How do you make content go viral? Attention-grabbing headlines and SEO-friendly text are good places to start, but If content is truly going to go viral, you have to have a highly-engaged audience and you have to give them the content they want. But what do readers want? The first question really should be, "What do I have to offer them?" And it all boils down to your brand purpose. In this presentation, I provide a brand pillars exercise that will help you define your brand purpose and build your content strategy. I also provide an example of what the brand pillars might look like for Mint.com, where I served as the Managing Editor and Social Media Manager. This is everything you need to develop a rock-solid content strategy that keeps your readers coming back for more.

1. How To Make Content Go Viral
I M E A N R E A L L Y V I R A L
FINCON 2014 | NEW ORLEANS MORGAN QUINN | 09.18.2014

2. So you want
your content
to go viral?

3. Nooooooo,
this kind of
viral.

4. VIRAL CONTENT
Viral content is a phenomenon where content
gets a highly-unusual number of page views,
shares, comments, and other social media
activity.
!
At its core, viral marketing is the spread of an
idea through content that attracts attention.
!
The odds of your content going viral are 0.01%*
*a very non-scientific study conducted by a series of google searches done by yours truly

5. Oh, I get it.
Let me consult
The Oracle.

7. 31 million
results, huh?
I better get
comfortable.

8. A few best practices
What the Internet Says About Viral Content
(pretty good advice, if I do say so myself)

9. THE HEADLINE
Headlines should be 6-11 words and include a descriptive subtitle
!
COMMON EXAMPLES:
• Numbers (listicle)
• Positives (best, always, most, top) or negatives (worst, ugliest, unhealthiest, never).
• Compelling adjectives (sexiest, simplest, most useful, wicked, absolutely hottest).
• Personal relevance (you, your business, your boss, your child/spouse, people who).
• Emotional trigger (Awe, anger, anxiety, fear, joy, lust, surprise, inspiration, entertaining, educational).
• Promise (happier, more productive, win the game, improve health, be better).
• Double-whammy (two alluring promises in a single headline).
CONTENT
The body of the content is useful and provides specific, actionable
steps (aka: “news you can use”).
!Evokes strong emotion that stirs discussion.
!There is a clear call-to-action to share and comment.

10. Evoking emotions. Makes sense.
But which emotion should I go for?
FEAR
SADNESS
DISGUST
SURPRISE
ANGER
JOY
TRUST
Harvard Business Review study on the emotions that make marketing campaigns go viral. Read Article

11. VIRAL CONTENT
Anger is the fastest spreading emotion on the Internet.
!
Positive emotions like joy and awe also move quickly.
They are motivating, and like anger, they get your blood
pumping. It’s like lighting a fire under someone and
inspiring them to take action.
!
Emotions like sadness and melancholy are deactivating,
meaning readers feel less likely to take action after
reading the content. It’s like having the wind taken out of
your sails.

12. I have
everything to
make my blog
post go viral.
It’s time for my
15-seconds of
fame!

13. I’m writing,
I’m writing,
I’m writing…

14. THE CHECKLIST
Are you ready to publish?
• Short headline?
• Descriptive subhead?
• Listicle?
• Compelling adjectives / personal relevance / trigger / promise / double whammy?
! • Helpful / emotional / call-to-action?

15. And we’re live!

16. I don’t get it,
where are my
readers?

17. The truth is…
You cannot make your content go viral. You can only
control the quality of your content. What happens after you
publish is up to the world wide interwebs.
!
In order to increase the likelihood of your content going
“viral”, you need a highly-engaged audience and you need
to give them content they care about.

18. What does my
audience care about?

19. Great question,
but there’s one
other question
you have to ask
first…

20. What do I have to
offer them?

21. THE ANSWER
Your brand mission
Your brand mission is the fundamental purpose of why
your company exists. It is what your brand does and what it
delivers.

22. THE SCOOP
Creating Your Brand Mission
Don’t get too hung up on creating your brand mission.
Giant corporations dedicate hours and hours of time and
piles of money and other resources to this.
!
Also, the mission can change as the marketplace and
strategy changes. And in this rapidly-changing world, it’s
important to stay nimble.

23. A TIME SAVING EXERCISE
Brand Pillars
The brand pillars rise from the foundation of your brand. It
is what makes your brand memorable and how your
readers relate to you. The pillars reinforce your brand.
!
For every pillar ask, “How does this pillar reinforce my
brand’s purpose?”
!
There should be no more than four brand pillars. Keep it
simple…you fill in the rest.

24. BRAND PILLARS FRAMEWORK
BRAND PURPOSE
Tagline; primary marketing message
#1 #2 #3 #4
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
!
Types of Content:
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
Types of Content:
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
Types of Content:
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
Types of Content:
!!
Content Examples:
!
Content Examples:
!
Content Examples:
!
Content Examples:
!

25. Your brand pillars
keep you from
writing about:
!Money
And my cat!
And technology!
And my favorite recipes!
And DIY projects!
And movies!
You get the point.

26. BRAND PILLARS EXAMPLE
Mint.com
Here’s an example of what Mint.com’s brand might look
like if I were doing this exercise today*
*I totally did this today. You guys know I’m not allowed to share top secret internal information.

27. EXAMPLE FRAMEWORK: Mint.com BRAND PILLARS
BRAND PURPOSE
Give people the understanding and power to take action with their money and lead better lives.
#1
Mint is a Leader in Personal Finance
#2
Mint is the go-to resource for users' personal
finance needs.
#3
Mint is an easy-to-use, innovative personal
finance tool.
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
Through thought leaders hip, users can trust that
Mint has the best tools they need to improve
their financial lives.
!
Types of Content:
! Awards
Endorsements
Speaking opport!unities & events
Partnerships
Mint is a Leader in! Personal Finance
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
Mint has the resources u sers need to live better
lives through budgeting, reducing financial stress,
and reaching their financial goals.
!
Types of Content:
! Timely and topical personal finance content
Clear-cut, unbiased info r mation with actionable
steps on HOW to manage finances.
Inspirational user! success stories.
Expert advice.
How does it achieve your
brand purpose?
By organizing their finan c es all in one place and
getting a clear picture of their finances, users can
start reaching their financial goals.
Types of Content:
! Tips
How-tos
Best practices
User quotes
Data: $ saved, goals reached
Product shots: overspending alerts, ways to
save, goal updates
Content Examples:
!
Content Examples:
!
Content Examples:
!

28. Q&A TIME
How will brand pillars help
me write blog posts?
!
Brand will serve as a guideline to keep your content laser-focused
and aligned with your mission.
!
The content you publish and all your social activity should reflect the
brand pillars. If it doesn’t fit into a pillar it doesn’t belong.
!
Content must deliver on your brand pillars, not the pursuit of more
traffic.
!
Sensationalist content and click-bait headlines detract from your
brand’s mission and undermine the relationship you have with your
readers.

29. Q&A TIME
What do my readers care
about?
!
Let your data lead you to the answer.
!Top read blog posts
Subject matter
Length: short vs. long
Social shares
Comments
!
Track data on a monthly basis and perform quarterly evaluations to
ensure you are meeting benchmarks or to see if you need to make
changes to your content strategy.
!
Don’t be afraid to make changes: it’s important to first test a hypothesis
and then use data to drive change.

30. WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS
What your readers
care about
What you have
to offer
MAGIC!

31. SOME RULES TO WRITE BY
Ask before you publish
“Is the content so useful that your audience would thank you?” –
Ann Handley, Head of Content at MarketingProfs and author of
Content Rules.
!
Does is evoke so much emotion that the reader can’t help but
share it?
!
Will reading and sharing the content make the reader seem
smart to their peers?
!
Does the content have a strong call-to-action asking readers to
comment and share? Is it easy for them to do those things?

32. Congratulations!
Let’s be honest, your content probably won’t become an
overnight sensation, but you are well on your way to
building an incredible brand with a rock-solid content
strategy.

33. Appendix

34. REFERENCES
!
Study showing anger is the most viral emotion:
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/your-social-media-emotions-go-viral-anger-spreads-fastest-f4B11186087
!
Anger, awe, and joy as motivators:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-emotion-goes-viral-fastest-180950182/?no-ist
!
How to write a great blog post:
http://brandswithfansblog.fandommarketing.com/how-to-write-a-great-blog-post/
!
Generate great titles for your blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator:
http://tweakyourbiz.com/tools/title-generator/

35. WHERE YOU CAN FIND
Morgan Quinn
EMAIL
MORGANMARIEQUINN@GMAIL.COM
!
LINKEDIN
MORGANMARIEQUINN/
!
TWITTER
@MORGANMQUINN