Tips from BuzzFeed on how to create viral content

I’ve already chronicled BuzzFeed’s meteoric rise here. But there are some additional stats about the site worth considering as well as some tips from Eric Harris, its executive vice president of business operations, about how to create viral content. First, the numbers:

-- BuzzFeed now has 75 editors

--  75 percent of its traffic is from social referrals

--  60 percent of its visitors are millennials

--  50 percent of its traffic comes from mobile

--  The site has 60 million unique visitors per month (that’s double nytimes.com, folks).

So it’s clear that BuzzFeed is a holy grail of sorts – for content that you want to go viral. While everyone might think they want viral content, the qualifications to make it so aren’t for everyone. Here are some of Eric’s tips for making content readily shared via BuzzFeed:

1. Stay close to what makes it human
2. Ask yourself, would you want people to share this? Would you be proud to share it?
3. Does it have a heart?
4. Will someone be entertained or informed by it – even if it is not your target audience? Content is about identity. The content will find its own audience.
5. Does it capture the moment?
6. Does it involve a cute animal?
7. Is it funny?
8. Does it address human rights?

As Eric noted, having a viral content strategy is as important as the content itself.