According to Shareablee, media publishers accounted for 1.5 billion total social actions  in December (likes, comments, shares, retweets, dislikes), with 728 million actions on Instagram, 667 million actions on Facebook, 52 million on Twitter, and 17 million on YouTube (excluding views), for the US market.

Instagram drove Bleacher Report’s 44 percent growth in total social actions, driven by a  mix of comedy and inspiration.

Nature, Entertainment, Fashion, News and Sports are the leading categories for share of voice, with social media actions being the key metric.

Here are Four Elements from BuzzSumo that make for Viral Posts based on a study of 1 Million posts.

Using an Influencer can make the difference for your posts getting shared.

Create posts that combine some of the elements mentioned in the Content Amplification Grid below. The posts that often use elements that are emotionally charging and surprising are often shared more than the ones that do not evoke an emotion.

Include Images, video, and Quotes to Tell your story.

Tasty, an extension of BuzzFeed food has generated over 300 actions per thousand fans with Video posts.

Write Headlines that combine more than one or two elements.

Checklist For Viral posts

• Does the content have an emotional element?

• Does the post include shareable content types, such as facts, images, and quotes?

• Is the topic one that resonates with your audience? Is it trending?

• Is the format one that works well with your audience - such as practical tips or a quiz?

• Does the post require your audiences to interact?

• Do you have an Influencer that can amplify your     content?

• Do you know the key engagement metric to measure the success of your post?