Interruptive one-way marketing tactics using traditional legacy outlets and even newer digital mediums are being shunned more and more by consumers. The slow decline of traditional print and broadcast advertising along with the rise of online adblockers prove outbound methods are losing their efficacy, regardless of the channel. So how can brands reach today’s consumers?
Cue content marketing. Brands are turning to this inbound method for better reach and engagement with their target audiences, realizing that creating a profound emotional connection with consumers improves familiarity and trust. Relevant and compelling content of value targeted to a buyer throughout all stages of the buying cycle converts leads into sales, but the biggest challenge confronting content marketing is creating quality and engaging content.
Seasoned content marketers begin to develop a sense for why some content fails and other content succeeds. Constantly evaluating campaign performance to refine production and promotion practices based on the data is key to earning links and social shares. Over time, it becomes clear certain elements can increase the potential to go viral.
To determine what factors were the most important in creating campaigns with the ability to break through the noise of mediocre content, Fractl recently partnered with Moz to conduct a meta-analysis of 345 of our own content marketing campaigns produced over the past three years to identify the commonalities of our biggest wins. When looking at the relationship between the number of placements, visual assets, and formatting, we found four key elements for creating successful campaigns.
The greatest differentiator between the top performing campaigns and all others was the emotional impact. In particular, research shows specific emotions that fit into the surprise and anticipation segments of Plutchik’s wheel are extremely common in highly viral content.
According to the data, there’s a high correlation between high average domain authority and content topics with mass appeal. It may seem straightforward, but often the obvious is overlooked and narrow-focused content is created that is not promotionally viable to a range of publications.
By drawing comparisons or creating rankings, viewers are naturally engaged as they often choose and defend a side. Producing content that generates discussions and fuels debates drives social shares as well as additional press.
Content that ties in a geographic angle or pop culture reference is primed for targeting a dedicated audience open and willing to share content with their network while resonating on a surface level with an even broader audience.
As brands continue to prioritize an inbound approach, content will continue to be produced at an accelerated rate. While there is no formula to guarantee a viral campaign, taking into consideration these four elements throughout the production process can help content marketers consistently create compelling campaigns that stand out against the competition.
