“Going viral” is the holy social media grail for most.
Virality is the holy grail to marketers and content creators as it means that their content will spread like wildlife. In return, they get exposed to new audiences, expand their reach, following, engagement, and more.
To be viral means to touch a fiber in the individual watching the video. These fibers can be divided into the following categories:
The five values of social virality
Shocking – Either good or bad, something that goes “out there” and is deemed “beyond belief”.
Emotional – Something close, dear, and personal to the viewer often involves a compelling story that resonates with the viewers’ emotions, spirituality, cultural expectations, or possibly a situation they are going through.
Funny – Dog, cats, epic fails, funny babies, and more are the original ingredient to virality.
High Value – Is the information being shared or shown of high value? Is it something new that the viewer can quickly take advantage of? This is often the case for lifehacks, financial advice, and tutorials
Timely – Content related to current hot topics, news, and events has much higher chances of virality. They often serve as the door to position the viewer as up-to-date on current topics and sets the stage for sharing opinions and views on the matter.
The definition of virality will continue to evolve as social media continues to grow, audiences become more niche and new platforms emerge. The one thing that will continue to hold true, is that it will continue to be the goal for most to achieve.
