Creating viral content feels like winning the lottery. The odds seem stacked against you.
Unless you’re Alex Hormozi.
The growth marketing expert built multi-million dollar businesses largely through viral content. His videos and podcasts generate tens of millions of views.
So what’s the secret formula? Is viral success just luck and timing?
Alex has been open about his content marketing strategy. As it turns out, going viral is more about strategy than chance.
In this article, we’ll dive in to cover Alex’s rules for creating binge-worthy content that hooks your audience and ultimately drives sales.
Rule Number 1: Stop Preaching
Most brands take a preachy approach with content – telling you exactly how to think and what to do. If you are a coach or a consultant, this one will transform your view of the kind of content you should be creating.
Alex realized to capture people’s attention in a crowded landscape, he needed to ditch the preaching and take a different approach:
“Rather than creating content that tells people what to do, I simply share what worked for me or my clients. Instead of ‘how to’ articles, I write ‘this is what I did’ stories.”
In other words, authentic storytelling beats preachy advice.
For example, one of Alex’s most popular videos details how he grew an Instagram account from 0 to 300k followers in just 18 months. He doesn’t claim to have all the answers – he explains what worked for him.
By opening up through real-life stories, Alex builds trust with his community. This genuine approach lets him stand out from other experts who simply talk at their audience.
Rule Number 2: Adopting a Deliberate Content Strategy
Alex recommends developing a staged content strategy:
Phase 1: Start Posting Consistently
Build momentum by publishing consistently, like one blog post or video per day/week.
Your first benchmark is to have an audience. And we’re not talking about followers. We’re talking about people who actually consume your content and engage with you.
Let’s say you are a transformational coach and you want to build an audience beyond your friends and family. You will focus on sharing content in one single platform.
At this level, it’s not about how professional or perfect your content looks. You just have to share content that you genuinely consider that will be helpful for at least one person.
Phase 2: Expand Your Reach
Once you have an audience on one platform, start cross-posting content across multiple channels like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
You will have data about the topics that your audience consumes. Keyword here: consumption.
This expands your reach to new audiences.
Phase 3: Maximize Your Efforts
Analyze which content performs best on each platform, then double down creating more of that style.
For example, if short videos do well on Instagram, make more quick video tutorials tailored to that audience.
Phase 4: Scale Your Volume
When you’ve optimized content for each platform, increase your volume. For instance, go from one daily Instagram video to three.
More relevant content brings new viewers.
To execute this phase, you’ll need to consider what’s the number of pieces of content that each platform allows you to upload, without suffering.
For example, you might find that you can upload 10 videos on TikTok in one day, whereas on Instagram, it’s better to stick to 3 videos a day. Be platform specific.
Phase 5: Repurpose and Recycle
To produce more content, repurpose what’s performing well. Turn a popular blog post into a video, then use snippets to create multiple shorter social posts.
Hormozi is not here yet, he explained.
Rule Number 3: Focus on Lead Nurturing Over Lead Generation
Many marketers focus heavily on lead generation – driving traffic and getting initial conversions or follows.
But Hormozi emphasizes that long-term lead nurturing is more valuable than short bursts of lead gen.
Rather than trying to continuously attract new leads, he recommends building loyalty and relationships with your existing audience. In other words, create content that nurtures your audience, in depth, versus trying to achieve virality and capture leads, like most content marketers recommend.
There are many ways to nurture your audience:
- Create a tailored email sequence to engage subscribers with valuable content over weeks or months. Give them a reason to look forward to your emails.
- Engage with your followers on social media by responding to comments, asking questions, and providing value add responses. Make them feel seen.
- Provide ongoing value through a variety of content – videos, blog posts, podcasts. Consistently produce content tailored to their interests.
- Host live events such as Q&As or conferences to foster personal connections. Help followers connect with each other too.
- Share behind-the-scenes content like Instagram Stories to cultivate a genuine connection with your brand.
The goal is to build relationships, not just get quick hits.
Patience and consistency are key.
Rule Number 4: Create Platform-Specific Calls-to-Action
Content marketing isn’t about selling. This is a big one, as we all have learned the proverbial “funnel” where you attract leads, then answer their questions, and then convert them into a prospect and so on.
For Alex, his content is so good that he knows that the audience will be compelled to discover what’s next. And this is where Call to Actions are important.
With a cross-platform distribution strategy, ensure you have clear calls-to-action tailored to each platform.
The CTA should match typical user behavior on each platform and give viewers specific ways to engage. Strategic calls to action convert casual visitors into active followers.
Rule Number 5: Take a Long-Term Approach
Consistency over the long-haul is critical for creating contagious content according to Hormozi:
“Achieving true viral success takes time and consistency. I recommend
thinking in terms of 18 months minimum to build momentum.”
Rather than looking for immediate results, stay focused on playing the long game. Avoid quick wins in favor of long-term loyalty and leadership.
Keep providing value for your audience day in and day out through quality content. Your organic growth will compound over time.
Why This Strategy Works
Many marketers focus heavily on paid advertising for lead generation. But studies show that organic content drives higher quality leads over time:
- Leads from organic content convert at a rate of 14.6%, over 2x higher than paid search (6.4%) and paid social (5.3%).
- Visitors from social media and organic search spend 2-3x longer on websites than referral traffic. More time on site leads to higher conversion rates.
- 72% of consumers say they prefer learning about a company through content versus traditional ads.
Relying solely on interrupting people with ads is short-sighted. An omnichannel, long-term approach focused on providing value works better.
Yet many still stick to outdated models like rigid content pillars. This siloed approach ignores the need for an integrated cross-channel experience.
Hormozi’s viral framework throws out the old model in favor of an omnichannel, audience-focused strategy. And it works – because fame and authority pay dividends long after initial clicks fade away.
Rather than a narrow focus on lead generation through advertising and promos, nourish your audience across channels with value and engagement.
This earns you loyalty that lasts.
So be everywhere your audience is with a cohesive yet tailored approach. Establish fame and authority that follows you across platforms. In the long run, this omnichannel presence will make you a recognized leader.
Thoughts to Ponder on Your Content Journey
As you read about Hormozi’s rules, here are some important questions to ask yourself:
- Where are you today in your own content journey? Are you just starting out and struggling to begin creating content? Or are you sharing consistently but limiting yourself to a single platform? Be honest about your current stage.
- How can you begin nurturing your existing audience vs. chasing new leads? Engage followers you already have rather than constantly seeking more.
- On which platform have you found the most engagement so far? Consider focusing there before expanding your reach.
- What types of content best resonate with your followers right now? Make more of what already works.
- Are you taking a short-term or long-term view? Viral fame requires consistency over months and years.
- Have you created clear CTAs tailored to each platform? Match the culture and norms of each channel.
- Where does SEO fit into your strategy? SEO establishes authority and ensures you show up when audiences search.
- How will you recycle content? Repurpose what performs well rather than starting from scratch.
Asking these questions will help you assess where you currently are on your content journey and what steps you need to take next. The key is to be honest in your self-evaluation so you can keep growing.
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