What if you are posting everyday to your blog and then sharing it on Facebook and tweeting out the post to your followers and no one is re-tweeting it or re-sharing it? Say you’ve 6000 followers, and if no one is re-tweeting or re-sharing, your post remains limited to only those 6000 people.
To make your post go viral, you need to get more Facebook shares and re-tweets. Only then, you will reach a wider audience and more and more people.
Sometimes, do you think why some posts by top bloggers get more re-tweets and re-shares than yours? That’s because they’ve thrown in some words into the headlines that can create the magic.
Well, magic is not the word. If you understand how human psychology works, you will understand people react to some words more than others.
So, what these words are to get more Facebook shares?
The infographic below shows the words that humans generally has emotions attached with and are more likely to share or tweet.
So, do you think you can really make your posts go viral with these words in your headlines?
A study by Matthew Lieberman says that people are attuned to those that they not only find useful and interesting for themselves but also to other people. Another German philosopher, Gistalt, also states that human minds love simplicity, so the more simple the marketing term is, the more they will likely be to adapt themselves with the topic.
So, crafting headlines that works is less about writing and more about understanding human psychology and science.
There is no magic, it’s all science. Understanding your readers and how their mind work is critically important for getting Facebook and re-tweets, which ultimately is the road to getting your content viral.
What do you think about these words? Have you used any of these words in your headlines? To how much extent, did your content go viral or get facebook shares and re-tweets?
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Hey Mainak,
You definitely have to have a headline that’s going to stand out and for the longest time I just wrote whatever not really even thinking about people sharing it or it grabbing their attention. It wasn’t until late last year that I started putting more thought into it.
I know that there are a list of “power” words that people suggest using to get people’s attention and a lot of these words are on that list as well.
I can see why it would grab people’s attention more but I think you have to stop worrying about something going viral. It either will or it won’t and you honestly have no control over that. If it can get in front of the right people then who knows. For the most part though, I think we just have to do the best we can.
Great job with the infographic, nice work.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
Thank you so much for those kind kinds. This was the first time I created an infographic and am so happy to hear that you’ve liked it.
Actually, using “power” words helps to some extent in getting likes and shares because it captures the minds of the readers but getting it viral requires some more effort. More people has to link back to the work, getting the word out to thousands and thousands of people, people going crazy over it….all these signs suggest that the content has gone viral.
And that is the reason I mentioned “more Facebook shares and retweets”.
Thanks for stopping by and looking to talk again. 🙂
Hey Mainak,
Nice blog! Found you through a Quick Sprout comment, so keep doing that off site marketing. Definitely looks like you have the drive to be successful online.
Rob
Hi Rob,
Welcome to the blog. I just looked at your site going through this comment, the words are truly captivating. And thank you for the inspiration, I like it! Hope to see you again here in the future. 🙂
Mainak.
Really wonderful post and I’d love to use your tips for my new facebook campaign. It’s true that content is very important factor while sharing on facenook. People love to read and share the genuine content.
Thanks
Thanks Samir, let me know know your campaign goes. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and hope to talk to you again.
Hello Mainak,
Like i always tell my students, don’t underestimate the power of a catchy title. Before your blog post can be reshared, it must have a catchy title and as well as a good content. people click our links on social networks because of our title, the stronger the title, the higher your clicks and reshare 🙂
Nice article and a lovely infograph 🙂 . Have a lovely week ahead…
Hi Babanature,
Welcome to the blog! Yes, catchy titles do make a post stand out. I have really tested myself on this part and seen that you can grab your readers’s attention with catchy titles because 80% of the web surfers just check and titles and only 20% click through it. So, it’s just a try to increase the number of click-through.
Thanks for stopping by and do have a rocking week too! 🙂
Mainak.
Hi Mainak,
True that, getting our post and tweets re-shared and retweeted is of some importance. Getting the above tasks dome means more visibility and reach! It is something that bloggers usually crave for.
And these ‘power words’, which you described in the article, will help a lot in getting those retweets and re-shares to a good extent.
That infographic was sweet and simple. At the same time, it taught a handful of such power words that one should make good use of.
In my case, I’ve been using the words smart and magical very well. Another word I’d like to say I use much is ‘revealed’! They’ve worked like a charm for me.
But this infographic has just given me lots of more alternatives and more words to choose from!
Good write up!
Arun
Thanks for the wonderful addition, Arun! Indeed, “Revealed” is another power word that can catch the attention of the readers a lot and also get a lot of more shares and re-tweets. Some getting “revealed”, especially by someone famous, naturally everyone wants to read and share, isn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by and have a nice week ahead! 🙂
Mainak.
I really appreciate your idea of understanding human psychology.Words are powerful and to unleash their power lies in the brains of the user. Some words written lay such an impact that we desire to read or hear them again and again.Well Iam not that addicted to Facebook or twitter but need to say running through your article reminded of what I have studied in Neuro linguistic Programming course. An excellent info graphic and knowledge base you have provided here….A fresh piece of content worth sharing
Yes Gopal, using powerful words has become such a necessity today because thousands of posts are published every day, so to stand out, we really need to put something interesting in the title to catch the attention of our readers.
Nice one Maniak,
Magic copywriting words, no doubt.
thanks for the infographic.
cheers
akos
There’s psychology science behind these words too, Akos!
Amazing, magical and fun facts psychologically speaking. I would like to know where you found the original research.
People are overlooking the psychology of social media, spending so much time on leveraging the platform rather than understanding the emotional, mental, and motivational world of the social media user, Again, social media is not about spending money on marketing it is spending time understanding the people.
There is another part to this story that you do so well…that is after the words intrigue another person, you also follow up with every person that leaves a comment making them feel important. This is an important aspect to the psychological well being and future word of mouth of the consumer.
Having the right words is the start, the interaction and conversation is the conversion from customer to consumer, to client. Well done!
Hi Jay,
Thank you so much for those kind words. It’s so inspiring. 🙂
The original research is actually by interacting and engaging with my friends and fans on Facebook, understanding their wants and also somewhat through research on the Internet.
Yes, I agree social media is not about spending money, it’s about understanding the psychology of human beings and then spending money to get them targeted to your blog works well. And following up with every comment makes readers special and they would want to visit again.
Thanks for stopping by and hope to get you know more. 🙂
Mainak.