Our in-house graphic designer, Eric Palmer, achieved viral sharing notoriety this week with a design series he developed around his passion for 8-bit art. After showcasing the series on online design portfolio site Behance, Eric achieved the spike in traffic after viewers known as online handles @XombieDIRGE and designer @PaulGalbraith, shared the 8-bit movie poster themed project with friends on their blog, Twitter, and Facebook profiles. The shares were enough to increase Eric’s Behance profileviewership to the 1,000+ range within an hour. The spike in viewing activity spurred conversation about how others can leverage the power of viral online fame, and tap into business gains inspired and influenced by this brand of expansive online sharing.

By now, most of you may have heard your friends utter that something has “gone viral” usually in reference to a piece of content has been widely enjoyed and thus frequently shared online. For content creators like Eric, “going viral” is a major achievement. Sadly, the vast majority of content (even highly relevant material) will never bask in the success of widespread online attention, without the proper use of internet marketing tactics. It is therefore important that we relay a few key concepts that will offer aid to those seeking viral fame, so that the content you develop earns the attention it deserves.

Top 5 Ways to Get Viral Success Online

1. Pick Your Poison: When developing a concept for video, audio, image, or text content, be sure to do what you are good at. Mastering the basics by being comfortable with the content medium you choose, will help you focus on the elements that will give your material the boost it needs to stand out in the crowd.

2. Relevant Content: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. The same is true for content development that earns it’s creator share-worthy attention. Just because you upload a video, does not mean people are going to like it. Viral content relies on two things to gauge it’s public success: 1. the content is relevant enough to encourage social sharing, and 2. The content is shared enough times to achieve the added viewership and sharing advantage of the various influential audiences that reside within each social network. Tracking the number of views, likes, and tweets, helps a content generator gauge the value of his/her content.

3. Promote: In order to get your content found, you have to begin by promoting it on different online platforms. By submitting content throughout the web and announcing it’s presence across various social media sites, your content earns the exposure it needs to go viral. Be sure to align with other authoritative links, to help boost your ranking in Google. Abundant indexing of your content through the use of submissions and link building, will help direct viewers to your content, and ensure that you climb to top page ranking.

4. Social Networking: Tell everyone you know, on every social networking site you prefer, about your content. Use Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others to tap into your influential group of friends and family members. If you allow others to share and tell your story, the content propels a sense of widespread personal connection and ownership, worthy of sharing with others. Discussions that occur within the context of a social network, encourages and concentrates keyword use. This interaction notifies Google that relevant material is being discussed, and bolsters rankings. With over a million users connecting within social networks everyday, there are many eyes just waiting to be exposed to your message.

5. Interact: The last thing you want to do when you have achieved viral success, is stop the conversation. Be sure to continue to interact with your audience, and give credit where credit is due. If your traffic spiked because an influential viewer shared it with his/her following, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their continued support. A little online love can go a long way, and may even create a die hard fan that will help spread your content on an ongoing basis.