived Behavior Control (PBC) to create viral content:

• Recall that Perceived Behavior Control (PBC) takes into account factors that simplify or inhibit behavior. Namely:
• How long will it take to share the material. All that will facilitate this process, you need to do. Simplicity is most important. Even if you add just a couple of seconds to this process, for example, by hiding the “share” button somewhere, you may lose the opportunity to interest the user.
• How much effort will have to make. Do everything you can yourself. For example, automatically add the text with which the link will be posted on Facebook or Twitter.
• The presence of technical difficulties. You need to make the content as easy to share as it is to read it. For example, check the infographic insertion code so that nothing is crooked. Check that the elements are displayed normally in all browsers. Make sure everything works, otherwise users will not share content.

What it does: How you format and serve content can either encourage the audience to share or prevent it. Make sure that readers get everything they need in order to easily transfer the content further, having complied with just a couple of clicks. If it takes extra time, then most likely your content will change their mind to share.

Conclusion

At the beginning of the article we mentioned the formula:


The only thing we haven’t talked about yet is the variables W. These are just coefficients, each of which has its own weight and thus shows how strongly each of the main factors influences the final result.

The weight of each of the main factors depends on the audience and content. Here's how to understand which of the main factors is “more basic” for you in this case:

Attitudes to behavior (AB): Does your Central Asian often share content in general? If yes, then this part of the equation weighs more in your case, because you need to somehow stand out in the stream of information, pictures and texts that these users exchange, otherwise the chances of sharing your content will be small.

Subjective norms (SN): How many members of your audience are public figures or hold key posts? If so, they are very unlikely to share ambiguous content that violates moral norms. So your content must necessarily correspond to them and then this part of the equation will be the main one for you.

Perceived Behavior Control (PBC): Your Central Asian is not very active on social networks, does not really know how to use different devices? In this case, you need to pay maximum attention to the device page to convince the audience to share content. You need a convenient interface, otherwise, even if the audience hooks, there will be no viral effect.

The entire formula can be used to evaluate the response of the audience to specific content. In summary, do everything possible to:

• There was a benefit, real or imaginary, from the fact that the reader shared the content.
• Avoid content that would attract a negative opinion of others to the user if he shares them. Do not try to play in ambiguity, unless a large part of your audience appreciates this.
• Make every effort to make your content easy to use and share.

Thus, if you are aware of the hidden factors that affect the distribution of content, you can greatly affect the success of this enterprise.

From the ALTWeb Group campaign: in turn, we’ll add that the users themselves can give the content their virality if you find them through the SocialTask system. SocialTask ​​is a guaranteed viral success of your text or video, limited only by your budget.