The UX of Going Viral
A step-by-step guide to posting attractive viral content.
Raise your hands if you ever thought about going viral, ditching that day job, and riding your 15 minutes of fame to the Ellen show.
Anyone?
🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌
Hell yeah, I thought so.
We all have that dream of posting that one killer tweet that grabs George Takei’s attention, or that one video that makes Shane Dawson tremble to the core. But going viral isn’t just about making outrageous content that defies the norm. Crazy + random does NOT = viral.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Think about the last viral set of tweets you saw. Who were they from, what were they about? I know there are many examples, but let’s go with the ol’ reliable J.K. Rowling. Just about anything she says is destined to go viral because, well, she’s J.K. Rowling—with millions of followers, even a post about avocado toast would throw the internet up in storm.
However, the tweets of hers that hit the news stations aren’t about personal successes, breakfast preferences, nor the latest Harry Potter character backstory that may or may not be canon. No, Rowling stirs up drama. She gives strong political opinions, openly insults those with extremist views, and stands firmly in her moral ground. To some it’s off-putting, even aggressive, but for others who share her views, some see her as a martyr.
What is it that makes these posts so darn appealing to so many people? The heaviness of the opinion? The clapbacks? The author? It’s actually deeper than that…
1) A Conflict Narrative.
J.K Rowling VS Piers Morgan.
Jake Paul VS Logan Paul.
The “Fake News Liberal Media” VS Donald Trump.
Taylor Swift VS Katy Perry.
Taylor Swift VS literally everybody.
What makes content go viral on the internet? Conflict. When you pit your opinions as black and white—either my side or the other side—you put viewers in a precarious place. Fans must either agree with you completely, or not at all.
As we know, humans rarely take polar opinions and usually lie somewhere in the middle on most topics, so when forced to take a side, they must justify their choice to both themselves and those opposing them.
2) Polarizing Conversation — Me VS You
When viewers are a part of the conflict, there are arguments. Comments fly rampant, replies and retweets spring to life, and pretty soon the whole internet becomes the audience. Every interaction adds fuel to the fire.
Since social media algorithms favour posts with the most interactions, every reply—even if it’s a bad one—helps make something go viral.
That’s the beauty of the Jake Paul VS Logan Paul battle. For those unaware, the Paul brothers (yes, they’re brothers) used to be extremely popular Vine stars before Twitter terminated the platform for good, leaving all Vine creators desperate to find a new platform for their content.
When the Paul brothers transitioned to YouTube, they knew they’d lose some fans in the process. How could they ensure that they could keep their audience in this difficult transition?
The Paul brothers immediately went to work constructing a viral campaign to ensure their first content would hit front page and draw in more viewers.
And so, their faux rivalry was born.
Music videos were released as diss tracks towards the other star, passive-aggressive tweets were posted, and prank videos surfaced between the two. A sibling rivalry had emerged. Jake VS Logan. One or the other. No in-between. Viewers wanted to know ‘what happens next?’. If one brother pranked the other, how would he respond?
An endless feedback loop emerged. The brothers used the other’s content to fuel their own. This created a narrative for people to follow, and tribes (better known as cults) formed supporting each side: The LoGang, and The Jake Paulers. (wait seriously? That’s what you came up with? Sigh…)
Long story short, the Paul brothers hacked their way to virality.
They’re frequently in the top trending videos on YouTube every week. Their merchandise is selling like hotcakes, their fans are feuding on Twitter, and they never run short of content.
3) Create Drama
Taylor Swift’s career has followed in similar footsteps to the Paul Brothers, using past breakups, feuds with other celebrities, and past incidents as fuel for her music. Every song is a war on another traitor, another ex-lover, another Kardashian.
Now, whenever Taylor posts a new song, Buzzfeed and other news sources immediately jump on it to dissect the lyrics, pull the imagery from the music video, and deduce which high-profile celebrity Taylor is angry at this month.
Why do we care?
A conflict narrative works. People love conflict, even if it isn’t actually real. Taylor’s songs are about problems she’s fixed, many stories never really happened, and the conflicts she speaks of are private and one-sided—her opinion vs nobody.
No one is fighting Taylor back. And yet she continually plays the victim.
People love it.
Why do you think people love Donald Trump?
It seemed he was against everyone. He was the most relatable candidate to the common voter, and he seemed to be battling against both the Democratic and Republican establishment—a true underdog. As a result, his victory was almost inevitable.
How did this work? He created the illusion that everyone was out to get him. He created a conflict narrative that didn’t exist to polarize people, which (somewhat ironically) made that conflict narrative a reality!
“FAKE NEWS!” “CROOKED HILLARY!” “WORTHLESS NASA!”
4) The Hero’s Journey
To Mr. 45, everything is a war against him. He constantly acts like he’s under attack, yet simultaneously convinces people that he’s the winner. Logically, it makes no sense—but his supporters don’t care. They see an underdog candidate battling for his rightful place, destroying aggressors and coming out on top, defying all odds. They see him, simply, as a hero.
(Side note: He’s not coming out on top. He’s in deep trouble. He’s a scam artist, a horrible person, and the master of collusion who tricked his way to the Presidency. These are facts. Deal with them as you will.)
We all love a good Hero’s Journey. It’s the foundation of most successful narratives. Here’s a condensed version:
- The Hero has a goal they wish to accomplish.
- The Hero faces a problem that forces them out of their comfort zone.
- The Hero’s abnormal personality to the world gives them advantage in the beginning.
- The Hero faces the final enemy and appears to lose—they hit their darkest low.
- The Hero has a mentor who gives them key information to overcoming their fears and conquering the final enemy.
- The Hero strikes back and comes out on top, conquering their fears and confidently stepping out of their comfort zone for good.
- The Hero returns home but nothing is the same anymore. Despite achieving their goal, things didn’t change as they thought. They return to the world and seek more adventure.
Donald Trump was a “billionaire”. Not a politician. His goal: “I want to be President of the United States.”
Trump is thrust into the role, and realizes he’s up against a group of professional politicians. And yet, his unique personality gives him an advantage. He promptly steps over all of them to win the Republican nomination.
Donald Trump is ready to face Hillary, a politician with years of experience who believes she knows how to take him down.
The polls don’t look good for Trump. Despite being close, he’s always just shy of winning. Everything seems doomed.
Suddenly, a magical Russian mentor appears (rhymes with Gluten) who gives him key information to destroy the enemy. “HER EMAILS!!!!”
Donald Trump successfully outsmarted the political world and—against all odds—became President of the United States. He’s not afraid of any politician anymore. He won.
Donald Trump—a hero? Many of us refuse to admit it, but he follows the plot almost perfectly. Trump may not be your definition hero, but his journey is what made him so popular, successful, and viral.
5) Be memorable
Donald Trump is the anti-politician “Make America Great Again!”. Taylor Swift has zero lyrical depth to her music “Look What You Made Me Do” which makes it so relatable. Anyone who wears white Vans is doomed to hear someone yell “DAAAAMN DANIEL!”
Stand out from the crowd, be different. Have something that sets you apart from others. But most importantly, be memorable—whether it’s a slogan, a symbol, or a lyrical tag.
Think of different rap artists.
“Young Money.” — Nicki Minaj
“Mr. Worldwide.” — Pitbull
“YEAAHH!!!! OKAYY!!!!!!!” — Lil Jon
Every time they make an appearance, they shout their signature name. Immediately, you know who they are.
Attach a slogan to your viral movement and you’ve got a clear path to the top.
— THE UX OF GOING VIRAL —
Alright, let’s tie this all together.
To go viral, users must be taken into great consideration. You must give them a platform to grow, debate, and become your supporter. You must understand user behaviour to go viral, and so the UX of your content must be fantastic.
Let’s try this out with something I feel strongly about…
…pineapple on pizza.
1) Create a conflict people can relate to.
“Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza.”
2) Polarize Conversation
“I can’t be friends with those monsters who put pineapple on pizza.”
3) Create Drama
“This one pineapple-on-pizza supporter told me that I make poor life decisions. Unacceptable! Sad! How dare they judge me based on my pizza topping preferences? RT if you make good life decisions like not putting pineapple on your pizza.”
4) The Hero’s Journey
“WOW! The makers of pineapple pizza admitted it was an accident that should’ve never happened! Victory for team anti-pineapple. 🙌”
5) Create A Slogan
#PineapplePrison
Look, I’m not saying this is foolproof. You could follow all these steps plus more and still come out with 3 likes and one “Haha” reaction. It happens.
No one is destined to go viral. It’s an unpredictable market.
Will that meme reach front page of reddit? Will this tweet resonate with 100,000 people? Can Wendy’s respond to my complaint and make me popular?
Of all the potentially viral content out there maybe… 0.001% of it makes it big. As long as you resonate with your users and get conversation going, you’re on the right track. Create the dialogue, start a movement, and get people on your team.
But most importantly, get haters. They introduce your content to places beyond your reach and expand your viewership. They’re worth the investment.
Appeal to your users and go viral!
