Content Marketing: Cracking the Code of Viral Content

“It has gone viral!”

This is the most popular and most sought-after statement of the 21st century.

For content to ‘go viral’, it must be well received and widely shared. B2B viral marketing is an avenue that is being explored by a growing number of B2B marketers, as a stab at an innovative internet marketing technique.

The goal of any content marketing strategy is to reach a large and rapidly expanding number of prospects at a faster rate and at a lower cost. For this purpose; Viral marketing is one of the most powerful strategies.

When talking about virality, the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by brothers Chip and Dan Heath comes to mind. This book offers six important components to getting an idea to stick in someone’s mind. They believe that the key components of catchy ideas can be summed up in SUCCES, which is an acronym for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and Generative Stories.

Simple

Produce ideas that are easy to understand and do not require a complete review. Simple does not mean being silly. It’s all a matter of prioritizing. Make sure the core of your message is communicated correctly.

Unexpected

Your content needs to be able to start conversations and elicit reactions from more than just your target audience. But remember that your idea must still be connected in some way to your brand and it must include elements that are worth sharing. In case you end up with a backlash, prepare calm and collected responses ahead of time.

Concrete

Eye-catching images increase viral potential. If you want to generate social shares, you need attractive images.

Credible

One of the main benefits of going viral is the ability to “own” your niche. You can position yourself as an industry leader with the help of credible data in your content. This will help create a lasting impression.

Emotional

Highly emotional content is vital to any marketing strategy. The best way to incorporate emotions into an existing content marketing strategy is by promoting it during emotional events like holidays or world trouble.

Stories

Stories drive action. Create content that seamlessly crosses between different audiences, attracting more people to your website. Your content must be able to adapt to more than one vertical.

There are many factors that are essential to any successful viral marketing strategy and this SUCCES model targets 6 key elements. In recent years, many B2B marketers have broken the mold and created content that has gone viral and continues to be viral. Here are some B2B marketing campaigns that can be measured on the SUCCESSES scale above.

Vertical response

There are many companies that offer email marketing. Vertical Response is just one of them. By joining the SalesForce.com AppExchange, they needed to advertise the same thing to people without getting lost in the clutter. To do this, they created a rap video that parodies an old Dr. Dre song.

Application thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq4m2JnCTo4

SUCCESS model:

Simple: video promotes your email marketing services and they are now on a new platform. Your core marketing message is clear.

Unexpected: It is entertaining and definitely ready to go.

Concrete: a rap video that shows the ‘fun’ and ‘quirky’ side of a company that

Email marketing is definitely a visual treat.

Credible – They effectively incorporated their marketing message into the viral video.

Emotional – It definitely elicits strong emotions as it is fun for people and nostalgic for Dr. Dre fans.

Stories: The format of the video is such that anyone who watches it can see and enjoy it. Plus, anyone who watches it knows exactly what the video is about.

Solid work

As an engineering software company, SolidWorks sells primarily to engineers. So, to reach their target audience and at the same time go viral while doing it, they started a video campaign that answered just one question, “What if great engineers used SolidWorks?”

What if Thomas Edison used SOLIDWORKS Electrical ?: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U95P_Ldd9GI

SUCCESS model:

Simple – The video promotes all the benefits of using SolidWorks electrical wiring and comes directly from the creator of the light bulb. Your core marketing message is clear.

Unexpected – It is intriguing and grabs the viewer’s curiosity from the question posed by the video title.

Concrete – For a mechanical engineer, watching Thomas Edison talk about cables is definitely eye-catching and eye-catching.

Credible: Who better to hear about the benefits of using SolidWorks cable than the lightbulb maker? Your marketing message is loud and clear.

Emotional – definitely elicits strong emotions, as it creates a sense of curiosity and interest.

Stories: Everyone knows Thomas Edison. So it’s a story that fits any vertical.

Knorr

Knorr, a food and beverage brand owned by Unilever known for its dried soup, produces gluten-free foods. They used this aspect of their food brand and refocused their content marketing strategy. They set their sights on catering services and chefs in the UK. The reason for this was simple.

Their customer research showed that gluten-free consumers had a difficult time finding catering services that met their dietary restrictions. Then Knorr discovered, through the caterers, that the reason they weren’t offering gluten-free options was simply because they had uninspired gluten-free recipes.

As a solution to this problem and as a modification to its content marketing strategy, Knorr published a collection of gluten-free recipes. They also educated chefs about gluten-free cooking through conferences and webinars.

SUCCESS model:

Simple: Knorr has a clear marketing message: Be the brand people think of when they think of gluten-free foods. This message is clearly conveyed throughout the campaign.

Unexpected: Instead of targeting just customers, they targeted the companies their customers use. This was an innovative tactic that surprised people.

Concrete: gluten-free cookbooks, cooking classes via webinars, and lectures are compelling and stick in your mind for the longest time.

Credible: Since Knorr has gluten-free foods on their product list, they can use that platform to become thought leaders in their niche.

Emotional – It definitely elicits strong emotions as it solves a problem faced by many of your gluten-free customers.

Stories: Your campaign cuts across different customer universes, targeting caterers, your chefs, and your customers.

In conclusion, based on the previous case studies, here are some ideas for creating your own viral B2B content:

A well produced video that is simple to understand but includes complicated technical concepts related to your industry.

Technical document that comprehensively and in-depth analyzes the state of your sector

Blog posts may appear that are original and likely to have a controversial approach to a common problem