After almost 3 years of working at a social media agency, the word viral becomes a target and a career goal. You constantly think of creative ways of getting a higher reach and spreading your content. People can think that going viral isn’t that big of a deal as much as they want, but the harsh truth is it’s 2016 and social media has become a mean to market and showcase your skills, your content, it helps you shift careers, to be scouted for a dream job. Social media has become life, people.
Last month I experienced my first personal viral post. I wrote the most random status and in hours, I had 20k likes and 10k shares and I only have 500 friends, I had no idea how it happened or what was so special about it and just as fast as it spread, it never happened again with any other post. This made me wonder how personal non-boosted content can go viral every time.
The next 13 Internet moguls have been all over our homepages for a while now. You might think that because most of them have 100K+ followers, it’s only natural to get shares, but you’re wrong. This isn’t just some random thing that happens, organic reach is a science of its own. Timing, content, trendiness, length and touching people on a certain level are just some of the main issues these people have to overcome.
We asked some of the biggest people on Egypt’s Internet to share with us their secret and tips on going viral:
Marwan Younis
“Keep it insightful, simple and don’t look like you are trying too hard, but most importantly pick your posting time carefully. Pick a time when YOU would most likely watch the video.”
Alaa El Sheikh
“For me, the most viral is the most unplanned, and least expected to be. Most probably they are the ones you write on the toilet. One more thing, #ElHashtagKolHaga.”
Amr Wahba
“For me, I honestly do not think that a post’s reach or going viral requires some certain criteria. People are very unpredictable and moody. Sometimes I write something extremely smart and I expect a certain reach, yet I only get 6 likes by those who like me, the ones who usually like anything I post then read later. Sometimes I write something superficial and it goes viral. Trends that come up daily as studying, working out, dieting, gyms or relationships that people can relate to and mention each other do well. Most importantly stay away from swearing and inappropriate language that some think it might get more reaction.”
Wageeh Sabry
“The main reason statuses, comics or videos go viral is the content, it doesn’t have to be funny however humor increases the reach. I personally like funny pointless content that are just for fun. Videos do better because people may be too lazy to read 20 lines that could be summarized in a 1-minute-long video.
Personally, I think there isn’t a specific reason why my posts go viral. Back when I had more time, I would write a whole sketch that would get tens of thousands of shares, other times I would write something short that is personal and people can’t relate to it. The number of followers makes a difference but only if they can relate to your content. Buzz pieces get double the shares.
Followers have recently become a norm and some of the followed people don’t really have any funny or useful content and they could go out of their way for the sake of shares and likes as a doctor for example who shares a personal work incident about his patient or someone who overdoes it with romantic content to reach the younger age group.
I usually write random thoughts because I like social media, despite its negativity, and I like seeing people laughing and happy. I never think of likes and shares, I even removed the comment section because I want to stay true to myself. Going viral makes me happy, but it is not my goal.”
Karim Hisham
“Every piece of news has a real side, a fiction side and a comedy one which people love the most. I always go for that.”
Ramez Youssef
“First of all, there are no rules or hints. One should just write his thoughts out loud, it shouldn’t be about shares or likes. Posts should be either very very random and out of the blue or something related to a current hot topic with an element of surprise in a sarcastic way.
For videos, a key factor is to make them look and sound real, never try to stage something or fool people because homa ba2o asya3 menena bkteer. Respect your audience and they will respect you back. The most important thing is to make it personal so people would relate, start sharing and tag friends.”
Hadia Ghaleb
“The word viral is such a tricky word? When does a post become viral? After how many shares? Likes? Comments? Anyway we’ll leave this existential questions for later. Here are a couple of tips to make a post prone to many shares though: It has to be aspirational (mainly travel posts will get you there), conveys a strong message that breaks society’s taboos, shows a crazy skill (dancing, street percussion, etc.), how-to or scandalous posts, ones that people can “yessefo” 3aleih or something that includes a fight. Not that the last three are good, or that I recommend them.”
Salma Hassan
“On a daily basis, things happen to all of us that provoke us. It could be something that happens to you or something you do it yourself. I create funny memes that are very realistic and short. I always put myself in my followers’ shoes and think if I would share this meme when I see it.”
Ismail Kassem
“Be original, speak from the heart and ignore the hate mail.”
Mohamed Moula
“I don’t think anyone would turn on his camera and say I want to post a video for the sake of views.”
Amr Mustafa Sokkar
“I don’t normally tend to achieve virality through my posts. I just try to sculpture my thoughts in a humorous mold which many of my followers help get viral unintentionally ”
Bakri Khaled Kabakibi
“Keep it real, short, simple and don’t forget sa7i7 to keep it funny.”
And my personal favorite tip has to be by Karim Hashkobly
“For me it’s simply not about the trend, I do what makes me laugh out loud even if it doesn’t reach anybody, but makes me happy. Of course becoming viral is something wonderful, but laughing at something I created because I wanted to see it is priceless.
There are two types of content as far as I know: Culture based and global. Culture ones only reach the minds of those who know the inside joke and it’s based on what you watch or what your knowledge is. Global is something everybody relates to like my Fifi Abdou or Mohamed Fouad posts. If the joke is big, a culture based thing can turn global.”
WE SAID THIS: Guys, we’re sorry to tell you but not everyone has what it takes to go viral.