the secret to creating viral content out of thin air
TRANSCRIPT
The Secret Recipe to Creating Viral Content
Eli SchwartzDirector of Marketing, APAC SurveyMonkey
Who am I?
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• Direct – people typing your URL directly into a browser
• Also includes missing tracking attributes• Referral – other sites linking to you
• Includes social media• Organic search – ranking high on
search engines for free
3 sources of free traffic
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• Hard work takes a long time• Luck is fast• Luck doesn’t exist
• Make your own “luck”!
What is virality?
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• Evokes any emotions positive or negative• Practical & useful
There must be an emotional connection for you to click
What do the experts say?
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• Attributes – tie in to who people are (e.g students, patriotism)• Tribes – make them a part of something (“Pissed off consumers”)• Insights – confirm a flattering attribute (Yup, you are smart)• Ego - Share to make yourself look good • Topical – on the the relevant topics (Latest news) • Competition – Can you beat me?• Collaborative – Brings a feeling of togetherness• Delight – LOL!
Examples of viral triggers
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• CNY Uncles and Aunts• Bill is Stupid• Ice bucket challenge• Various infographics• Videos
Examples of virality
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Virality can’t be forced or invented
But there is a way to try
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• Male vs female?• Where do you travel?• How much money do you make?• Bad habits?• Where do you live?• Where would you want to live?• Which would you choose?
Ask questions to get ideas
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Paint your bullseye around your arrows
Prewrite your headlines
___% of ____ want to ____ while Jumping off of ____
16% of males want to take selfies while jumping off of skateboards
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• If A & B• If A & B & C
• Examples: • Women over 75 that use Android• Males that use Safari on a PC
Think about double pivot and triple pivot
Unique data = Unique content
charts
articles
infographics
blogs
Surveys
FAQ’s
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Where can you get results?
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How many results do you need?
Lots of people, but the number will vary by audience
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What about significance? Representative?
Who ever fact checks the “math” before they hit share?
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How much will it cost?
Marketing isn’t free but this can be very effective
DON’T BE CHEAP!
You could say: 22% of mobile phone users report they’re extremely or very satisfied with their mobile service provider. Or, for a little more drama, invert your data!
Mobile Service Providers are in trouble! Nearly 60% of mobile phone users aren’t satisfied with their MSP.
Category 10%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
How satisfied are you with your mobile service provider?
Extremely Satisfied Very Satisfied Somewhat SatisfiedNot So Satisfied Not Satisfied
Pro Tip: Invert Data to Make Compelling Headlines
Case study
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surveymonkey.com/r/sg-toilet-example
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Painted bullseyes
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Single dimensional view
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Fun with filters
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2 dimensional view
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Males vs females older than 45
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What was the other?
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Turned in into an infographic
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Results
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Toilets go viral, but so do lots of other topics!
Question Best Practices
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Operationalize: An Example
• Smiles per day?• Projects completed?• Stress felt today?
How happyare you?
Communicate Your Intentions ClearlyJargon“Who was central to your ontogeny?”
Complications“What is the state of the cleanliness of the room?”
Double-negatives“Which of these pictures is not unattractive?”
Double-barrels“Do you like apples and pears?”
Leading questions“How terrible is this for your health?”
Absolutes“How successful is Obamacare?”
Keep it simple“Who was central to your development?”
Be direct“How clean is the room?
Pick a side“Which of these pictures is attractive?”
Split it up“Do you like apples? Do you like pears?”
Stay balanced“Do you think this healthy, unhealthy, or neither?
Personalize it“How successful do you think Obamacare is?”
Unipolar vs. Bipolar ScalesUnipolar
Bipolar
Make sure people can answer your questions!Keep Questions Accessible
Don’t ask things they don’t knowHow much will the new health care law increase insurance premiums?
How worried are you that the new health care law will increase your insurance premium?
Don’t ask things they couldn’t knowHow well does your boss budget his money?
How organized is your boss?
Yes / no questions create problems they don’t account for gray areasDon’t Take Shortcuts!
Open-ended questions create problems they’re unfocused, avoidable, and hard to analyze
Don’t Take Shortcuts!
Practice Time
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How satisfied were you with your SuperRide
experience?
What’s wrong with this question?
What’s the problem?
How satisfied were you with your SuperRide experience?
They have no idea You have no idea No help with deliverables
Let’s fix it!
How satisfied were you with your SuperRide experience?
Car
DriversApp
convenient
FastComfortable
Stay Specific Give Context
They Get It! You Have Deliverables
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Think about the most boring topic and let’s try to turn it into a creative survey
Brainstorm
Practice time!
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Feel free to use any survey tool you want, but I only
know how teach you to use SurveyMonkey!
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Make a 5 question survey
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Share the URL
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Analyze your data
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• Can you make it a:
• Tweet?• FB Update?• Blog post?
Where can you use your data?
