What makes a piece of content 'shareable'? Hannah shares the highs and lows of creating content that’s designed to be shared and provides tips and insights from the team at Distilled.
29. “Remember way back when the internet was accessible only
via the dog whistle screech of your dial up modem?
@hannah_bo_banna
The internet was a brave new world;
albeit a decidedly slow and slightly crappy one…”
30. “This charming little ditty boasts many a sophisticated lyric -
"Hard like Geometry, and Trigonometry" (deep, huh?),
@hannah_bo_banna
multiple references to excrement
and a heart-felt line about morning glory.”
51. it’s not until you show me that I really get it
@hannah_bo_banna
52. @hannah_bo_banna
an idea
is a novel combination of
previously unconnected elements
in a way that adds value
53. @hannah_bo_banna
why do pop songs sound
the same?
they use the same
4 chords
bring it to life with
a mash up
combining
previously
unconnected
elements
execute in a way
that adds value
55. @hannah_bo_banna
kick off with some questions:
could we look at why or how the different genres changed?
what if we could take one tune and make it change through
the genres, e.g. make it funk, heavy metal…?
what if you could make your own super group?
74. @hannah_bo_banna
authors Chip & Dan Heath identified
6 factors make an idea ‘stick’:
simple
unexpected
concrete
credible
emotional
story
75. @hannah_bo_banna
& we’ve added one of our own:
simple
unexpected
concrete
credible
emotional
story
shareable
76. we evaluate our ideas based on these criteria
@hannah_bo_banna
77. @hannah_bo_banna
you don’t need to hit all 7,
but it helps you evaluate multiple ideas & see
which looks to be the strongest
it’s also a great set of criteria to refer back to as you’re
developing a piece
80. @hannah_bo_banna
if you can’t explain it to a 6 year old,
you don’t understand it yourself
~ Albert Einstein
81. @hannah_bo_banna
our idea sounds simple enough,
but we had to accept that we were talking about
a concept which is difficult for some people to grasp
83. we acknowledged that it wouldn’t be as simple
@hannah_bo_banna
as axis of awesome’s 4 chords
however
we felt that enough people would understand the concept
& we’d made it as simple as we could to understand
116. “this list is emblematic
of the decline of western civilisation…”
@hannah_bo_banna
~ commentor on the Daily Mail’s coverage
117. @hannah_bo_banna
“this ‘list’ seems very incomplete”
“I can’t believe they didn’t contact you
to round the selections out.”
~ conversation on HuffPo’s coverage
118. “whoever made this list is mentally ill”
@hannah_bo_banna
~ commentor on Rolling Stone
128. @hannah_bo_banna
we felt that the unexpected result
+
the emotion (both positive & negative) sparked by the piece
would cause people to share the piece
187. @hannah_bo_banna
has this already been done?
is it possible to do this?
will our audience share it?
will our target publishers cover it?
have we got proof something like this as worked before?
191. @hannah_bo_banna
evaluate all your ideas
simple / unexpected / concrete / credible /
emotional / story / shareable
to give yourself the best chance of success
194. Hannah Smith
Content Strategist, Distilled
caffeine addict; book worm;
would really like a unicorn...
send cat pictures or questions to:
hannah.smith@distilled.net
@hannah_bo_banna
195. credits
Images:
axl - http://www.nolandalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/axl-rose.jpg
happy ever after - http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/c8972ec570efebca114372a3895032aeb98e5858_m.jpg
strike: http://www.twobluecommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/bowling.jpg
unexpected - http://thabto.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/shocked-face.jpg
emotional - http://adland.tv/ooh/feed-sa-trolley-ambient-south-africa
gold - http://www.4khdwallpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gold-texture-wallpaper-7.jpg
no - http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9w1aqMfCG1qz6f9yo1_r2_500.jpg
rolling stone cover - http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d8/0c/41/d80c41d517f2fbe3bd86614d506832b3.jpg
audience - http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/audience.jpg
swing - https://www.flickr.com/photos/21745851@N00/4805435840
danbo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nomadic_lass/6889892777/in/set-72157629144987013
unicorn - http://queenofheartsonthesleeve.tumblr.com/post/58736423727/ok-not-much-but-here-it-is-3
Big love to to the wonderful Distilled folks who helped me put this together:
Adria Saracino, Mark Johnstone, Paddy Moogan, Phil Nottingham, Tim Allen, & Will Critchlow