What Makes a Video Go Viral?

Baking for Brilliance // Engaging the audience for likes, Jesha Stevens goes viral for each video she posts about making bagels. She uses a similar hook to grab the audience’s attention and increase her social media success.

As social media increases in size, the number of people who want to become influencers increases. Most new influencers post a great deal of content in hopes that one video or post will become viral. Some try for weeks, months, and even years to grow their platform, yet no progress happens. However, little do most people know, a video becoming viral isn’t always a coincidence. Making a video go viral is a difficult task, but it is not impossible if you follow the right steps. 

“The common denominator of videos that flop is an unclear focus,” Peakbound Studio, a video production company, said. “Or they might just not resonate with people or lose opportunities to ride the wave of what’s trending.”

This demonstrates that one common mistake people make is not targeting a specific audience. If viewers don't see, like, comment, or share the video, the algorithm is preventing the video from being sent to more people. Focusing on fleeting trends instead of mastering proven content formats that consistently attract audiences is a big flaw. Staying relevant to current events or offering new ideas can provide some uniqueness to your account. This overall can greatly enhance a video's shareability, and that “shareability” might vary depending on the type of platform you’re on. Winning viral success comes down to matching your content to the strengths of each platform while focusing on the emotions that drive people to share.

“Virality also hinges on relatability. Content that resonates with a broad audience, or that speaks directly to a specific community, is far more likely to be shared,” Dadadab said. “Relatability makes people think, ‘That’s so me,’ or  ‘That’s exactly what I’ve experienced.’ This creates a bond between the content and the audience, making them more likely to pass it along.”

One example of this is when brands make videos that seem relatable or useful to the audience in order to engage the audience and get them to purchase their product. I’m sure we can all remember the popularity of Stanleys, and the power of one specific video has led to great success for the company. The video captured a woman's car that had caught fire, but her Stanley mug was barely damaged and still contained frozen ice. Stanley quickly responded to the video within 24 hours and initiated the viral wave, turning one customer’s misfortune into something positive. 

“Although creativity and originality are essential to standing out in the crowded digital landscape, they also serve as significant drivers for virality,” Marketing Legion said. “By leveraging unique angles or unexpected twists, you can capture attention and enhance your content's shareability.”

One girl who took over everyone’s for you pages, a personalized social media feed displaying content, was a lady who baked bagels: Jesha Stevens. Yes, all she did was bake bagels and go viral, yet it wasn’t a coincidence. At the start of every video she posted, she included a short clip of a huge mound of dough that caught the attention of viewers. She also bakes unique and colorful flavors, such as ube and strawberry, that stand out visually. These factors are what are making Jesha Stevens and other influencers gain popularity and virality. Ultimately, that boldness was what grabbed the audience’s attention, rather than scrolling to the next video.

To summarize, viral videos are not just an accident. It takes many factors to make a video gain enough popularity to be considered viral. This includes a clear focus, being with the trends, relatibility, creativity, and originality. It takes time and practice to grow a large social media platform that makes you different from the rest, but starting with this structure can help increase the chances of you generating a viral hit.