If there’s one burning question on every brand marketer’s mind these days, it’s “how can I make my content go viral?” The short answer is that there’s no magic formula. But there are a few things that make content inherently share-worthy.
This week Arrested Development debuted a series of posters to build excitement for the highly-anticipated new season set to debut on Netflix next month, and from Facebook to Mashable to mainstream news sites, the posters quickly went viral. Let’s use these images to illustrate what makes visual content share-worthy.
Timing Helps
The first factor working in Arrested Development’s favor is timing. Die hard fans have been itching for the next round of Bluth family shenanigans since 2006, and with new episodes set to arrive in May 2013, these posters were released at the peak of excitement.
Target Communities
Not everyone is going to chuckle aloud at the sight of a pair of cutoff shorts. But to those who have watched the series’ 53 episodes again and again (and again if you’re me), “getting the joke” elicits a sense of community; it becomes we, the Arrested Development fans who talk of Never Nudes on a semi-regular basis.
The key here is that the team behind these posters didn’t set out to build something that everyone would “get” — besides, that’s what Glamour’s Your Guide to Those Inside Joke Arrested Development Posters (oy!) is for. No, they set out to build something that true Arrested Development super fans would love.
Humor Works
Funny content spreads quickly. Welcome to the Internet.
Have An Enormous Audience
Last but certainly not least, you’ve got to share your content with someone, somewhere. These posters were released not only to Arrested Development’s massive and devoted audience (1.7 million fans on Facebook) but also to Netflix’s massive and (these days) devoted audience (3.8 million fans on Facebook). If the eyeballs and share button clickers aren’t already there, the chances of your content going viral are, well…good luck.
Check out the rest of the posters on Arrested Development’s Facebook page.
