Creating Contagious Content

Psychology of Going Viral Online

The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.

Edith Sodergran

This is the story of how my friend, Keith Anderson. Keith was greatly helped when a piece of content I wrote went viral online.

Keith has a wife, Julie, and two daughters. In this picture, they are enjoying a holiday break one year before a traumatic event affected all their lives.

One year later, Keith would be diagnosed with pancreatitis, which is severe inflammation of the pancreas. It is very painful, like having a heart attack.

My friend would undergo four surgeries. He was hooked up to a dialysis machine. Keith was put into drug-induced coma for over a month. He gained 100 pounds of water weight. He lungs were filling up with water (at one point).

I thought of his family. I needed to do something. I asked Julie how they were doing financially. She said, “Ok.” But, I knew better. So, I did something about it.

I wrote a blog article asking the community to help out Keith’s family.

I posted the article on the day before Thanksgiving, which is also known as Travel Day in America. People are traveling to see family. I expected a tepid response.

We raised one-thousand dollars. I had asked for 1,500 originally.

$1,000

I expected less on Thanksgiving Day. People were with family.

$2,000

Black Friday. People would be shopping?

$3,000

Cyber Monday. Online Deals? People still shopping?

$5,000

In the end, we kept raising money….

$25,000

The Importance of Contagious Content

Brian Sullivan.

@BrianKSullivan

@bigdesign

Hi, my name is

#viral

Design Strategy & Execution

Run 3 start of the art UX testing facilities at a major software firm.

Founded Dallas UX Group

Over 1,100 people in the group. We meet monthly.

I founded Big Design Conference in 2008.

September 4-6, 2014

Industry Speaker

User Guides

Cover Articles

500+ Blog Posts

#1 Slides from SxSW 2013

The coolest thing I have ever written was about Keith Anderson.

What Makes Content Contagious?

I wanted to know why this piece of content went viral. So, I read Contagious and Made to Stick.

Contagious by Jonah Berger helped me to understand the reasons for the content going viral.

Sharable information to make us feel good to those in our circle.

Social currency was a personal value (sense of belonging and helping out).

Sights, sounds and stimuli that reminds us to share.

Rebecca Black’s “Friday”

Voted worst song of all time.

69 Million Views on You Tube

The natural trigger was to go there each Friday.

Trigger may have been the family picture(sent on day before Thanksgiving).

When we care, we share. Arousal leads people to take action.

730 million views on You Tube

Charlie Bit My Finger

Emotions are Contagious

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotion

Seven Most Viral Emotions1. Awe2. Anger3. Anxiety4. Fear5. Joy6. Lust7. Surprise

Do Not Create a Call to Action

Create a Call to Passion

Emotions were fear, anxiety, and surprise. When donating, love, serenity, and optimism.

Content is built to show and grow in a public way.

Men grew moustaches in November to show support for cancer research at a site.

Mou-Vember

1. Mortgage payment in November.2. Christmas presents in December.

Two Concrete Goals

Behavioral Residue: Social deposits of our own personality.

Behavioral residue for the public came in many different forms. More public, more viral.

Approver

Commenter

Reporter

Broadcaster

Believer

Fan

News people can use or something with a concrete value.

People Helping People

Shucking Corn Easily

Ken Craig, 86 years old, created a video with over 10 million views. He does not have email.

1. Mortgage payment in November.2. Christmas presents in December.

Two Concrete Goals

While there was no practical value, we certainly had concrete values people understood.

Everyone loves a good story. You love to hear, tell, and share stories.

The Story of The Trojan Horse

The Story of Jared Fogle

The Story of Mean Joe Greene

The Story of Keith’s Family

Stories are more trustworthy than

ads.

Just the Story, Ma’am!

Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts.

Stories are more trustworthy than

facts.

The story talked about Keith’s situation, but it also talked about his wife and daughters.

Lightening Strikes Twice, Sometimes

#1 Slides from SxSW 2013

Spoke on Sunday

Daylight Saving Day

On Slideshare Home Page

30,000 Views

131,000 Views

226,000 Views

Lightening Strikes a Third Time, Too

Molly Holzschlag

"If Tim Berners-Lee is the father of the Web, than Molly Holzschlag is its fairy godmother." �

She Ended the Browser Wars

Molly Founded W3C

Molly Has Liver Cancer

Raised $67,000, So Far

Original goal was $10,000. It went viral. I told the group that we would hit $75,000 eventually.

Some Final Thoughts

Create a Call to Passion

The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.

Edith Sodergran

Create Contagious Content

Make a Difference, Be Different!!!