Analyzing a Meme

According to Wikipedia, the term meme, pronounced meem, is used to describe a concept that spreads quickly via the Internet.

For all online marketers, the ultimate result for our blog entry, Tweet, YouTube video or any other digital message is for it to go viral, snowballing through the Internet, exponentially picking up viewers. Short of that, a more reasonable goal is to create a loyal online following that steadily grows over time with a healthy feedback.

But how does one best achieve that end? As they say, content is king, and having useful, timely and compelling information in your posts is the best way to attract a following. These nuggets of content – memes – can spread throughout the Internet, seemingly overnight.

But why do certain ideas fall flat and others spread? Dan Zarella, a social media and viral marketing analyst, has come up with eight elements of contagious ideas.

Seeding
For your meme to make its way around the Internet, your first group of readers is the most important: If they like your posts and tweets, they’ll send them along to their own contacts. Having as large a list of initial followers as possible is one obvious method, so is buying banner ads for especially important campaigns if you’re marketing a product or meeting.

Novelty
Tweeting a link to a story that’s already made the rounds, or blogging about a topic that’s been covered exhaustively already, won’t make much of an impact. The more unique the better for grabbing attention.

Intuitiveness
No matter how novel your idea, if people can’t easily understand it, they are not likely to pass it along. Making the information memorable and easy to grasp is one of the tricks to good blog writing. Make it intuitive – relate new content in to an old familiar structure.

Relevance
What people see as relevant is also what they tend to share with others. And an idea that’s perceived as personal, as if the post were created especially for them, is the best way to cut through the noise.

Utility
The usefulness of an idea – its utility – is one of the defining factors of an effective meme. The more useful people consider the information you provide, the more they’ll share back with you and spread it forward.

Social Cascades
When we see thousands of readers subscribe to a blog, or that a tweet has a high number of retweets, we’re more likely to be interested.

Information Voids
Rumors travel fastest in the absence of credible, authoritative information. In the case of memes, this means finding an information void and filling it, such as talking about a coming event before the masses chime in.

Proselytism
Every great meme needs its true believers, those blog or tweet followers who read and pass on your posts with a fervor. And when you have a call to action in your message, implied or explicit, chances are your meme will spread faster and farther.