For some reason kittens are the elixir of viral, the problem here is that kittens are not exactly an appropriate tool to market your mining/clothing/food business. However, if you manage to figure out what it is that people love so much about kittens, you might be getting somewhere.
Put your content on more than one site
The more widely available your content is, the more likely people are to find it
Use social media
Assess and carefully employ your arsenal to spread the word. Tweet it, post links on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. You can even try your hand at a bit of guest blogging.
Don’t forget your manners
Don’t assume that people want to be bombarded with your relentless self-promotion, for this reason it’s best to choose just one or two appropriate platforms, limit the amount you share and, if you ask people to share your stuff, don’t ever forget to say please!
Leave room for dialogue
It may come as a surprise, especially when you are slogging away, there is more to the entire process than simply getting people to read your article. You also want to evoke some manner of response from the people who read your content. Be it a mention in a tweet, a direct email or a comment below your post, it means nothing if you don’t respond to them and continue the dialogue. That’s among the best ways to win peoples respect and admiration, and you might have a follower for life.
Viral ≠ success
What’s the point if your cat is famous but your website is a nonstarter? Despite what you may believe, being the Kardashian family of the internet is not going to earn you respect in your chosen field. This may sound like a harsh and unwarranted attack on your very successful 9Gag account, but its time you heard the truth… and started contributing to the internet. So maybe forget about the popularity contest for now and just tackle the basics.
Oh, and did I mention that there is actually no formula for getting your content to go viral? Understanding this phenomenon is akin to understanding human nature; even as we study it, it is changing, it is a variable. The thing is, so long as you are so focused on the current mood of the internet, chasing the next biggest wave… you aren’t making any waves of your own.
