From Zero to Viral: What Separates the Winners from the Flops

Why does one video hit ten million views overnight, while another may get merely three likes—two of which are from the creator and their best friend? And what if you have low or zero engagement with your audience but want to go viral on social media?

Let’s take it easy and start with this. The first thing you should know is that only 1% of posts are viral. Yet, it doesn’t mean your chances are microscopic, and you’d sooner see pigs flying than your content going viral.

This article is your ultimate guide on making a virality splash. We’ll explain it from the scientific, psychological perspective. A bit later, you’ll find the best hacks and tools (yeah, you’ll need some) to make your content viral.

Isn’t it one of your social media marketing goals? If it is, dive in! Cover photo by Social Cut.

The Science Behind Content Virality

Viral content is any text, picture, or video that spreads super-fast online because millions of people read/watch and share it. These days, they do it mostly across social channels as the easiest way to spread the word about anything.

But what provokes sharing and, ultimately, “contagiousness”? What is the secret code ingrained in social media posts going viral?

You can find various hypotheses as to what helps creators or businesses go from zero to viral on social platforms. Let’s discuss one of the most recent ones. According to Fractl’s research, the three key elements forming the DNA of share-worthy content are:

• Emotional Strength → 40%
• Timing → 35%
• Themes (or Stories) → 25%

Let’s break them down.

Emotion

Here are several emotional drivers urging people to share content with the following possible thoughts:

• Humor: “This post made me ROFL. Just look at it!”
• Surprise: “Wow, can you believe it?!”
• Encouragement: “This post inspired me and made me feel cheerful and enthusiastic. It can make you feel better, too!”
• Adoration/Admiration: “Awww, how cute! You all have to see this!”
• Nostalgia: “It reminds me of the good old times…Do you also recall this?”

Another study proves that high-arousal negative emotions (e.g., fear or anger) can likewise cause virality. At the same time, content that evokes the so-called “deactivating” or low-arousal emotions like sadness or boredom is less viral.

Timing

Yep, timing is the second (in every literal meaning of this word). Only one second—and you’ve missed the golden time to post and go viral on TikTok, Facebook, or other socials.

According to Yury Byalik, CMO at Faith & Glory “Content published during evening hours has a 24% higher engagement rate (and, consequently, shareability) than during the day. Of course, it largely depends on the exact platform. However, the general rule of thumb is to post when your target audience is online.”

Storytelling

Effective storytelling is the third ingredient of the top viral posts on social media.

Content that tells a story and resonates deeply with the audience is more likely to achieve virality. Preferably, these should be conflict-driven stories based on the following:

• Expectation versus Reality (e.g., travel vloggers show how “staged” photos of tourism destinations look in real life)
• Right versus Easy
• Then versus Now (e.g., in shopping: Saturday mall trips vs. one-click buying online)
• The Hero’s Journey (personal transformation through challenges)
• Myth versus Reality

Also, shareable stories typically “mirror” the person’s identity, making one say, “This is me, 100%!”

For example:

One of the BuzzFeed lists, “32 Memes You Should Send Your Sister Immediately,” went viral with 3M views. Can you guess why? First, it made people laugh. Second, it reflected their personalities: “This is SO me and my sister!”

So, What to Do to Make Content Go Viral on Social Media

Find the most powerful strategies for social media virality supported by the examples below.

Play by the Platform’s Rules and Catch the Vibe

Do you think you can go viral on Reddit with the same video from TikTok?

Well, VERY unlikely.

Each social network has its peculiar atmosphere (vibe) with laws and traditions you should respect and follow if you want your content to win the audience and not flop miserably in front of their eyes.

Here’s the most traditional type of content going viral on social media:

• TikTok: Short-form videos with trendy sounds, memes, skits, trendy challenges
• LinkedIn: Career transformations (e.g., “I was rejected X times—now I’m the CEO”), leadership stories, lessons learned
• Instagram: Aesthetic before/after images, creative reels, “Instagram vs. Reality” posts
• Facebook: Heartwarming pictures (pets, family), nostalgic posts, societal dilemmas
• X (Twitter): Punchy/witty one-liners, meme-style tweets, screenshots of viral headlines/DMs/posts
• Reddit: Striking news, long-form informative posts, hyper-niched humor

For example:

When asked what helps the art marketplace go from zero to viral on Instagram, Samuel Charmetant, Founder of ArtMajeur by YourArt, remarked, “We’ve noticed that when we publish ‘Inside the Studio’ reels, this content creates more resonance with viewers because they’re eager to peek behind the scene of the artist’s life and watch the art creation process. Naturally, behind-the-scenes have higher levels of engagement and better shareability.”

Now, compare the views of the behind-the-scenes Instagram Reels with weekly art selections by ArtMajeur.

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By contrast, humorous content usually wins on TikTok because nearly all users (95%) visit the platform for entertainment.

For example:

Look at this hilarious TikTok video (a drama with a plot twist) that went viral with over 5.4M views, 810.9K likes, and 144.1K shares.

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Create Emotional Hooks

Whether you choose micro-content or long-form content for virality on social media, you need to hook your audience emotionally at the very start.

Here’s how.

• Joy → This made my whole day!
• Anger or Disbelief → Why are people STILL doing this?
• Intrigue → You won’t believe what happened.
• Nostalgia → Only the 90s kids will understand.
• Shock → We never saw this coming.

For example:

The Copy Posse team used an intriguing hook, “The most UNDERRATED side hustle of 2022 is…,” in the Instagram caption. And voila—they reaped 2.9M views, 118K likes, 26K shares, and about 60K new followers (in less than a week!).

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Tap Into Reactive Marketing and Trendjack

Reactive marketing and trendjacking (as its subtype) are the game of “You snooze—you lose!” Blink, and you’ll miss that viral moment.

Let’s discuss each separately.

Reactive Marketing

Here, your major task is to react fast enough to everyday happenings in:

• Politics
• Sports (e.g., The Olympic Games or Super Bowl)
• Pop culture phenomena
• Social media trends (e.g., trendjacking video marketing trends on TikTok)
• Music
• Seasons (holidays like Black Friday/Cyber Monday or weather changes)
• Movies

For example:

Just two days after the Squid Game 2 season came out on Netflix, Duolingo released the TikTok dance in pink guard costumes inspired by the series. The results were impressive: 46.4M views, 6M likes, and 778.8K shares.

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Trendjacking

When it doesn’t necessarily have to be a trend to respond to in reactive marketing, it does in the trendjacking realm. You should use trendy content to your benefit, that is, “trendjack” it.

For example:

When the digital creator @ishowayuu mispronounced a croissant as “Prashant,” his video went viral. So, the Britannia Croissant brand trendjacked it, all thanks to effective social listening, by the way. The company temporarily rebranded to “Britannia Prashant” and turned this moment into pure marketing gold.

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Toolset: Use tools to search trending posts → ViralFindr for Instagram or TrendTok Analytics for TikTok.

Make Your Posts Relatable

Your social media content should exactly reflect people’s joys or struggles. It should be something that excites or torments your target audience.

Let’s review several niche cases with small and large business examples.

Example in the Finance Industry

A small financial company went from literally zero to thousands of views on Instagram thanks to relatable posts about personal finances. The first brand’s posts mostly explained debt relief and had up to five or six views at best.

Then, the team started posting UGC pieces (video testimonials) and content related to customer pain points concerning debt. And those clicked with the audience. For instance, here’s one: “Deft Myths People Say to Shame You” (A “myth vs. reality” narrative, remember?) So far, it has gathered the highest number of views and impressions on Instagram.

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Example in the Fitness and Sportswear Industry

Operating in the fitness apparel niche, Gymshark can give a masterclass in TikTok virality with relatable posts like this: “The person that sent you this wants you to know you need to stop skipping the gym.” It went viral with over 3.8M views, 356.9K likes, and 78.5K shares on TikTok.

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Why? Because it resonated with those who either know gym skippers or belong to that cohort—who hasn’t ever skipped the gym?!

What to Avoid When Going from Zero to Viral Content

Dullness

How can you possibly make your content go viral if it’s as dull and lifeless as an empty karaoke bar?

Social media audiences are highly impatient. They prefer energic content when something is constantly happening and changing.

Solution: Dynamism

For images →

Choose bright, high-quality visuals and strive for higher color contrasts to sucker-punch the sight sense (in a good way!) and steal the user’s attention. Consider these combinations:

• Black + White
• Green + Magenta
• Blue + Orange
• Red + Cyan
• Purple + Light Yellow

Note: According to the research, “oranges” and “blues” are the web’s most viral colors.

For videos →

Create faster transitions and experiment with trendy sounds and visual effects to make sure your videos are lively and engaging.

For example:

Look at this video with super-abrupt transitions and accelerated speed from Scrub Daddy going viral on TikTok before Valentine’s Day: 298.9K likes and 6.8M views.

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Toolset: Use CapCut or Adobe Premiere Pro to experiment with video speeds and transition effects.

Mistakes

Apart from ruining the aesthetic appeal, typos and mistakes undermine customer trust and damage your reputation, hinting that you’re unprofessional and irresponsible. Besides, no one would want to look foolish reposting content with a mistake or even a typo (unless it’s deliberate, of course, for wordplay).

In fact, the study of 60,000 viral LinkedIn posts shows that only 13% have one grammatical mistake, and none of them has multiple mistakes.

Solution: Through editing and proofreading

Make sure your content doesn’t need a red pen to fix mistakes in:

• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Word confusion (e.g., “they’re,” “their,” and “there”)
• Grammar
• Apostrophe ( “it’s” and “its” are tricky)

Toolset: Use AI copywriting tools or software for editing/proofreading, such as Wordvice.ai or Grammarly.

Desperate Spamming

Are you generating hundreds of random posts for quantity (not quality), hoping that at least one of them catches the virality wave?

We don’t want to disappoint you, but that feels spammy.

Solution: Consistent and relevant posts

Create a social media content calendar, keep calm, and post consistently. 

Remember: Sometimes, it is indeed an algorithmic dice roll that makes content viral on social media. The breakout success may be simply the 96th post lifted by social media algorithms. But even if that’s the case, it should be worth sharing.

Your Path from None-to-Won and Virality Starts Here

Give your content the glow-up with eye-catching social media templates, visuals, After Effects, and more at FilterGrade. Turn heads and win hearts with the best-ever posts across your socials.

Get ready—the next viral wave is coming in three…two…one… Go!

Read next: Micro-Content vs. Long-Form Content: Your 2025 Playbook for Success