We’ve all been there. Searching for a way how to go viral on social media, get traction for your brand, our business, ourselves. HOW? How do we do that?

Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter (the only way I’m referring to it, forever), Threads – you name it, we’ve seen it happen. Posts, videos, people going viral which leaves us wondering:

„How are they doing it? What’s the recipe for going viral on social media?“

Yours truly guilty for it as well. Countless times I sat in front on those platforms, researched, reread, analyzed, wondered, tried to implement what I found out and.. More often than not – it flopped and I’m not the one not to admit it. More people should talk about it, put away ther stigma that is all around this hot topic.

And then I went to Google, to do some other type of number research. I wondered how popular these same questions we all ask, are. And here goes:

• How to go viral on social media About 400,000,000 results
• Recipe for going viral on social media About 51,900,000 results
• How to make your social media go viral About 271,000,000 results
• What’s the quickest way to go viral About 1,290,000,000 results
• What makes posts go viral About 174,000,000 results

From fifty million to more than one billion people all across the world is in search of that one special recipe, that secret on how to get viral, overnight or not. Can you imagine that amount of people in one place? Wondering and getting frustrated all around that one thing?

And you know what the only true answer is?

It depends.

On whether or not you’ve got the right emotional trigger, out of the right topic, in the right time, about the right people’s pain/desire/need and in a form they like the best, on a platform of their liking.

Among many other things. And luck.

But wait, there are all these viral how-to guides?

Like, there are thousands and tens of thousands of articles all claiming they have a tested way to make your social media go viral or go viral overnight. Those include steps like:

Know your audience

Know their pain points and/or what triggers them

Use the right trends

Choose the right music

GO WITH VIDEO

Guess the right emotion

Pick the right timing

Make the right thumbnail cover

USE CAPTIONS

Choose the right keywords

USE HOOKS

Act natural

ENGAGE

ENGAGE

ENGAGE

And no, I’m not kidding. Overall, there are the steps pretty much all those explainers share. To which I say:

It really depends.

And here’s why.

What does going viral means?

Going viral essentially means that our content rapidly spreads across the internet, gaining significant attention and engagement in a short period of time. Whether it’s thousands or millions of likes, shares, or comments, the aim is to reach a wide audience organically—often beyond our current followers and community. And while there is a point that emotion is a huge driver to posts going viral, we should really study more deeply as to why is that, if we want not only to go viral (there’s a catch I’ll touch on a bit later), but to truly and purposefully engage with our audience and community. Emotional triggers like joy, surprise, sadness, or even anger often compel people to share content. A study by Harvard Business Review found that people share content that makes them look good or helps them connect emotionally with others. So, we should think about what emotional response our content is aiming to evoke and why.

Is going viral a good thing?

Now, to that catch I mentioned above.

In short: it depends.

A bit longer explanation: going viral won’t necessarily get you the desired results, it might get you more eyes on said post (be that video, photo, audio, whatever format), not even the brand or business itself. The thing is, out of all of those eyes and people you get over to you: how many of them ARE your target audience, people who you want as your clients and customers?

The thing is, getting a million views on a video of you accidentally spilling coffee on your laptop might get you some laughs, but how does that convert into sales or long-term engagement? It can bring a lot of attention, but without intention, it’s like throwing a wide net into the ocean hoping you catch that one fish you’re really after.

So, it’s all about quality over quantity. Sure, 100,000 likes feel great—but if none of those people are your ideal customers, what’s the point? Going viral doesn’t always equal growth.

To wrap things up

Personally, virality isn’t always a one-hit wonder. Sometimes (many  times), it’s about showing up consistently with quality content that resonates with the people we’re trying to reach and influence (another topic I’d like to discuss in another post). While luck may play a significant role, creating content regularly gives our audience more opportunities to get to know and engage with us, form a meaningful connection from which many mutually beneficial things can happen.

In other words: there is no one-size-fits-all or a secret recipe to going viral. You need to do your work, test and try, see what goes right, analyze why and repeat.

Or.. maybe you know something I don’t. In that case – do tell 😊