
Why I’m sharing it is why things go viral. Headlines so enticing you can’t resist the click. Here is the article headline and a link to the actual article if you want to read more about how this works: I feel compelled to share it, because I came across it after this formula was used on me. So the secret, the formula, is the primer that you can use to give it a running start.

Once they get there, it’s the video’s job in the first five to ten seconds to get their attention and keep it, and make them want to share it. This article is about pushing the YouTube Video off the cliff and getting people to click on it in the first place. In the “Slippery Weiner” example above, the ratio is 92.65%.īut this article isn’t really about making things go viral. It could just as well be 99000 likes and 35000 shares. It had 99 likes and 35 shares at the time I grabbed it. This image is uplifting, but there is no mystery or outrage. There’s a tiny bit of outrage – being honest may not get you a lot of friends – but not enough to make people say “OMG I MUST SHARE THIS”. Still not convinced? Then look at this image. (actually, now that I think of it, that would be pretty outrageous). If people were the way we would like to think they are, there would be ads showing the Pope telling you what beer you should drink. Likes, comments and shares all bolster my social currency and the recognition sends some feel good endorphins into my bloodstream.ĭon’t believe me? Don’t think most people are so transparent? Advertising and Marketing pro’s do, and that’s why the ads you see are what they are. Sharing this will get a reaction from people. I MUST share this so people will know I’m outrageous, funny, sexual (the most primal of all social currency), and daring. But why did nearly 100% of the people who liked this picture also share it? It’s outrageous. People will like a picture because, well, they like what it shows or says. This picture going around of Facebook had 790 likes and 732 shares when I grabbed it.Ĭare to make a guess as to why it has so many shares? Likes is one thing, but not the important thing. Altruism has nothing to do with why things go viral. Look at this image: I only had to scroll down the page for a few seconds. I spent about 3 minutes on my Facebook newsfeed looking for proof of this fact that going viral is all about social currency. Endorphines pump when we get recognition. Why do people share those things? Because sharing something so outrageous gives them social currency. Or how about the Blendtec company that puts everything from golf balls to iPhones into their blenders to test their ruggedness, and posts the videos to YouTube. It’s got all of the elements of this formula I mentioned earlier in the post. The price tag of this cheesesteak sandwich is social currency. In fact, even the news agencies had to “look good” by talking about it. People share the story about the $100 cheesesteak at Barclay Prime in Philadelphia because in sharing it with you, it makes them look good because they knew about this outrageously priced sandwich. They want to be able to make you laugh because it makes them feel good, not you! People want to be “in the know” and they want to feel like they had something before you did.


The thing that really makes them share is simple: Social Currency.This is the key, the secret, and the only ingredient you need to keep in mind when you are trying to market anything.

Why do people share? Because they saw a real benefit and thought of you.What makes people share something? Because they remembered you mentioning something about it and thought of you.What makes people share something? Why do they share it? What do they gain? At first, the most common sense answers would be: I’ve been doing a lot of studying lately on the psychology of virility in marketing. But how far does it go? I’ve seen some fairly generic, ho-hum posts by my friends and family on Facebook get dozens of likes and dozens of comments. Comments? Retweets? +1’s? Favorited? Even some shares. Sure, you might get a few Facebook likes, or even more than a few. If you can’t get people to click on your Facebook ad, your AdWords ad, your page-feed post, your tweet, your link to a YouTube video or picture… it’ll be dead before you post it. There is a formula for making things go viral, but before you can make that picture, post, tweet, or video go viral, you have to get people to click in the first place. Getting people to click in the first place! HAH! Made you look! The number one rule of “going viral” marketing is…. This article originally appeared on my blog here:
