creating viral content - shazna nessa - austin newstrain - aug. 22-23, 2014

When content goes viral

• What is it anyway?

• What does the research say?

• How can we use it in our newsrooms?

WHAT IS IT? GOING VIRAL

“The tendency of an image, video, or piece of

information to be circulated rapidly and widely from

one Internet user to another.”

oxforddictionaries.com

No one way to “go viral”

• Unique content

• Framing

• Ease of sharing functions on website

• Timing

How and where do people share?

What the experts say

Berger’s Framework

• Social Currency: We share things that make us look smart and feel like insiders.

• Triggers: Remind people to talk about story. “Top of mind leads to top of tongue.”

• Emotion: “When we care, we share.” • Public: Creative initiatives that are observable. • Practical Value: Make it useful; “news you can use” • Stories: Wrap a message in a narrative.

Physiological Arousal HIGH AROUSAL LOW AROUSAL

POSITIVE Awe Excitement Amusement and Humor

Contentment

NEGATIVE Anger Anxiety

Sadness

Anger and anxiety lead people to share because they are high-arousal emotions.

“We prefer a natural-language approach—something that sounds like it came from a human being, rather than a traditional headline style. Vivid descriptions and tiny

quotations can help achieve this.”

Eric Carvin, AP

“I think the best headlines and captions are the ones that give me enough detail to understand what

the content is about, while still compelling me to click through for

more..”

Lauren McCullough, former AP

Headlines: Create a “curiosity gap”

• Don’t give everything away

• Don’t dumb it down

• The image is important

• Upworthy’s 25 headlines per piece of content

• Keep testing

“Serious” and “fun” stories (NPR)

• Why More Idaho Moms Breastfeed Than Anywhere In The U.S. (Boise State Public Radio)

• 5 things to know about Michigan’s education gap (Michigan Radio)

• How Much Does It Cost to Live Comfortably in the Bay Area? (KQED)

Sharing “serious” stories (NPR)

• What’s the headline?

• What is your approach to telling the story?

• How will this be different from what others have already done?

• Why will people share it?

• What’s next?