Out of the Pan, Into the Fire: Our Recipe for Producing Viral Content

Let’s Talk About Virality.

Also known as the gold standard, the white whale, the holy grail, clickable nirvana, and the eternal elusive dream of every marketer. It seems like every year, a commercial, a social media post, a product launch, or some other kind of marketing campaign seems to sweep everybody up in a kind of short-term, collective hysteria — while generating some serious attention in the process.

And though it may seem like viral content just seems to happen on a whim, it’s no accident. There are actually hordes of very hardworking, albeit somewhat lucky marketing whizzes behind each of those society-changing moments. And what’s more, there are subconscious techniques and subtle touches at play in each of those world-shattering campaigns. The key is just to find out what those are, and use them in your own branding or social media campaigns.

Luckily, your friends/marketing mentors at Ameba are here to decode those psychological puzzles to give you the keys to the kingdom. So sit back and take note, here is our recipe for producing viral content in your own brand.

Emotion is one of the key components to many viral campaigns. Striking an emotional chord with your viewers is a great way to enter into their psyches, and stay there. If you’re successful at eliciting happiness, sadness, anger, love, laughter or any other deep-seated state in your audience, they’ll be more likely to share your content, and those emotions with people around them. 

There’s a reason that Steven Spielberg dominated the film industry for more than a few decades. Tapping into the familiar and the comforting is a great way to appeal to your audience. This approach is exemplified by the use of nostalgia, which when utilized tactfully, can instantly evoke powerful feelings of warmth and a sense of home. 

Look at any hugely successful company. Chances are, the organization’s founder will be filled with a kind of infectious passion and enthusiasm — after all, it’s pretty tough to reach the top without it. Your marketing campaigns should follow their direction. Since passion elicits passion, make sure that whoever is behind a particular campaign believes deeply in the idea. And if others don’t share their passion, make sure they’re not the ones making changes and giving notes during the creative process. 

As humans, we have an innate instinct to fall in line, blend into the crowd, and hang back. And there’s a good reason for this — in the wild, animals that stand out in a herd are typically the first ones picked off by hungry predators. But when it comes to creating a viral campaign, you’re going to have to ignore ages of evolutionary wisdom. The key to virality is to specifically stand out, and that means being as original as you can. This could mean risking failure or ridiculousness. Just remember: no risk, no reward. 

We all hold profound dreams of being better than we are, so why not tap into that well-spring of emotion? Finding an inspirational and aspirational angle with your brand, and executing it powerfully is an effective way to produce impactful content that will get you on the path towards virality. 

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, if you want to create content that spreads like wildfire, you’ll need to eliminate all the fluff, the overcomplications, all the bewildering minutiae that often accompanies unsuccessful marketing campaigns. In short, keep it SIMPLE. Straightforward, direct and easy-to-understand messaging, visuals and concepts are the key to creating viral content. 

At Ameba Marketing, we’re fortunate to have had some big wins when it comes to producing viral content. From in-house product videos for our client Nanobebe; to social media posts giving an inside look at the lives of our team; to our explosive and effective rebranding campaign of San Diego’s own Chula Vista community; we’ve had the good fortune (not to mention more than a few late nights and espresso-fueled brainstorming sessions) to have produced campaigns that have made a deep impression on our audiences. And we believe that with the same amount of effort, desire, planning and caffeine — you can, too. 

Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed our recipe for creating viral content. The last piece of the puzzle is to commit to creating original, powerful, simple, inspirational and emotional content. If you go all-in, unapologetically, you might just have the right stuff for producing the next-great-campaign that spreads far across the land. Now, go, get viral!