this was my lecture in "Openess" at Microsoft Egypt - Smart Village; March, 2015 where i was discussing with attendees the best practices from Buzzfeed and Upworthy and how they create a viral digital content?

1. BY
MUHAMMAD OMAR
BRAND MANAGER ASST. @ SARMADY – A VODAFONE COMPANY
CO-FOUNDER/ BLOGGER @ E3LANGI.COM

2. REFERENCES
POYNTER.ORG
KISSMETRICS.COM
WAN-IFRA.ORG
HUBSPOT.COM
KWASISTUDIOS.COM
HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
SEARCHENGINEWATCH.COM
BRAFTON.COM
CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM
PORTENT.COM
SPARRINGMIND.COM

3. WHY PEOPLE LIKE TO READ?

4. A STUDY BY PEWRESEARCH CENTER
• 26% of those who had read a book in the past 12 months said that
what they enjoyed most was learning, gaining knowledge, and
discovering information.
• 15% cited the pleasures of escaping reality, becoming immersed in
another world, and the enjoyment they got from using their
imaginations.
• 12% said they liked the entertainment value of reading, the drama
of good stories, the suspense of watching a good plot unfold.
• 12% said they enjoyed relaxing while reading and having quiet
time.
• 6% liked the variety of topics they could access via reading and
how they could find books that particularly interested them.
• 4% said they enjoy finding spiritual enrichment through reading
and expanding their worldview.
• 3% said they like being mentally challenged by books.

5. BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS

6. TRAFFIC SESSIONS USERS PAGEVIEWS
AVG.
DURATION
/ SESSION
BOUNCE
RATE
THE TRAFFIC
BASIC DEFINITIONS:
5

7. THE TRAFFIC
5

8. THE TRAFFIC
• Facebook is a big traffic driver for Buzzfeed. Peretti also relishes
the recent Facebook updates to wean out clickbait headlines. “I
think updates at Facebook better reward niche content. Now we
have opportunities to create things for really targeted audiences.”
He called it a “refreshing departure” from the traditional media
model where publishers are encouraged to create content that
appeals to 80 percent of the population.
• It’s perhaps especially rewarding for brands that inherently
target niche audiences. Brafton’s reported success for small
publishers from similar Facebook updates in the past.
FACEBOOK IS YOUR BEST SOCIAL NETWORK
5

9. • Peretti called early keyword optimization at Buzzfeed a “happy
accident.” It happened organically through thoughtful consideration of
what information to include in content, or how to title pieces. “The
closest approach to SEO we have is asking, “What would people look for
in Google, or how would people search for this.”
• Brafton takes a similar approach; this content for SEO eBook is not
what many marketers might expect, but instead offers actionable
strategies on how to answer user queries throughout the marketing
funnel….
THE TRAFFIC
BEHAVIORS NOT SEARCH ENGINES
5

10. • Peretti is an advocate for more social data influencing search presence.
Perhaps this is not a surprise, since 75 percent of Buzzfeed data comes
from social.
• “Back when Google used Twitter, BuzzFeed definitely saw SEO wins. Now
that it crawls Pinterest, our lifestyle section has gotten a big search boost.”
THE TRAFFIC
SOCIAL & SEARCH
5

11. Important Audiences Are the “Bored at Work” and the “Bored in Line”
• the target audience they see as most valuable are the “bored at work,” those who have jobs that use
computers but are able to spend a substantial amount of time browsing the Internet without supervision. This
general audience is typically looking for content that will:
1- Alleviate boredom
2- Connect with their current frustrations
• For the “Bored at Work” group, content that is NSFW (not safe for work) is usually shared at a significantly
lower rate. Additionally, NSFW content is generally not something people are eager to share with broad groups
of their friends or family.
• BuzzFeed also targets the “Bored in Line,” or those who consume content on their mobile phones while
waiting. They found that this audience was the principal driver of social sharing. Making sure their content was
mobile-enabled and quick and easy to consume on phones led to significant gains over the last several years.
Now, more than 1/3 of all BuzzFeed traffic is from mobile.
THE AUDIENCE
4

12. TARGET SPECIFIC AUDIENCE
• It might seem logical that going for the largest common
denominator when creating content would be the most
effective, but this might not always be the case. Targeting a
specific audience can be extremely successful. For example,
look at this BuzzFeed article: “21 Problems All Sarcastic
People Understand,” which has reached more than 5.5
million views since May 12.
• This type of post helps attract people who believe they
have a certain characteristic, experience, or opinion -- in
this case, anyone who self-identifies as sarcastic. (Which,
turns out, is a lot of people.) This sort of post generates
interest from lots of like-minded people, who then share it
with more like-minded people, which leads to more and
more pageviews.
THE AUDIENCE
4

13. USE THE SAME TERMINOLOGY AS YOUR
AUDIENCE
• BuzzFeed has a style guide like every publication should, and it’s their
attention to detail that allows their content to remain clear and consistent.
They break down the proper usage of everything from “Republican
National Convention” to “duckface” (one word) so that all of their articles,
quizzes, etc. have the same appearance. This helps create a solidified brand
as well as make their content feel more familiar to those who see articles
popping up on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Another takeaway from the style guide is the fact that BuzzFeed chooses to
determine the appropriate style for words and terms people may find
facetious, like “man-child,” “J.Law,” and “1D” (an abbreviation for One
Direction), but giving these “silly” phrases a space in their official style book
indicates how seriously BuzzFeed takes pop culture and the subjects its
readers care about. It’s acknowledging that while some of the topics may
be light-hearted, that doesn’t make them unworthy of attention. They’re
not afraid to speak the language of their readers, which is vital for a
sustaining connection.
THE AUDIENCE
4

14. • Your Mom rule, which is that no article should
genuinely upset a middle-aged mom
• Of course, you need to keep your ideal audience in
mind, but for many brands, this seemingly silly
standard is a great way to keep yourself from
getting too controversial in your attempt to get your
content noticed.
THE AUDIENCE
THE MOM RULE
4

15. • When you boil it down, BuzzFeed is
probably 90 percent pictures, 10 percent
text. This is a magical ratio for viral content.
Even if animated GIFs were outlawed
tomorrow, the image-heavy style of
BuzzFeed articles would still work.
CONTENT COMPONENTS
THE CONTENT
3

16. CONTENT CATEGORIES
Buzzfeed has identified several specific content categories that the majority of their
successful content fits into. These include:
• LOL: Humorous content
• Win: Content that is particularly useful, ingenious, or admirable
• OMG: Content that is shocking
• Cute: Self explanatory, generally animal-based content
• Trashy: Schadenfreude-esque content. People like to feel better about themselves
by mocking or ridiculing the failures of others, especially the famous
• Fail: Content that points out the failings of both individuals and society -- a way for
everyone to collectively vent through shared frustrations
• WTF: Strange, bizarre, and other curiosity-triggering content
Consider these types of content when brainstorming your content. Always ask yourself,
how will this content make the reader react.
THE CONTENT
NUMBERS
JOKESSTORIES
3

17. THE CONTENT
• Only publish when you can be awesome, as a community is
built around quality and shared values, not on how many times
you appear in their feed.
• In another unusual strategy for a site focused on viral content,
UpWorthy staff say that breaking a story does not matter very
much to them:
“We’ve seen no advantage to jumping on something first.
Actually, a lot of our biggest hits have been things that were
already circulating around. Topicality matters but newness
doesn’t.”
THE FIRST IS NOT ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL
3

18. • Often times, content can either be repurposed, updated, or
presented from a new angle, creating a new spin on an already
published story. You don’t always have to start with a blank page -
- it’s OK to work with what’s out there as long as you provide
some sort of value. In fact, seeing what’s out there and what
works is crucial to better understanding what audiences are
looking for.
ORIGINALITY IS
OVERRATED
THE CONTENT
• Maybe one of the most widely used examples of this is the, “What kind of _______ are you?” quiz. Just doing a BuzzFeed search on
the words “What kind of” will provide a snapshot of how niche some of these surveys are getting (“What Kind of Pizza Are You Based
On Your Star Sign”), but it’s because it’s been identified that they work. When you know an audience responds to a certain setup, see
what other ways you can use that setup with different content.
3

19. • Sometimes it’s not all about producing super new, never-before-seen
content, as counterintuitive as that may sound -- sometimes, resurfacing
old content can work wonders. Upworthy actually digs through the
Internet archives to find compelling stories that originally went under the
radar.
• As Upworthy co-founder Peter Koechley said, there’s plenty of content on
the Internet, but because there’s so much, it’s hard to identify the best
media. That’s the task Upworthy has taken upon itself. Co-founder Eli
Pariser estimates that Upworthy only publishes about 60 pieces of content
a week in order to make sure each story can genuinely garner interest.
• And there’s a hidden benefit -- because the content isn’t necessarily
timely, that means it’s very unlikely another publisher will be discussing
the same stories. This is much, much harder to accomplish with recent
news and trends.
CURATION IS
UNDERRATED
THE CONTENT
3

20. THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
TABOO UNUSUAL OUTRAGEOUS HILARIOUS REMARKABLE SECRETS
3

21. [1] Taboo Content
• Definition: Labeled by a society as improper,
unacceptable, prohibited, or profane.
• If you’re struggling to find something to make for
dinner (mundane), why not try WHAT THE FUCK
SHOULD I MAKE FOR DINNER? (profane).
• Sex, lies, and bathroom humor, all words used to
define this type of content, and a surefire way to
get people talking.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

22. [2] Unusual Content
• Definition: Not usual, common, or ordinary; uncommon in
amount or degree; exceptional.
• Unusual doesn’t have to be completely new, it just has to
be uncommon enough to leave an impression.
• Unusual content is the “Did you hear about…” kind of
content, something about the presentation or the
information makes people do a double-take, and therefore
gets them to talk.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

23. [3] Outrageous Content
• Definition: Passing reasonable bounds, shocking, unconventional,
extravagant.
• This is the kind of content that isn’t necessarily shocking to one’s morals,
but shocking to one’s previous experiences.
• The kind of content that makes you actually speak to your screen, even if
you’re all alone in your room: “What the…?”
• It doesn’t always have to invoke anger, but it often does.
• Sometimes it just invokes excitement, as in: “I can’t believe they are doing
that!”
• Take Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit, the online tale of a personal fitness model who
purposefully let himself get fat, so that he could show how to get fit again.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

24. [4] Hilarious Content
• Definition: Arousing great merriment; funny.
• You have to watch with humor though, make sure it
fits your actual personality and it’s not coming off
as forced, as that will push some buttons, but in
the completely wrong way.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

25. [5] Remarkable Content
• Definition: Notable, extraordinary, worthy of notice or
attention.
• Remarkable is generally a combination of creativity,
execution, and intrinsic value to the reader.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

26. [6] Secret Content
• Definition: Kept from the knowledge of any but the
initiated or privileged.
• I was able to reveal a secret to you because it was
new to you, my “initiated and privileged” audience.
THE CONTENT
THE 6 BUTTONS YOU NEED TO PUSH
3

28. THE CONTENT
• Content that evokes an emotional response is MUCH more
likely to go viral
• Positive content performs better than negative content
• Articles viewed as “practically useful” often performed very
well
• Even if your content is dry by necessity, you may be able to
include a related image that generates emotion.
• The most successful of buzzfeed posts, like “The 45 Most
Powerful images of 2011” It’s important to analyze data, but
you can’t underestimate the importance of human emotion.
EMOTIONS SELL
3

29. Stack, Stack, Stack
• one compelling paragraph, video, or image can make an emotional impact,
but what about several? What if you publish multiple examples of content
that trigger a certain emotion under one post? This sort of “stacking”
multiplies the power of the post and can be a very useful tool when trying
to influence an audience.
THE CONTENT
EMOTIONS SELL
3

30. • Headline examples from the study:
- Rare Treatment Is Reported to Cure AIDS Patient
- The Promise and Power of RNA
• These headlines speak volumes about the types of content that evoke this
response.
• Exhaustive content, an article in the form of a real-life story (experienced or
just covered by you), or a solution to a nagging problem that readers
thought they’d never find a solution for fits the bill here.
• Content that is just “too good to be true”, you’ll see how effective it is if you
pick up any newspaper
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF AWE
3

31. • Headline examples from the study:
- What Red Ink? Wallstreet Paid Hefty Bonuses
- Loan Titans Paid McCain Adviser Nearly $2 Million
• You’ll notice how the headlines above seek to invoke a sense of disbelief in
the reader before they’ve even clicked through.
• That’s the power of invoking anger.
• When you relay a message that makes people mad, they will want justice,
they will also want their voice to be heard.
• This kind of content goes viral because people will go out of their way to
leave a remark (in the forms of shares & blog posts as well).
• Just don’t go around pissing people off all the time!
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF ANGER
3

32. • Headline examples from the study:
- Passion for Food Adjusts to a Fit Passion for Running
- Pecking, but No Order, on Streets of East Harlem (story about a bunch of
chickens running around Harlem!)
• Surprise can be one of the most powerful forms of content to create, if
only because you can use it more often than the others.
“Awe” and “anger” both evoke strong emotional responses, but would you
really want to go to a site that constantly has you in awe or in anger?. I don’t
think so.
• On the flip side, would you like a site that surprises you with every post?. I
think you get my point!
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF SURPRISE
3

33. • Headline examples from the study:
- For Stocks, Worse Single-Day Drop in Two Decades
- Home Prices Seem Far from Bottom
• People hate losing things they already have, even more than they
hate missing out on potentially winning things.
• That’s the science behind the psychological process of loss aversion,
which is described as:
people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains.
Some studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically,
as gains.
• You don’t have to tell people the world is falling down, you just have
to have your headline convince potential readers that they could be
losing out BIG, but you have the way to fix things.
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF ANXIETY/ FEAR
3

34. • Headline examples from the study:
- Wide-Eyed New Arrivals Falling in Love with the City
- Tony Award for Philanthropy
• Surprising enough, people still like to hear about good things
happening to people other than themselves!
• Joy is often best used in personal story or tale that aims to
connect with readers.
• Funny, inspiring, uplifting, just put a smile on their face at the end
of it.
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF JOY
3

35. • Headline example from the study:
- Love, Sex, and the Changing Landscape of Infidelity
• The thing is people can lust over more than just sex.
• Money, feeling attractive, success, the name of the game here is tantalizing
people with results.
• Case studies often do this well, as they present “lustful” results (“Damn, I
wish I had those results!”) while maintaining a ‘non-braggart’ demeanor.
• Otherwise, sell potential, and you’ll have readers lusting.
THE CONTENT
EMOTION OF LUST
3

36. “15 Things You Should Give Up To
Be Happy”
WHICH BUTTONS THEY PUSH / EMOTIONS THEY SELL?
THE CONTENT
CASE
3

37. “15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy”
• Buttons:
- Unusual
- Remarkable
- Secret
• Emotions:
- Joy
- Anxiety
- Surprise (maybe even Awe)
THE CONTENT
CASE
3

38. • On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy,
but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.
• CLICKABLE HEADLINES:
1. Don’t give the full story away in the headline
2. Don’t give everything away in the excerpt or image
3. Don’t be shrill; allow people to form their own
opinions
4. Don’t bum people out: emotional content should be
focused on excitement, surprise, and even anger, but
never sadness
5. Don’t sexualize or go for “shock and awe” headlines
that your mom would disapprove of (more on that
later).
6. Don’t be too clever. as clever writing can result in a
confusing message.
THE HEADLINE
2

39. THE HEADLINE
• Upworth’ editors must assemble at least 25
headlines for every new article that is published.
• The article is a waste. A good headline can be the
difference between 1,000 people and 1,000,000
people reading something.
• The team emphasizes a rule that all copywriters
need to learn.
THE STORY OF UPWORTHY HEADLINES
2

40. • the team goes for shock and awe without pushing the
boundaries that might offend people.
THE IMAGE
1

41. THE HEADLINE
2
WHICH OF THOSE 2 ARTICLES YOU WILL CLICK ON?

43. THE 9 WISDOMES

44. IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING
On success metrics & ROI:
• The top metric Buzzfeed uses to gauge success is sharing. “It’s not
the only one, but we view shares as a snapshot of what people
thought was ‘good enough’ to pass on,” he said.
• At the same time, he reaffirmed that his teams don’t pick apart the
most popular pieces to create a secret formula that will be imposed
on all future pieces. Instead, he advised content creators and
marketers to evaluate high-performing posts, “By asking, ‘What’s the
underlying dynamic happening, and how can I look at that with
data?’ Use that approach to come up with more content that people
really want.”
• He expanded on this idea, saying, “When people share cute kitten
videos, they’re not interested in ‘the topic of cats.’ They’re interested
in an emotion. We’ve always taken a social view to our analysis”
9

45. IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING
• 94% Altruism. We share to bring valuable and entertaining content to others. We think about what our
friends want to know, and try to help them out.
• 78% Self-definition. We share to define ourselves to others. Perhaps this notion is better phrased as, “you
are what you share.” People consciously shape their online persona by the types of things they share.
• 69% Empathy. We share to strengthen and nourish our relationships. Sharing shows someone else we’re
thinking about them and we care.
• 68% Connectedness. We share to get credit and feedback for being a good sharer, to feel valuable in the eyes
of others.
• 84% Evangelism. We share to spread the word about a cause or brand we believe in.
FIVE PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS TO SHARE
9

46. 9
• Altruists tend to be female, want to help others and spread the word about good causes. Motivated by
altruism (of course), empathy, connectedness and evangelism. They tend to share on email and Facebook.
• Careerists are professionals with strong networks, who like to share serious, useful content and build a
reputation for doing so. Motivated by self-definition and connectedness. They tend to use email and
LinkedIn.
• Hipsters tend to be young and male. They like to start conversations and show who they are by sharing.
Motivated by self-definition, empathy and connectedness. They tend to use Twitter and Facebook.
• Boomerangs want to get a reaction. They like to start debate and generate lots of comments, positive or
negative. Motivated by connectedness. They tend to share on many platforms, including Facebook, Twitter,
email and blogs.
• Connectors are mostly female, and they share to stay close with their friends. They like content that can lead
to offline experiences. Motivated by empathy and connectedness. They tend to share on email and Facebook.
• Selectives are older and more traditional. They share limited information of specific value to specific people.
Motivated by altruism and connectedness. They tend to share on email.
SIX TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE
IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING

47. IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING
FACEBOOK
5:00 PM
TWITTER
1:00 PM
PINTEREST
11 PM
GOOGLE+
10 AM
10 AM –
1:00 PM
8:00 PM –
10:00 PM
THE BEST TIMES TO SHARE
THERE’S NO RULE ; IT DEPENDS ON YOUR
AUDIENCE, INDUSTRY, COUNTRY, YOUR
SELF EXPERIENCE. BUT HERE ARE SOME
FIGURES COULD BE BENEFICIAL:
BEST TIMES TO SHARE:
BEST TIMES TO SHARE / SOCIAL PLATFORM
9

48. • Adding the floating buttons resulted in a 398% increase in
shares. And because of it.
• Typical piece on Upworthy is 50% more likely to be shared
than its equivalent on Buzzfeed, and more than twice as
likely to be shared than if it were on Mashable.
ASK SHARING POLITELY
IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING
9

49. ALLOW THE VIEWER TO ENGAGE BEFORE
OFFERING A POP-UP
• Give the reader a chance to enjoy your
content before presumptuously hankering
for a Facebook like or an email signup.
• If they haven’t gotten to know your
content yet, chances are they’ll close off
your pop-up without consideration.
Instead, create a pop-up that appears after
scrolling below the fold.
8

50. THE CREATIVE
CONVERSION !
• UpWorthy literally tested their audience. They
found that pop-ups didn’t cause an outrage,
and, in fact, increased sharing (and later sign-
ups) by some dramatic percentages:
ALLOW THE VIEWER TO ENGAGE BEFORE
OFFERING A POP-UP
8

51. TESTING USERS BEHAVIORS
• “Ghetto testing” via social shares through the use of
Bitly/ Goo.gl and Facebook demographics. It’s rare
to see any site pour this amount of effort into each
and every post.
7

52. READERS NOT PAGEVIEWS
• We want [readers] to view the content, share it,
subscribe to it, and go on their way. We figure
we’ll be able to reach back out to them again.
• As a social site, it’s no surprise that the team
heavily relies on Facebook, but what you might
find interesting is that they recognize the power of
email marketing and place their newsletter as a
top priority.
• Pageview farms don’t have this intent of keeping
like-minded people around. UpWorthy’s strategy
of qualifying visitors and focusing on community
building over meaningless drive-by traffic is a key
part of their success.
6

53. READERS NOT PAGEVIEWS
6

54. READERS NOT PAGEVIEWS
6

55. READERS NOT PAGEVIEWS
Don’t assume that somebody who clicks unsubscribe
never wants to hear from you again. Chances are that they
actually do want to keep in touch, or they wouldn’t have
signed up to your list in the first place. They probably just
don’t want to hear from you quite as often. Design your
unsubscribe form around the assumption that the person
who clicked unsubscribe still likes your company, and you
can slash your unsubscribe rate.
Do away with default
unsubscribe forms
6

56. WHY TO CREATE CONTROVERSY?
1. Using division to get people invested
• What’s a proven way to get people more invested in a cause,
argument, or belief?
• Give them an enemy.
• According to the fascinating study on Social Categorization and
Inter-group Behavior, the quickest way to get people to form
groups is to give them another group to compete against.
• The lead researcher Henri Tajfel found that when people were
divided by even the most trivial of choices, they were still willing to
hand out real rewards to their ‘in-group,’ and would readily
discriminate the other ‘outsiders.’
• As a behavioral psychology geek, this study fascinates me because
it’s a proven example of why people can become so heated over
arguments that seem pointless to a third party. Often, it’s the
division between groups as much as the argument itself that creates
the controversy.
5

57. WHY TO CREATE CONTROVERSY?
2. Using division to trigger high-arousal emotions:
• As we’ve seen, division works because it turns a casual discussion
into a heated debate by pitting people against each other.
• But it works best when it’s able to trigger ‘high-arousal emotions’
from those who are partaking in the debate.
• Recent academic research from Wharton on What Makes Online
Content Go Viral shows that the content that is most likely to go
viral is any work that evokes a strong emotional reaction from the
reader.
• Specifically, the emotions of Awe, Anger, Anxiety/Fear, Joy, Lust,
and Surprise were most effective.
• Content that inspires low-energy emotions like sadness is less likely
to be shared, where content that inspires high-energy emotions like
awe, anger, and anxiety is far more likely to be shared.
5

58. WHY TO CREATE CONTROVERSY?
3. Using division to take advantage of ‘low-controversy’ topics
• if you want to get people talking online, it’s best to avoid topics of
‘high’ controversy on your business blog.
• (‘High’ controversy means things like politics, religion, and tragedies.)
• Why? According to the researchers:
[Data] shows that controversy increases likelihood of discussion at low
levels, but beyond a moderate level of controversy, additional
controversy actually decreases likelihood of discussion.
5

59. ACTIVISM CAN BE A KEY DRIVER IN SHARING
• Upworthy caters to that by publishing content
meant to inspire or shed light on an issue or
cause. People who want to make a difference or
participate in the discussion will share this
content to ignite conversation or even encourage
action.
4

60. EVEN THE BEST ONLY GELT IT RIGHT A SMALL
PORTION OF THE TIME
• Don’t be discouraged if every piece of content you
create isn’t a home run. Sure, you see BuzzFeed and
Upworthy posts constantly shared on social media,
but you’re not seeing the ones that miss the mark.
While many of their top posts have received
hundreds of thousands of views, 66% of Upworthy’s
posts haven’t broken the 20,000-views mark. Now,
20,000 views is still a significant amount, but in the
context of Upworthy, it puts into perspective how
not every article is going to go super-viral.
3

61. BE HUMAN
• When you’re juggling so many objectives and strategies when creating
content, it’s easy to forget one of the most important criteria: making your
content human. This means focusing on the human aspect of stories --
forgetting to do this can make your content seem contrived and robotic. Ask
yourself: Why would people want to read this?
• Here are some human themes that Upworthy cites as being engaging, along
with some recent examples:
• Stories that are mind-blowing (Ex: “Scientists Studying the Big Bang Have
Discovered Some Bananas-Crazy Information”)
• Stories featuring raw, honest human moments (Ex: “Watch a Man Who
Saved 669 Children from Death Camps Get a Tearful Surprise on TV”)
• Stories featuring the good guys defeating the bad guys (Ex: “A Kid Stands Up
to Literally Everyone in His Class”)
• Stories that say exactly what readers are thinking (Ex: “Just a Couple of
Women Sitting on Stairs Breaking Down Everything That’s Wrong with the
Media”)
• When you remember you’re dealing with a real audience and not just
metrics, you’ll remember that these stories should, deep down, be about
humanity.
2

62. WHAT’S NEXT?
• Peretti warned marketers against spending
too much time over thinking past success,
instead of focusing on what’s next. “The
human brain is great at telling stories in
hindsight that are wrong.”
• Viral content, he pointed out, only achieves
the status of “viral content” after the fact.
Creation has to start with genuine appeal to
users, not a calculated check list of “what
makes content work.”
1

63. THE 5 STEPS

64. BUILD A CONTENT STRATEGY IN 5 STEPS
What Have You Got?
(Inventory/Audit)
Who Are You Trying
To Reach?
(Audience
Definition/Personas)
Create a keyword
list based on your
buyer persona's
common search
terms.
Over time, develop
a personality and
style that's
attractive to your
audience.
Settle into a content
frequency pattern

65. BUILD A CONTENT STRATEGY IN 5 STEPS
• Commit this phrase to memory: I Am Not The Target.

66. BUILD A CONTENT STRATEGY IN 5 STEPS
• RedBull takes a similar approach. They’re
not catering their product to couch
potatoes. That’s why their YouTube
account is both viral and intense. Don’t
expect calm, relaxing videos -- all their
content is high energy and intense. They
are an energy drink, after all.