As both search engines and the people who use them continue to increase in sophistication, the importance of creating quality content has continued to increase in importance.  Most viral sensations achieve the level of penetration and popularity they do due to actual utility and value that it delivers to people.  So how can your business mimic the success of other viral content?  Here are seven simple tips you can follow:

• Get Your Users to Promote For You – Make sure you make it easy for people to talk about your product and service.  Ultimately you want people promoting you on Facebook and via Twitter to their own friends and relatives.
• Take Advantage of User Generated Content – Along with getting your own users to promote for you, consider taking advantage of content they submit, and then optimizing it yourself for SEO purposes.  For example, accept guest blog posts, or open a forum or wiki on your site.
• Make it Easy to Involve Friends – Consider adding functionality to your messaging that makes it easy for users to reach out and contact others who they think may also be interested in what you have to offer, directly.
• Make Your Content Newsworthy – If you’re able to get enough buzz going to interest a journalist, you can certainly take advantage of traditional PR efforts; consider the Kickstarter project for Detroit’s statue of Robocop for example.
• Include a Call to Action – Even in the world of Twitter, where you are limited to only a few characters to express yourself, always include a clear call to action.  Something as simple as “check this out” is often all that is required.
• Pay Attention to Timing – Social media sites have peak usage times, just like anything else, and paying attention to these trends is integral if you want to have the best chance to jumpstart your content virally.  For most platforms, the busiest time of the day tends to be between 2-6pm US-EST.  Release your content during peak use time to maximize your chances of going viral.
• Provide Value – Last but not least, never forget that ultimately, its value that goes viral.  The more interesting, useful, and engaging the content you have to share is, the better chance it has to be picked up and shared by others.

So by following these seven simple social media tips, you can help increase the chances that the content and linkbait you create will go viral.  To learn more about social media marketing tips and tricks, come visit us at www.readybuzz.com.