The phrase “go viral” has been used in recent years to describe videos, pictures, or other content online that end up being shared so much that they seem everywhere online. It’s basically an Internet marketers dream to create content that will be propagated by the Internet for free, spreading your message everywhere without any extra effort from you whatsoever. Fortunately, there are a few easy tips you can use to make this happen.

Use Current Events

It’s no secret that Internet viewers have short attention spans. You can tap into this by making sure that you use the most current content possible. This often means current events or trends. One way to do this is checking Google Trends. That way you can check for what people are searching for the most right this minute. If you add content that connects into that, it will have way better chances of going viral.

Videos Are Key

This current generation is used to videos being easy to access at any time, with no need for physical media like a disc or tape. This means that videos can be a great way to spread your message. In point of fact, a large percentage of the media that goes viral in the first place are videos. Basically, the crazier and more eye-popping you can make your video the more likely people will share it all over the place. Short videos, no longer than a few minutes or even under a minute if possible, will likely do better as well.

Make Infographics

Infographics combine the best of what catches attention on the Internet: facts and entertainment. It allows you to convey an entire idea, like “pollution is getting worse” without forcing readers on the Internet to comb through your article too much. They can just look at the two labels and which way the graph is going and no instantly what you mean. Infographics also tend to be versatile in that people can get the gist at a glance, but they can also look much more closely to get more details about the graphic if they want. Make sure you have good sources of the info if possible. People tend to look down on anyone who tries to throw bad data on the Internet.

Concentrate on Social Media

There’s no doubt that we’re living in the age of social media. Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others are everywhere these days. If you want to make something viral, you’ll want to upload it to one of those sites. And even more than that, it can help if you have a sense of what’s already on these sites and do something new with it. If you are not familiar with the scene, check out publications like Mashable for tips and updates on the latest services.

Overall, what’s important is that you keep trying. It’s impossible to really make something go viral the first time, You need to watch how well everything you create does in terms of hits, shares, likes and so on, and then modify your approach the next time based on that. After a while you’ll get more of a feeling for how to properly create infographics, or the best videos that people like.

About the Author

This is a guest post by freelance writer Jeremie Brenton for Infographicworld.com who offer great infographic design. Jeremie usually covers tech topics and loves to learn new lifehacks in his free time.