Social media has incredible user-power. According to a report, there are over 396.5 Million global Users on Twitter. This means that there is a humongous opportunity to get viral online using Viral Tweets. [1]
But how do Tweets go viral? The fast-paced social media culture means rapid content creation, reactions and sharing among the users. Brand or even individual user accounts leverage on this rapid information-consumption culture to go viral and get more shares for their viral content. In this blog post, we will discuss how to write viral Tweets and what kind of twitter viral tweets get the most attention.
What are Viral Tweets?
A viral tweet is a tweet that spreads rapidly across the Twitter platform, The Viral Tweet is shared and liked by a large number of Twitter users. It can be characterized by a high level of engagement, such as a large number of retweets, likes, and comments. A viral tweet is often considered a successful and influential tweet due to its widespread reach and impact.
Viral tweets can come in many forms, including funny memes, inspiring quotes, breaking news, or controversial statements. However, the common thread among all viral tweets is that they capture the attention of a large audience and prompt users to share and engage with the content.
Popular Examples of Viral Tweets
Here are some examples of tweets that went viral on Twitter:
Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar Selfie:
In 2014, Ellen DeGeneres tweeted a selfie of herself and a group of celebrities at the Oscars. The tweet quickly went viral and became the most retweeted tweet of all time, with over 3.4 million retweets.
#BlackLivesMatter:
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has gone viral numerous times on Twitter, most notably in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020. The hashtag has been used to bring attention to racial injustices and police brutality, and has been tweeted millions of times.
Steps to Write Viral Tweets
Creating Tweets is easy – you can post just about anything. However, some general rules that apply to writing viral tweets are:
KISS Rule
KISS Stands for Keep it Short and Succinct. Every Twitter user has a character limit for every tweet they post. So, make every word count. Get your message across in a clear, concise manner. The current character limit for Tweets is 280 characters including spaces. Although there are some news that Elon Musk is planning to bump the character limit up to 4000 characters, it has not been implemented yet.
Killer Headlines
Writing scroll-stopping headlines is very important to make your Tweet go viral. Most social media users skim through the content rather than actually reading all of it. If your headline is powerful enough to grab the attention of users, they are more likely to read all of it. Use attention-grabbing headlines. Your headline or tweet title should be eye-catching and memorable, with a hook that draws people in.
Add Visual Appeal
If you check Twitter’s history of Viral Tweets, visually appealing content goes viral faster. So, make your content visually appealing. Use images, videos, or GIFs to make your tweet more engaging. This can increase the chances of your tweet being shared.
Leave Room for Replies
The more replies or Retweets your Tweet receives, the more chances of it going viral. Encourage engagement through your Tweets. Ask questions, start a conversation, or include a call-to-action in your tweet. Encouraging people to engage with your content can increase the likelihood of it going viral.
Strategies to Share Viral Tweets
Going viral on Twitter is more about luck, perfect timing and network. However, here are some tips that may increase your chances to get viral Tweets:
Quality Content:
Create unique, high-quality content that people find valuable, entertaining, or thought-provoking. For example, your rant session on social media may not receive as much attention as your attempt to highlight certain helpful tips to solve problems of people who might be in the same situation as you. Focus on creating content that is more relevant to your followers.
Choosing a Timing:
Time your tweets well. Keep a close eye on Twitter Trending Topics and choose the perfect timing to share Tweets for maximum impact. Tweet when your target audience is most active on Twitter to increase visibility. Tweeting late decreases your chances of going viral.
Add Hashtags:
Include relevant, trending hashtags in your tweets to make them discoverable to a larger audience. Hashtags group similar Tweets around a specific topic together. Hashtags work like search filters to find the most relevant content about a certain topic. Include 1-2 most relevant hashtags in your Tweets to get the targeted reach and engagement.
Tweets coming from influential personalities go viral faster. Collaborate with influencers and other users. Building relationships with other Twitter users and working together on projects or promotions can help increase your reach and followers.
Engage with Followers:
Engage with your followers and participate in Twitter conversations: Respond to tweets, retweet and like other users’ content, and participate in Twitter chats to build a community and increase your visibility.
Share More Links:
Including links in your Tweets raises curiosity and prompts your followers to open the link. You can use a link shortener to shorten your shareable links and Tweet them. Usually, new articles about the most trending topics are more likely to get more shares.
Humor-Injected Tweets:
Humor-injected Tweets are more likely to go viral. Include an element of irony, sarcasm or humor in your Tweets to get more reach. Tweets that spur emotion have more impact and get shared faster.
Remember, going viral on Twitter is not something you can control, but consistently creating great content and engaging with your audience can help increase your chances.
Certain types of Tweets have more chances of going viral as compared to other tweets. Tweets that tend to go viral typically have the following characteristics:
Current Events:
They address current events, trending topics, or are relevant to a large audience. Keep a close eye on Trending topics and popular hashtags for current events. Tweet about the current events as quickly as you can to get more traction.
Emotional Content:
They evoke strong emotions such as laughter, anger, shock, or awe. When a Tweet has an emotional aspect attached to it, people are more likely to share the Tweet and reply to the content.
Unique Perspective:
Viral Tweets offer unique perspectives, ideas, or insights that stand out from the crowd. Share your take about a particular news and give your unique perspective on a certain topic with your followers.
Breaking News:
Viral Tweets are timely and capitalize on current events or breaking news. Share newsworthy information with your followers. If you have a new survey result or important information to share with your followers, Tweet it.
Controversial Bits:
Most popular Tweets address controversial or divisive topics that spark debates and generate engagement. You can ask your followers to share their view on certain controversial topics.
Conclusion
Writing viral Tweets is a matter of luck, timing and the quality of your network. However, you can follow certain writing practices and strategies to improve your chances of going Viral on Twitter.