It’s that time of year again!
You know when you start seeing the recap posts – the ones that highlight the most successful social media hits of the prior year.
The website BuzzSumo has an awesome look at the viral posts from 2017. So what’s dominating? Most of the results are unsurprising, with political news, music videos, and entertainment news among the most shared and most viral.
What stands out, isn’t the content of the articles, but how content creators are marketing the work. There is a ton of data to gather from the results, but just implementing a few key tricks will help you go far in 2018.
What Were People Sharing?
A quick caveat: there is a very slim chance you can replicate the success of these articles. Over 2 billion articles were shared on Facebook last year, and these are simply the top few. Having said that, there is a wealth of information that can help your 2018 content be the best content you’ve had.
The most shared content is heavily skewed towards music videos, quizzes and “study says” posts. The highest-ranking news post was entertainment news, with the three other news posts covering politics and heartwarming news about Hurricane Harvey (one of the most talked about events of the year).
The most shared content is heavily skewed towards music videos, quizzes and “study says” posts. The highest ranking news post was also entertainment news, with the three other news posts being covering politics and heartwarming news about Hurricane Harvey (one of the most talked about events of the year).
It is hard to top a music video, and in terms of industries, it’s a tiny section. However, it’s clear that video continues to rise in its shareability. People are noticing videos, and engaging them more and more. Facebook is also prioritizing video content, which is something every brand needs to be aware of.
The most interesting piece of information is how much of the list is made up of either interactive content like quizzes, or informative pieces such as research articles. If your content is informative, it’s important to make sure your headline conveys that to the audience.
What Went Viral?
The most viral content contained only a few overlaps with what was shared. The most viral content was either feel-good, practical, inspiring, or featured animals. It is no surprise that those are the most popular pieces.
Life-hacks and cute animals are always solid content choices, as well as recipes. If your content can be geared to feature any of those things, you will likely see higher results than your other content. Even something as small as having a dog prancing around the office can help you get eyes on your page.
What To Do With All The Data
There is far more to take away from this other than the popular topics. Potentially, the most important is that multiple posts were in languages other than English. Spanish content was particularly strong, so if your audience is within the demographic, tailoring your message to Spanish speakers could help strengthen your brand by leaps and bounds.
One of the easiest pieces of content to make that will help engage your audience and increase your shareability are quizzes. Creating your own quizzes can be great for your brand, and can work to simply engage with the audience, or help inform them about your brand. There are numerous online tools to help, such as Riddle quiz maker. Make it relevant, and make it fun!
All of the top posts are considered outliers, and attempting to recreate that success is unrealistic, but using the tactics can help vault your brand to a higher level. One of the best ways to learn is to see what is working elsewhere, so keep an eye out for what’s starting to make waves in 2018, and make sure you jump on board with the new trends!
