How to Create Viral Content on Social Media: The Science Behind Engagement
By: Giulia LaForgia
Going viral on social media isn’t just about luck or chance. Rather, it’s a strategic blend of psychology, platform algorithms, and audience engagement. Whether it’s a trending TikTok challenge, a meme that takes over X, or a marketing campaign that dominates Instagram, viral content has the power to increase brand awareness, drive engagement, and above all else, boost sales.
But what exactly makes content go viral? And how can brands replicate and grasp onto this sort of success? In this blog post, I will break down the key elements of viral content and explore recent brand examples that prove these strategies work.
The Psychology Behind Viral Content
Consider the last piece of content you shared. Did it make you laugh? Cry? Outrage you? Inspire you? If so, you probably were not alone. These types of strong emotions are a huge contributor to making viral content so massive.
Viral content typically thrives off of emotional triggers and relatability. People have a tendency to share and recreate content that evokes a strong emotion within them. This can be joy, nostalgia, humor, shock, or even anger. While negative emotions can yield shares, it is much for common for positive emotions to effectively do so (Maclean). People prefer to share things that are uplifting and make them feel good because, in turn, this can have the same effect for others. Another aspect of this is relatability. When individuals feel seen or heard within a piece of content, they are more likely to share it. When crafting content, it is important for the creator to consider the emotional response they want to elicit in their audience. This is essential for creating a viral piece of social media content.
Another reason why viral content goes viral is due to a concept called social proof. According to Sprout Social, social proof is “the psychological concept that people are influenced in their decision making by others, compelling them to act within societal norms or expectations.” This plays directly into the concept of FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” It is in human nature to desire inclusion, and this theory of social proof further proves this. When individuals see others sharing content, they feel more inclined to do so. This, in turn, creates a chain reaction of a post or piece of content going viral.
How Social Media Algorithms Influence Virality
Each and every social media platform prioritizes content based on engagement. In other words, the more successful your post is, the more likely it is to be promoted by the algorithm (Bottom Funnel). If a post gets a lot of likes, shares, and comments within the first few hours of posting, the algorithm will push it to more users.
There are a few key factors that have an influence on virality, these including engagement, watch time, consistency, and timing.
Engagement: More likes, comments, and shares on a post signal to algorithms that content is valuable.
Watch Time: Videos that keep users watching for longer periods of time get recommended more.
Consistency: Regular posting trains algorithms to prioritize content.
Timing: Knowing when your audience is online and catering your posts to that schedule increases engagement, and thus, causes the algorithm to promote content.
Key Elements of Viral Content
Going viral is never guaranteed, even if you do all the right things. However, there are certain elements that successful content also includes. Brands that consistently implement these tactics maximize their viral potential. Read more about these key elements below":
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As a marketer, you have very limited time to capture the attention of users. Social media users scroll fast, so make sure your content is bold and engaging enough to grab the viewer.
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The editing and graphics on your content must be attention-grabbing and retaining. Bright colors, quick cuts, subtitles, and on-screen text all help keep people engaged.
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As a brand, participating in trending challenges, memes, and hashtags increases visibility. It also allows a brand to humanize itself and, therefore, deeper connect with its audience. Encouraging user-generated content, like duets on TikTok or "Tag a friend" comments, can also boost engagement.
Recent Brand Examples of Viral Success
There are so many examples of viral success from brands. However, I wanted to take this moment to highlight some of my personal favorites from some of my favorite brands. These examples have all the essential elements of viral content, and the brands were cognizant of what they were doing when making these marketing moves.
1. Duolingo
I can’t write a blog about how to be successful on social media without mentioning Duolingo. Every single social media marketer is familiar with Duolingo and their practices. They create engaging, relatable, and absolutely hilarious content that gets shared all over the internet. They create content that make people stop, smile, and share. For example, Duolingo will oftentimes stay up to date on things that are trending, especially with Gen Z. Then, they either participate or put their own spin on it. Check out their Instagram and TikTok pages below!
2. e.l.f. Cosmetics
e.l.f. Cosmetics has recently released a new line of pimple patches. To launch this product, they used the help of AI to create a showstopping visual: an e.l.f. branded helicopter putting a pimple pacth on Mount Rushmore! This video took the internet by storm, getting people talking about the brand and their products. The video really resonated with TikTok’s audience, generating 2.8M likes, 14K comments, 106.5K saves, and 306.2K shares (Radulescu). This push to use AI has also prompted other brands, such as Maybelline, to do the same. So, not only did e.l.f. promote their product, but they are also a trendsetter for other brands.
3. Spotify
Spotify has a myriad of good social media marketing tactics; however, I’m going to talk about one specific thing today: Spotify Wrapped. While this is not a traditional social media post, it trends so thoroughly and hugely on social media that I’d be amiss not to mention it. Spotify Wrapped Day usually ends up being a huge day for Spotify on social media every year, as Spotify users all over the world take to social media to share their stats of what they’ve been listening to. Brands also use this concept of “wrapped” to create their own marketing content. This creates virality, which increases visibility for Spotify every single year.
Virality on social media isn’t random...it’s strategic. Historically, the most successful brands implement many of these principles in order to craft viral content. By leveraging these tactics, brands can increase engagement, drive sales, and dominate social media!
Works Cited
Bottom Funnel. “The Impact of Social Media Algorithms.” LinkedIn, 30 Sept. 2024, www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-social-media-algorithms-bottomfunnel-iwm2c/.
Maclean, Louise. “The Psychology of Viral Content: What Makes People Share?” Simon Kingsnorth, 13 Mar. 2025, simonkingsnorth.com/the-psychology-of-viral-content-what-makes-people-share/#:~:text=While%20anger%20and%20outrage%20can,help%20others%20feel%20the%20same.
Radulescu, Anda. “Top 18 Social Media Marketing Examples.” Socialinsider Blog: Social Media Marketing Insights and Industry Tips, Socialinsider Blog: Social media marketing insights and industry tips, 22 Jan. 2025, www.socialinsider.io/blog/social-media-marketing-examples/#pimplepatch.
“Social Proof.” Sprout Social, 29 June 2022, sproutsocial.com/glossary/social-proof/.