30 Ideas to Create Viral Content

Writer’s block? You want to engage your audiences, but you lack ideas and inspiration? There are thousands of sites dealing with this topic, all with relevant information, and great tips. Everything PR News is giving you  30 ideas to create your own potentially viral content, ideas that will inspire you every day, and will help you fill your site with content that resonates with your audiences, and establishes you as a thought leader. In everything you do, remember the main rule of good content: make it about your readers, and the rewards will follow.

1. Create lists: skim friendly, easy to read, and well organized, lists are the type of content that never goes out of style. From traditional newspapers, to online content, lists find their way in our daily routine, and become habits. Bottom line, lists work, and when you title them right, they are opinion and traffic magnets. Example: Five Marketing Strategies You Can Learn from “Mermaids: The Body Found”
2. How to articles: another fail-proof technique you will find on every content ideas list. How to articles work, especially if they deliver on their promise. Fight Fire with Kindness: How to Respond to Mean Customers Online
3. Write about celebrities: be it leaders of your industry, movie stars or even Obama, celebrity articles work. 5 Reasons Why Obama Deserves to Be TIME Person of the Year
4. Product, books and company reviews: I am not talking sponsored reviews here, but genuine, honest reviews you write, to present your readers with new resources for their business. MyLocalReporter: Refined PR Pitches for Better Journalist Retention
5. Lessons and advice: not necessarily in the “how to” category, but closely related, lessons are successful because they deliver content for beginners, people new to a business or field of activity. Pinterest PR Lesson: Don’t Try too Hard at the Party
6. Industry research: all industries are increasingly active these days, providing up-to-date information, surveys and business intelligence, to compete and to keep relevant within their niches. Write about their research, and add your own take to what you report: People Regret Over-sharing on Social Networks, Study Shows
7. Surveys: if you pick an intriguing topic, enrich it with a survey, engaging your readers to take in the topic, thus increasing time on site, and other important metrics: Kimberly-Clark Resorts to Savvy Vagina PR to Promote U by Kotex®
8. Polls: a great way to engage readers who don’t have too much time to comment, but want to share their opinions. $100 to Message Mark Zuckerberg. Is Facebook Getting All Desperate, or Smart?
9. Keep it sexy: there’s no need to dissect this, sex sells, and it doesn’t have to be tacky: Famous Super Bowl Commercials: PETA’s Veggie Love
10. Predictions and forecasts: there’s a strange appeal for content attempting to predict the future, especially when it makes sense: Advertising Costs to Rise in 2013 [WARC Media Inflation Forecast]
11. Retrospectives: even the past is fascinating, especially at the end of a year, when you look back and learn from it all. Google Bad Ads Official Infographic: 224 Million Banned Ads in 2012
12. Trends: popular things now work well to keep the conversation going. Latest Mobile Phone Trends
13. Interviews with noteworthy personalities in your industry: because people matter, and because they are the ones who will be talking about your business. Because recognizing greatness makes you great. And because these people are already influencers, thought leaders: Michael Kempner: Straight Talk in the Digital Age
14. In-depth case studies: case studies are closely related to lessons and how-to content, but are more effective, because they bring concrete examples, already tested and proven – The Facebook Effect: thinkThin Campaign by Formic Media
15. Infographics: there’s something about content structured visually, that always appeals to people. Infographics may be a bit annoying these days, but they work: A Visual Guide to Dealing with Difficult Clients [INFOGRAPHIC]
16. Controversy: nothing sells better than a bit of controversy. And when it’s related by an expert voice, the value for the reader is even greater: Arab Nations Hire 10 PR Agencies In A Year – PR Firms Assist in Selling Brutality
17. Celebrity scandals: a bit mercenary, if it’s industry related, reporting on celebrity scandals tends to get a lot of clicks. Tiger Woods’ Meteoric Drop Scares TAG-Heuer Away
18. Humor and satire: everyone needs a smile every now and again, even busy business people. Pampers Recalls Dry Max Diapers, Solves BP Oil Spill Problem
19. Guest posts from experts: what a time saver! A lazy solution, but effective. When industry experts choose to contribute to your site, associating their names with your brand, you must know that you are on the right path. And when their articles are this catchy… An Attention Whore’s Guide to Facebook
20. Industry news: nothing beats relating the news, and there’s something interesting happening in each industry, every day. Oreo Cookies Delivered to Antarctica
21. Awards and accolades: in the same category with industry news, it is always a great idea to acknowledge industry leaders and their achievements. USA TODAY Is Mobile Publisher of the Year
22. Editorials: Your own opinions matter, especially when the topics are of special interest.The Eurozone Hen House: Who’s In Charge?
23. Opposing views: compare two companies, ideas, products or services, people and places: Amazon Versus Google – Good Versus Evil?
24. Pros and cons: everything in life is a series of contrasts. You can find relevant pros and cons in about every industry. The Pros and Cons of Automating Tweets
25. Keep up with the seasons: every time of the year brings something newsworthy to write about, and the ideas are always fresh. How to Deal with Holiday PR Demons (Or How to Cure Your Halloween Blues)
26. Link baits: find the most relevant weekly (or daily) articles in your industry, and create a list, presenting them to your readers. Their authors may not always come to thank you, but your effort will not go unnoticed. Some may return the favor, and link to one of your articles, in a similar post. 5 PR and Marketing Articles You Don’t Want to Miss Today
27. Social media bait create a top featuring the most prominent social media users in your industry. Top 100 PRs on Twitter
28. Business tops: create a top featuring the most relevant businesses and tools in your industry. Top 50 iPhone Apps for PR Pros
29. Promote trendy content: find the most popular YouTube videos related to your industry, and share them with your audience. 2011′s Best Super Bowl Commercials
30. Learn from mistakes: no one is infallible, but when we make mistakes, the best thing is to learn from them and move on. Twitter #Hashtags that Backfired