Having a piece of content go viral is every marketer’s dream—and for good reason. Who doesn’t want to see their message being shared by thousands of people and potentially having an impact on pop culture? But making that happen isn’t just a matter of posting a funny video to social media channels and telling your friends and followers to share it. The key ingredient is giving them a reason to share it.

 

MAKE IT RESONATE

The reason people share content on social media is because they connect with it. Social media is an outlet for people to express themselves, so what they share and post is most often seen as an extension or representation of themselves. As a marketer, what you need to do is ask yourself, “What resonates with my target market? What do they care about? What is it that they want to say, but don’t have the words for?”

Answering these questions is the first step to better understanding your customers and clients, and also to developing longer-lasting relationships and business connections.

 

CRANK IT OUT

There’s an old platitude in advertising that a good effort today is better than a great effort tomorrow. What you need to do is figure out what your target market values and create content around it. Now!

So, what are their goals? How can your expertise help them achieve those goals? Constantly think about ways you can help your client or customer, and communicate that through your social channels on a regular basis. The more content you create, the more likely it is to gain traction.

 

BE REALISTIC

Chances are that your webinar about financial management isn’t going to be pinned on anyone’s Pinterest board. And although this blog post is about gaining Internet fame, I don’t expect to see hilarious six-second videos on Vine praising its infinite wisdom.

Bottom line: Don’t worry about people who aren’t your target audience. Focus on what your customers value, and add more value to it. One share between two people who are in your market is far better than 100 shares between people uninterested in what you offer.

 

So what’s the secret to going viral? There isn’t one. Just concentrate on creating great content that will add value to the lives of your customers, and do it on a consistent basis.