Everyone wants to have the next big viral Internet hit on their hands.  They long for the attention, the traffic and, most of all, the resulting profits.  The problem is that it’s much easier to want to have a piece of content or a site go viral than you might think.

Sure, most viral content have a few things in common.  You can’t induce from those traits to create a model by which you can “pump out” viral material at will.  It just doesn’t work that way. 
Going viral is, in many ways, a matter of luck.  As much as we’d like to reduce it to science, things go viral only when they have that “certain something”.  It’s just about impossible to really get a grip on the intangibles that go into creating those magic moments.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to create truly viral content, however.  You can work on content that shares the common characteristics of most viral offerings.  Create it, publish it, and cross your fingers.  You’re probably going to have a better chance of success if you’re trying than if you’re not.

Here’s the scoop.  Social networks are big right now and they’re online going to get bigger and more important in the coming years.  If you don’t know how to use them to your advantage, your online publishing business is going to be at a competitive disadvantage.

There are a million and one detailed tips for the effective use of social media but the most important thing to understand is what not to do.  Don’t, under any circumstances, enter the social media space armed with nothing more than a sales pitch and a desire to share it with everyone.

The crowds at these social networking sites are not very receptive to advertising.  They appreciate authenticity and sincerity.  They’ll make the effort to find your products and even to ask you about them if you enter the social media space the right way.   Be social.  When you’re working with social networks, you need to do so without scaring people away or embarrassing yourself with an out-of-place sales pitch.

Brush up on every tip for effective social networking you can find.  There’s no reason not to be informed and many good reasons to figure it all out.  Just remember that being a marketer is okay, marketing (in any obvious way) is not.

We all wish we could produce Viral content.  It gets attention, increases recognition, drives traffic and encourages back linking.  Don’t you wish we could determine exactly what makes viral content go viral?

Well, we can’t.  Not entirely.  A lot of it has to do with intangibles and factors that we don’t consciously sense.  Sometimes we think something has viral possibilities, only to then see it go ignored. 

There are, however, a few things that most viral content shares in common.  If you want to increase the odds of having a hit, it makes sense to create materials that fall in line with those characteristics.

First, it’s generally bite-sized.  Long things just don’t get passed around as often or as quickly.  Full length movies don’t go viral, clips do.  You want to make something that is easy to take in quickly.

Second, there’s usually a visual component.  Sometimes, it might be a photo.  In others, video is at play.  Rarely do you see viral content that’s solely audio- or text-based.  It’s apparently easier for someone to advise others to “look at this” than it is to “read this”.

Finally, it’s generally funny or highly controversial.  Serious, middle of the road content just doesn’t have the same level of viral potential.