6 Tips on Brainstorming Viral Content

As part of my job duties, I help clients brainstorm different content ideas for linkbait and viral spread. Oftentimes I’m brainstorming for the same niche, meaning I have to come up with dozens of ideas for one industry. This process can get tricky, as it’s often hard to come up with fresh ideas for one topic week after week. I thought I’d share some things that I do to try and get the creative juices going.

1. Check social media sites for inspiration. Sometimes I’ll check Delicious, Digg, Reddit, etc. to see what sort of similar content has been submitted and how well it fared. I think whether I can come up with an idea that’s similar to or inspired by a successful submission, or whether I can improve upon an idea that was good but somehow failed to go viral.
2. Tie in current events. I check a lot of news sites to see what’s going on in the world. It doesn’t have to be any sort of monumental news event like the unveiling of Apple’s latest gadget — even local news stories inspire me.
3. See what people are talking about. Check your network of friends and colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. See what they’re talking about and whether you can leverage the discussion. If something slips through the news crack or isn’t on your radar, there’s a good chance your friends will notice and be talking.
4. Ask someone else. When I’m temporarily stumped for ideas, I’ll ping a close friend on IM or turn around and throw something at my boyfriend (who also works from home) and ask for their input. It’s always nice to have a fresh perspective, and oftentimes I’ll receive ideas that are great on their own or that inspire me to go down a new brainstorming path and come up with something good.
5. Check the website for inspiration. Oftentimes the client’s website has a good deal of information that can be used as the basis for something great, whether that’s a blog post, an interesting picture, an informative study, etc. See if there’s preexisting content that you can polish up and present in a new and interesting way (via a video, list, infographic, etc).
6. Do some “point of origin” research. I’ve often looked up general topics in Google or Wikipedia (yeah, yeah, I know) to get an idea of their history and to see if anything in particular stands out. It’s a great way to learn a little bit about the topic I’m brainstorming for and usually helps me come up with ideas based on its history/origins.

All of the above are usually good starting points for me. If you have any other tips on brainstorming content, feel free to share them!