Viral content. It’s something every content marketer wants, but they don’t all achieve viral status. Some people produce content for months without such success. However, it’s not impossible to go viral, it just takes a lot of effort, like any other aspect of your business. Here are 3 types of content you can use to make your company viral.

“But wait, I’m not a content marketer.”

Sometimes that outlook alone stops someone from going viral. Does your business have a blog? A Youtube or Vimeo page, perhaps? Do you have a podcast? Do you share relevant blog articles and videos on your company’s Facebook Page? Then we applaud you — you’re a content marketer.

Content marketing is just a catchy way to describe the process of warming your customers up to you through your content. It’s social engagement. As a consumer yourself, you want to know a little about the business you’re spending your money with, right? Your prospective customers are the same way, whether yours is a B2C or B2B business.

Now that you’re good on that, here’s how to get them engaged.

3 Types of Content Your Customers Will Gladly Share Before You Ask

1. Infographics. An infographic is simply information you want to share (usually data, statistics, or a list) presented in a visually pleasing image. Infographics have grown into quite the rage, and can be infinitely reblogged if the information is value-packed and well-designed.

Greg Ciotti‘s infographic, 10 Ways to Convert More Customers (Using Psychology), is a great example. It received 136 tweets, 80 LinkedIn shares, 59 Facebook likes, and 163 pins.

How do you make an infographic from scratch? The good news is you don’t have to. There are now several sites that provide beautiful templates:

• Piktochart
• Visual.ly
• Easel.ly
• Infogr.am

And don’t think you have to focus all your energy on the visuals. Like websites, sometimes a simple two- or three-color palette can draw your prospect’s eye.

2. Shareables. The name sounds generic, but a shareable is basically bite-sized visual content, an image with food for thought. For example, a gorgeous photo with an inspirational quote, or a piece of advice or outline designed in eye-catching font on a nice background. Shareables are quick and easy to digest, and if the customer likes it, he’ll hit the Share button within seconds.

Here’s a great example: Brian Clark, Copyblogger CEO, designed his own outline of how to become a better writer.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

As you can see, the design doesn’t need to be complicated to be successfully shared. Clark’s shareable, though a bit older, has 1,197 tweets, 772 Facebook likes, 176 +1’s, and 77 comments.

All you need to create one is Microsoft Word, Pages (iWork), or, if you’re proficient, Photoshop. Once you’ve made it, convert it into a .pdf, .jpeg, or .png file, post it on your business blog, and off it goes.

3. Slideshows. Like inforgraphics, a slideshow is a great visual way to present valuable information or data you want to share, but allows you more room to present it. An infographic is one long image, whereas a slideshow can be anywhere from 3-20 slides long. Plus, a slideshow has much smaller dimensions, so it takes up less space on your page.

How do you share your masterpiece online once you’ve made it? You create an account with one of these two sites (or both):

• Slideshare (LinkedIn’s slideshow sharing platform)
• Scribd.

If you’re wondering which to choose, Slideshare’s attached to LinkedIn, so approximately 80% of its audience is professionals and businesspeople ready to invest their money. Comforting prospect, yes?

Here’s an example of a slideshow I presented through Slideshare. It’s my most popular slideshow to date, with 5 downloads and 473 views.

What makes these 3 content types so successful?

People are visual creatures, and in our on-the-go age, if a piece of content doesn’t catch a prospect’s eye, he moves on to something that can. Think of the proliferation of online videos, infographics, and shareables. People want something that looks good, or is entertaining, but will still enlighten them in some way.

These 3 types of content can give them that satisfaction, and it’s always more satisfying when it’s your content they’re sharing.

Have you used one of these three content types yet? We at Ready Inc. challenge you to start today. Choose one, design it, and share it with the world. If you don’t have the time, we’ll gladly do it for you. Contact us today.

_{Flickr photo by J. Neil Ferree.}