The Secret Sauce to Going Viral is Not What You Might Expect
By hairath474@gmail.com / July 30, 2025
Let’s face it- every business owner, content creator and brand manager wants their post to go viral (even if that’s a well-kept secret for some of them)! Who wouldn’t want thousands of people to see, like, share, comment and discover their content overnight?! The feeling is comparable to winning a digital lottery!
But the true reality is going viral isn’t about luck and/or trending topics it’s about strategy, understanding the psychology of the posts, and execution.
So what exactly is the secret sauce? Spoiler alert- it does NOT involve dancing on Reels and hoping that you conveniently get lucky with trending audio along the way…. let’s get into it.
1.Emotion Always Comes Before Trend
People don’t share your content because it is perfect. People share because the content evokes an emotion. Emotion is the soul of virality, whether it be making someone laugh or smile because they are surprised, making someone feel nostalgia, or inspiration of any kind. If something you post does not tug at someone heartstrings even a little, you can be assured that nobody will share it.
Think of the last post you had shared with a friend. Was it funny? Or relatable? Or surprising? Or touching? A lot of viral content make a large emotional force without effort.
So instead of asking:
“Hoe do I make this go viral?”
Ask:
“How do I make the audience feel an authentic emotional feeling?”
2.Virality Has Simplicity and Clarity
The biggest mistake companies make is trying to do too many things with one post. Good viral content is simple, clear and immediately easy to understand. If someone had to second guess your caption or analyze your post-graphic, you probably lost them.
Whether it is a short reel, a single image or a cleverly placed tweet, keep it simple. One idea in a single post. One main idea. One feeling.
Stick to the Basics.
The most common mistake I see businesses make is trying to do too much in one post. A viral piece of content is simple, clear, focused, and easy to digest. If a post requires a second reading of the caption or your audience has to study your graphic, you have lost them.
Whether it’s a 10-second video, a graphic, or a clever tweet — try your best to be as simplistic as possible. One thought per post. One thought or core message. One feeling.
Viral content is always as simple as possible: the more shareable – the more simple it is. People share things that are simple to communicate or relatable.
3.Relatability > Perfection
In the age of instant connectedness, perfection is dead. The new gold standard is authenticity – relatability is important. Some of the most viral content I have seen looks like trash. Why? Because it’s authentic. People relate to humans and not corporate-sounding, hyper-branded, “matte” content.
Show the chicken sandwich you ate from burger king today. Show all the screw ups you had – even if you weren’t sure how to spell “therefore” – post it anyway. Show your audience what you look like behind the curtain. Often the best performing posts feel more like a conversation and less like a presentation.
“This is so me!” “Omg, I thought I was the only one!” “Sending this to my best friend RIGHT NOW.”
These types of reactions are the currency of viral content. When you are able to make posts that receive reactions like that – pat yourself on the back – because you’re doing it right.
4.Timing, Consistency, and Luck (Yes, a Little Luck Too)
Timing is even more important than quality. Even high-quality content, when posted at the wrong time or once the engagement peak has passed, may go unnoticed even if it’s the best work you’ve ever done. We will never completely control the platforms or the algorithms that will limit and distribute or showcase our content [yes, Facebook and Instagram, I mean you], however, we can control and create consistency in how we show up. Consistency helps build familiarity. Familiarity breeds trust. Trust breeds community. That community, will be your first responders when that moment of viral engagement does happen, and if you built a community through consistency and audience participation they will engage, comment, and share. Yes, there is an element of “luck”, but with consistency you increase the chance that the “luck” happens.
5.Your Goal Should’t Only Be Virality.
The down side, going viral brings all kind of engagement, but it doesn’t equal sales, loyalty, or long term growth. What comes after the viral post is the only thing that matters. Are they following you? Are they visiting your website? Are they signing up for your products? Are you building a brand, or simply looking for views? Trust and building relationships will deliver true success – not only from a viral post. You want to create value and have an emotional experience each time.
