Luck doesn't make content go viral; certain psychological triggers in your audience do. This infographic explains how these psychological triggers behind viral content.

 

Your boss or client barges into your office and demands a viral video or Facebook post.

You start to sweat. How can you make that happen? How can you get people to emphatically click the share button when they see your content?

An infographic from WhoIsHostingThis.com has the answer. It describes why people are inclined to share certain types of content, and lists six internal triggers that encourage people to share.

 

 

6 Psychological Triggers Behind Viral Content

Here are a few of them:

1. Social currency

People like to share things that make them look good. Give your audience content that will make them look smart or feel like an insider, and they will be inclined to share it.

2. Emotion

Have you ever read an article that was hilarious, shocking or inspiring, and then proceeded to send it to your friends and family? If someone has a strong emotional response to a piece of content, he will be more likely to share it.

3. Practical value

The more useful a piece of content is the more people will want to share it. Have you ever noticed how quickly discounts or articles about the best such-and-such circle the Web?

4. Storytelling

When a product comes with a story, it is easier for people to remember. People will talk about products or brands that are part of a larger narrative.

Check out the full graphic below to see all 6 Pyschological Triggers on how to make your content go viral in more detail.:

(View a larger image.)

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6 Ways a Formatted Google+ Post Will Increase Engagement and Interest

One of the major differences we've discussed in the past between Google+ and other social networks is the ability to format your posts. I've shared tips and techniques, and the renowned Peg Fitzpatrick recently ran through her style for creating the perfect Google+ post, and it's right in line with how I share new blog posts. Continue reading to see how a  formatted Google + Post will Increase Engangement and Interest.

But why does it matter?

Businesses and bloggers using content and social media should be working to achieve the following:

Increase Readership and Traffic

Increase Authority

Correctly formatting your Google+ posts can help you achieve those goals, far better than posts to other social networks can. Just like starting your day off with a fresh cup of coffee to help wake and energize you, give your Google+ Posts some extra love and attention and start them off right.

6 Ways a Formatted Google+ Post

Will Increase Engagement and Interest

How to Craft Google+ Posts

As Peg correctly states, there are a number of elements to the "perfect" Google+, including:

1. Title Your Post

Use a * around your first sentence of text to make it bold, and treat it like a blog post title. It can be the same as your blog post, or something different. I generally take a specific point from the post or a different perspective in order to spark discussion.

2. Introduce Your Post

After your title, provide some information as to what your post is about or what kind of discussion you'd like to start. You can handle this a number of ways, and can change it up depending on the nature of the specific post. Sometimes I will summarize the post, and other times I will discuss a different topic entirely and relate it to the blog post. Either way, make sure that you're offering your Google+ followers a reason to get involved and read your post.

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17 Common SEO Myths that you need to Discard in 2013 and Beyond

To say SEO has “changed a lot” would be the understatement of the decade. Just take a look at how Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates shook the world of Seo professionals -- marketers and Seo agencies world-wide haulted their link-building and keyword-obsessed ways, and swapped it for a long overdue focus on quality content. This post is going to point out all of the most common SEO myths and assumptions about how Seo works,  and debunk them for you so you’re not wasting a single moment on things that simply don’t matter for Seo in 2013 and beyond. let’s get started.

But does that mean an Seo’s job is just to pump out high quality, keyword-optimized content? far from it. In fact, Seo has changed so much in the past several years that many marketers aren’t sure what’s outdated, what’s important, what will actually move the needle, and what’s simply wasted effort.

17 Common SEO Myths that You

Need to Discard in 2013 and Beyond

 

Myth # 1 - You have to Submit Your Website to Google

The idea that you need to submit your website to google in order to appear in search results (or rank) is nonsense. while a brand new site can submit their url to google directly, a search engine like Google can still find your site without you submitting it. And remember, a submission does not guarantee anything. Crawlers will find your site and index it in due time, so don’t worry about this idea of needing “tell” google about your site.

Myth #2 - Ranking is Everything

While there’s a strong correlation between search results placement and clickthrough rates, ranking is not the all mighty end goal that it used to be. Now with search results being appended with rich text/snippets and author tags, results that appear below the top three sought after slots are getting much higher clickthrough rates.

And even before all of that was applied, rankings did not guarantee success. you could theoretically rank quite well for a term and get tons of traffic, and not make a dime from it. Is that what you really want? I don’t think so. So it’s time to shift your goals, and rethink what Seo is all about, because “ranking” is not it.

 

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