Strategies to Captivate Audience: 6 Appealing Aspects for Your Proposals
Curious about the secrets behind viral articles? We definitely were! Let's dive into why certain articles catch fire and spread like wildfire, and more importantly, how we can get more people to listen to us.
We chose to delve deep into the trending articles section of none other than the esteemed New York Times, breaking them into four categories: Most Emailed, Most Shared on Facebook, Most Searched on the Web, and Most Tweeted. Analyzing hundreds of articles from October 2015 to January 2016, we coded their headlines, topics, and promises, and compared them to a control group of non-viral articles. Let's take a look at the intriguing results!
Interestingly enough, the most popular topic didn't surprise us much. General Interest took the first spot, with 104 articles, followed by articles that referenced a specific person in the headline, health, and location-specific articles. The same top categories emerged for non-viral articles, too. Not groundbreaking, but still captivating!
The data got more intriguing when we looked at the article promises, which are what the headline uses as bait to reel readers in. If you understand virality, you can up the ante on getting more attention for your ideas. Here are the categories we used to code the promises:
- How-to
- Snark (clever, funny, or punny titles)
- Question (headlines that are actually questions)
- History (includes time, period, or moment in history)
- New (groundbreaking research or discoveries)
- Story
Articles with a promise of a Story dominated our results, with 72 articles, followed by New with 45, and Snark with 32. What does this tell us? It suggests how to grab attention for our ideas, articles, and links.
First, there's power in the "once upon a time" aspect of a story. If we want to catch people's attention and want to be heard, it's essential to emphasize the story aspect of what we want to convey.
Second, do you have any exciting, fresh, or groundbreaking information? We love being in the know. If you have unheard-of insights, be sure to highlight them.
Finally, a dash of humor can work wonders. If you can be funny and engaging right from the get-go, people will be drawn to you and your ideas. These are the three key ingredients to virality, and with a bit of practice, you can implement them too!
Pacing is also a crucial factor in capturing attention. Rather than dumping all your ideas at once, drip them in small doses to create intrigue and keep your audience hooked.
In conclusion, while direct search results on the elements of viral stories in the New York Times dataset may be limited, understanding the importance of emphasizing the story aspect, offering exclusive content, and incorporating some humor in your headlines and content can help you create compelling Viral articles like a pro!
- To create more viral articles, it's crucial to emphasize the story aspect of our ideas, as articles promising a Story dominantly contributed to virality.
- Offering exclusive, groundbreaking information can also catch people's attention, with the New category being the second most popular in viral articles.
- A dash of humor in headlines and content can draw readers in and boost the virality of our ideas, as evidenced by the Snark category in the analysis.
- Pacing is vital in capturing and maintaining audience attention; instead of bombarding readers with all ideas at once, drip them in small doses to create intrigue.
