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Learn the secret to making all of your roofing, windows, siding content and exterior services content go viral.
4 Min Read
Getting content to go viral is really the holy grail of any online business, marketing or branding campaign. But let’s start by breaking the bad news: there is no single magic formula for guaranteeing your content will go viral. If I had that, I’d be a very rich man, indeed!
But there’s also good news: creating viral content is achievable! While there may not be a magic formula, there are some tried-and-true guidelines you can follow when it comes to creating viral content:
Be patient;
Pay attention to what engages your audience;
Post well;
Post often.
Viral Content Case Study: Roofing Mythbusters
Let’s look at a real-life example of some content shared by a local roofing contractor which actually did go viral!
Skywalker Roofing owner and founder Luke Wilson didn’t set out to become a YouTube sensation. He really just set out to share some insights about roofing and exteriors that he had gained through years of professional experience. Wilson decided to create a YouTube playlist entitled Roofing Mythbusters, a series of short videos designed to answer some frequently asked questions he had heard from customers, along with some popular roofing misconceptions he wanted to address. Roofing Mythbusters: Episode 1 dropped in June 2019. It was good content about how hot a roof can get on a sunny day—but it didn’t go viral. Next followed episodes 2 and 3. Each gained progressively more views, but neither of these went viral, either. Then came Roofing Mythbusters Episode 4 . . . and that’s when everything changed!
Local Roofer Gone Viral
Over the span of just 18 months, Roofing Mythbusters: Episode 4, Corrugated Metal Panels vs. Standing Seam Metal Roofing, surpassed ONE MILLION views and was able to do so with ZERO paid promotion. How did this happen? The viral success of this seven-minute video can likely be attributed to a few key factors:
Topical content: Metal roofing continues to gain popularity thanks to its look, durability and ease of maintenance. But not all metal roofing materials and approaches are the same, so Wilson decided to compare the features of 29-gauge corrugated metal paneling to the superior performance of 24-gauge standing seam metal roofing. It’s a topic that Wilson hoped that viewers would want to learn more about, but even he couldn’t have envisioned how much engagement this video would generate.
Content authority: The fact that Luke Wilson is a licensed, practicing local roofing professional—and not some YouTube host who clearly doesn’t know much about roofing—really seemed to resonate with his audience. His laid-back, conversational tone is a plus, too. It also probably doesn’t hurt that Wilson bears a striking resemblance to famous pro wrestling personality “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, either.
Video quality: While it’s fine to shoot a quick video on your phone for making a timely post to social media, there’s still something to be said for production quality when it comes to creating a bona fide video series. Wilson chose to partner with a local video professional to help produce Roofing Mythbusters, and you can tell it in the video and audio quality of each episode.
Content engagement: While the number of views is certainly impressive, the more telling stat about the staying power of this video is the fact that it’s now generated over 11,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments! The conversation strings in the video comment section have practically taken on a life of their own. Folks around the world have joined in to share their own thoughts and observations, and Wilson has been intentional about trying to personally respond to every single commenter. Talk about a recipe for great engagement!
Wilson even created a separate YouTube playlist, NO SCRIPT with Luke Wilson, just to answer questions that arose in the comment area of this Roofing Mythbusters metal roofing episode. The honest, genuine, unscripted approach to this series has been well-received, too. Several videos in this playlist have generated thousands of views in their own right.
More Viral Content Takeaways
Ready to go viral yourself? Hopefully, the example of Luke Wilson’s metal roofing video gone viral, combined with the other tips shared here, will be helpful to you. Here are just a couple more things to keep in mind:
Have something to say that’s worth saying: If your goal is simply to “go viral,” that alone won’t get you there. Remember, Wilson didn’t set out to generate a bunch of views, likes and fans with Roofing Mythbusters. He simply set out to say some things that he felt were worth saying, in an honest attempt to benefit those who might choose to watch. The views, likes, and comments simply followed as a result. That’s a good rule of thumb for you to follow in creating and sharing your own content, too.
Choose a digital marketing partner that can help you get seen and heard online: We told you that Wilson spent ZERO advertising dollars on promoting his Roofing Mythbusters videos, but the viral success of his metal roofing video didn’t happen in a vacuum. In addition to producing engaging content and posting on a regular basis, it also pays to have the right digital marketing partner who can help you get your content in front of your ideal target audience. If you’d like to learn more about digital marketing for roofing and exterior service providers, just reach out to the pros at Cibirix.
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