While there’s no guaranteed formula for virality, successful viral content often shares common elements. Understanding these can help you design content with a higher chance of resonating broadly: - Emotional Impact: Viral content usually makes people feel something strong – whether it’s laughter , awe, inspiration, or even anger . Emotion is a major driver for sharing. Think about the last thing you shared online; chances are it made you feel a certain way that compelled you to pass it on. Aim to evoke genuine emotions in your content, as emotion is fuel for sharing. - Relatability and Social Currency: People share content that reflects their identity or how they want to be perceived.
This concept, often called “social currency,” means people feel “in the know” or cool when they share it. Content that is highly relatable to a wide audience or niche group (“That’s so me!” moments) tends to get shared because it makes the sharer feel understood or helps them express something about themselves. - Storytelling: A good story can transcend demographics. Whether it’s a rags-to-riches tale, a heartwarming rescue story, or a narrative that builds suspense, storytelling draws people in. Content with a narrative arc (even short-form content like a 60- second video) tends to engage emotions and is more memorable than a list of facts.
Incorporating storytelling into your content – with a clear beginning, conflict, and resolution or punchline – can make it more shareable. - Surprise and Novelty: The internet loves the unexpected. Content that has a twist, reveals something new, or showcases something people haven’t seen before has a natural shareability. This could be a unique insight, a surprising statistic, a clever life hack, or simply a bizarre/funny moment caught on camera. When viewers say “Wow, I’ve never seen that!” they often want to show others. - High Quality and Clarity: In a sea of content, something that looks or sounds poorly made is easy to scroll past.
While not all viral content is professionally produced (grainy cellphone videos can go viral too), it’s important that your content is clear and understandable. If it’s a video, ensure decent lighting and sound so viewers don’t skip due to quality issues. If it’s a blog post, use clear language and good formatting. Basically, remove barriers to people consuming and enjoying your content. - Timeliness and Relevance: Content that taps into the zeitgeist or a current trend can get a viral boost. Being timely – whether tying your content to a trending topic, a popular meme format, or a seasonal event – means there’s already public interest you can ride. But a warning: relevance can be a double-edged sword.
Trend-jacking only works if you genuinely add value or a clever spin; jumping on a bandwagon with me-too content will just add to the noise. By infusing these elements into your content, you significantly increase its “viral potential.” Next, let’s look at how to bake these into an actual strategy rather than one-off lucky hits.