The secret sauce that allowed one client’s digital editorial campaign to receive over 91,000 organic views in 24 hours and just shy of 1 million in a 30 day period

Ready for some hard truth? Going viral in today’s congested, content-heavy world is something most won’t experience because, quite frankly, they aren’t willing to put in the work. It takes a combination of a thorough strategic plan, strong content, eye-catching visuals, and a sprinkle of luck.

When we created the visual content for our client’s viral editorial campaign, it was a process that took several weeks. They had already created the written content that their audience wanted to read about. We came in to discuss strategy for the general look and feel for the campaign and reviewed the content to determine what supporting visuals could elevate important content sections.

The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text—we went into this project with that in mind. Infographics that support and elevate important content sections are vital for readers to be engaged. In today’s world, attention spans are growing shorter and shorter, so launching a campaign with dense material and no visual breaks is a recipe for disaster. 

Hot tip: The infographics within your copy make for excellent social media graphics. We’re seeing these types of social graphics prove to be three times more effective in getting a viewer to click on a link versus a photo. This was another strategy that we implemented for this campaign. Between Twitter threads and LinkedIn shares, it was a social media frenzy with conversations throughout these platforms which generated massive amounts of organic traffic. (Spppt, did you notice I didn’t mention Instagram or Facebook? That’s because that’s not where this client’s audience hangs out. You do not need to be on every social media platform—know your audience!)

The content was getting massive praise for being thoughtful, educational, and insightful—exactly what the audience was wanting to read about, and the client knew that and recognized the opportunity. But, the content wasn’t the only thing getting high praise, the visuals were, too, and the client took notice of this. Since then, they’ve repeated this editorial piece for the past three years and recently spun the strategy into another topic that their audience was clamoring for. 

Just like everything in business, you have to put in the work to reap the benefits. However, when working in an area of business that you don’t excel in, you must be willing to release control and seek outside expertise. My client knew their audience, knew what they wanted to read and learn about but didn’t have the design expertise. We took the information, strategized together and were able to deliver the best organic traffic the website had ever experienced.

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Amy Hanlon, president of Blue Meta Design, visually showcases the impactful stories of startups through graphic design, partnering with VC's on cutting edge investments. A small branding agency located in the Mid-South, Blue Meta Design is client-focused, servicing companies that are changing the world and their communities. With a goal to create memorable brands, Amy dives deep into the inner workings of each company to develop creative visuals while supplementing customizable services. She works with some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, giving her insight into what makes a brand stand out to a venture capital firm. Graphic design is Blue Meta's medium for making their clients' brand their competitive edge, ultimately acting as an extension of their clients' teams, providing highly integrated solutions to help them succeed.