Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Do you ever wonder why certain content and ideas become very popular while others fail to gain traction? Derek Thompson’s new book ‘Hit Makers: How Things Become Popular‘ takes an in-depth look at what makes a viral or popular product. The book doesn’t provide a secret formula for virality, however, Thompson provides a lot of detailed research on the key factors that cause content and products to become popular. Here is my take on the content marketing lessons from the book.

You may have seen Boaty McBoatface in the news recently and it sparked you to do a bit of digging on Google to get the full story. After doing some research on Boaty McBoatface, you likely found yourself on the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) website. This is exactly what NERC wants you to do.

This story started when NERC opened an internet poll for naming suggestions on their brand new $287 million polar research vessel. Quickly, Boaty McBoatface rose to prominence, fueled by viral posts on the potential name of the British government’s newest research ship. Despite many comments and stories surrounding the merits of naming the ship Boaty McBoatface over more traditional names, one cannot deny the publicity this has provided to the NERC.

When James Hand offered his suggestion for the new ship’s name, he likely did not foresee the popularity it would soon garner. NERC has James, who is a public relations professional, to partially thank for their sudden popularity. Regardless of the final ship’s name, NERC has been given crucial and valuable publicity on a topic worthy of our attention....