The Facebook post was simple enough. A photo of Steph Curry, superstar point guard for the Golden State Warriors and NBA Most Valuable Player, looking stylishly downtrodden next to his Porsche. It was difficult to determine whether Curry was flashing a model pose or actually getting ready to get into his sports car. The caption first read: “With the shot.” followed by links to Instagram. The post was liked 518 times on Facebook and shared by 23.

The author of the post was Everlane, an online clothing retailer known for their commitment to “radical transparency” in pricing and manufacturing and for their minimalist design. Everlane has over 133,000 fans on Facebook, yet its posts rarely surpassed 50 likes (unless you manually change the settings on a company’s Facebook page to “See First,” posts from companies rarely make into a person’s News Feed). So why did this particular post get so much attention? Well, it certainly helped that Steph Curry in it, and that he was decked out in Everlane clothes. This fact was made obvious about 17 hours after the initial post, when Everlane changed the caption to say: “Didn’t expect this to happen today. @stephencurry30 in our Chunky Wool Knit Beanie, Cashmere Hoodie, Overcoat, and Snap Backpack.”

So sure, it’s easy to dismiss the popularity and virality of this post as the natural effects of a celebrity endorsement. Yet stopping analysis here would be incomplete. It’s important to consider what causes people to read the post and interact with it. After all, this post targeted the same audience as all of Everlane’s other posts, and it’s not as if Steph Curry fans across the globe suddenly received Everlane’s posts in their News Feed. A deeper analysis shows that Everlane benefited from the fact that people interact with posts that provide them with social currency and that stir emotions.

Regarding social currency, people tend to share things that makes them look good — it helps them build their own identity. With the Curry photo, the audience was able to feel good about themselves since Curry was wearing the brand that they already knew and liked. Importantly, the primary audience of this Facebook post wasn’t mainstream sports fans or celebrity gawkers. The post targeted those who already followed Everlane’s page. As such, the audience wasn’t so much attracted to or inspired by a new fashion statement, but rather validated that their current style is aligned with the MVP of the NBA. Everlane is not a typical mainstream brand, and the audience may feel particularly special for being “in the know” of this up-and-coming minimalist brand, and liking or sharing this post with their friends helps build up their own fashion style credibility. Indeed, the post wasn’t necessarily intended to acquire new customers (the initial caption didn’t have the names of the products and even now, there are no links to products), but rather to validate existing ones.

Secondly, the Facebook post appealed to the emotions of viewers. Seeing a star NBA player wearing chic minimalist brand was certainly surprising, and the surprise led to a state of higher arousal. Athletes typically have a reputation of wearing flashy, expensive fashion pieces — not a $28 wool beanie from an e-commerce brand. This surprising disconnect led to higher arousal that promoted a greater likelihood of sharing / interacting from Facebook fans. Additionally, viewers were likely surprised and delighted by the intersection of two things they liked. Everlane is based in San Francisco, and its hometown represents one of its largest consumer bases. Likely, there is significant overlap between many of Everlane and the Golden State Warriors’ fanbases. Individuals who are fans of both Everlane and Steph Curry likely reacted very positively to the post and felt compelled to interact.

This analysis of Everlane’s post highlights the importance of helping one’s audience accomplish its own goals. Rather than use celebrity endorsements to blatantly advertise, Everlane instead identified an opportunity to validate its current customers and build goodwill toward the brand. Nowhere on Everlane’s website does this image appear, and it’s fairly evident that Everlane did not pay Curry for an endorsement. Instead, Everlane found a nice balance between helping its audience build its identity and providing infotainment by merging two disparate but valued worlds: a favorite clothing brand and basketball — specifically the Warriors.