The “BuzzFeed” School of Instant Virality
As a content creator, it is very disappointing to put so much effort into producing an outstanding content, working hard to promote it and still not get the engagement that you were hoping for. The web is a very huge and busy place, making it very tough and challenging to stand out and be noticeable. Therefore, the idea of viral content is very appealing to content creators. It is very important to understand the science of creating viral content realizing that a single piece of viral content can generate significant traffic to your website.
“The word viral means “relating to a piece of content that is circulated rapidly and widely from one web user to another.” In other words, you want to create great content that’s intended to be shared across social networks and spread — like a virus.” (Patel, 2020) The secret behind creating a viral content is to know what triggers sharing in the first place- to create a buzz and to push people’s buttons. “Virality is not completely in your hands. Your audience has a big role to play.” (Neidlinger, 2014)
The magic formula of creating a viral content could be taken from BuzzFeed, giving us a proven look at what makes up a piece of highly viral content. “BuzzFeed has capitalized on this by creating highly relatable content that both speaks to millennials’ nostalgic nature and their familiarity with social media.” (Foster, 2019) One of the highly valuable lessons to learn from BuzzFeed is the role of “gut feeling” in creating exceptional content. “Ashly Perez, an influential content creator and producer for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, says it all starts with a gut feeling.” (Perry, 2017) What she means is that “It’s not about chasing trends; it’s about thinking about what kind of content you as a consumer would want to see. Which stories are NOT being told? If there’s a topic that hasn’t been touched yet, there’s a good chance that there’s an audience out there that looking for someone to tell that story.” (Perry, 2017) Creating light-hearted and humorous pieces that are rich in visuals “The result is content what has readers acknowledging “Wow. This is me” and encourages them to share it like crazy.” (Foster, 2019)
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