Going viral isn’t just about what you post , it’s about how you share your brand personality, the emotions you evoke, and the psychology behind audience engagement. The way people connect with content follows universal patterns. Across the globe, people experience intrigue, excitement, nostalgia, and inspiration in similar ways.
In this guide, we’ll break down what makes content shareable, the key elements of viral posts, and platform-specific strategies to help your brand dominate social media in 2025.
Why People Share Content: The Psychology Behind Virality
Before diving into the structure of viral content, let’s explore why people hit the share button in the first place. Viral content is rooted in psychology when you tap into specific emotions, your audience stays hooked and engages with your posts.
Here are the three core emotions that make content go viral:
1. Emotional Impact
People share content that sparks a strong emotional reaction joy, shock, nostalgia, or even outrage. High-arousal emotions drive more engagement because they make people feel something deeply.
Because emotions create a sense of connection; feelings-orientated trust. When your audience feels that you understand their perspective, they engage more.
Example, She shares emotional, mental and feelings oriented information which instantly clicks the audience. She also gives instant tips to get better on thinking and improving mental health which makes he content feel more valuable.
2. Relatability
Content that mirrors everyday struggles, aspirations, or inside jokes tends to get shared the most. The more relatable your content, the more likely people are to tag their friends, comment, and repost.
Because social media is a form of escape, people scroll for entertainment, inspiration, and motivation. When they see a post that reflects their real-life experiences, they feel seen and understood, making them more likely to engage.
Example, in his videos, he started sharing traumatic life experiences by giving them positive or fun names. He talked about anxiety, depression, corporate life and adult duties, but in his own personal style.
3. Social Validation & Identity Expression
People share content that helps them express who they are, what they stand for, or what they find funny. They want to showcase their values, sense of humor, or knowledge to their audience.
Because humans seek validation, we want others to agree with us, laugh with us, or acknowledge our thoughts. When your audience sees their beliefs or humor reflected in your content, they feel compelled to share it.
Example, In her series, she shared her views on how we think of different things happening in our life, and where do we need to change our perspectives to make life a better place to live.
What factors make a post go viral in 2025?
In 2025, your content can have higher chances of going viral by following along shifting social media algorithms, audience psychology, and evolving trends.
Here are the key factors that will determine whether a post goes viral:
1. High-Arousal Emotions (The Psychology of Virality)
As we discussed above, if your content rises emotions, feels relatable and validates the current state of your audience, then you are ready to get a massive response on your content. Perfect!
2. Hook-Driven Content (Grabbing Attention in 3 Seconds)
With shorter attention spans, scroll-stopping hooks are crucial. The first 3 seconds of your video or post should be bold, curiosity-driven, or emotionally triggering to prevent people from scrolling away. Here are a few examples for you:
Example, Look on how visual hook is used in this video through out.
3. Storytelling based personalized content
People have gone far away from consuming not so relatable and too polished content. They have shifted towards more raw, behind the scene and personalized content.
Example, This is a combination of super performing story writing, expression and visual involvements.
4. Algorithm-Friendly Engagement Signals
Social platforms boost posts that generate strong engagement early. Comments, shares, and saves are more powerful than likes alone. You need to add powerful hooks and CTAs at the end to drive actions.
Example,
5. Shareability & Relatability
People share content that feels personal and relevant to them or their audience. The more universal your message, the wider your reach. You need to indulge your personality into your content to get relatability and incorporate their pain points to get shareability.
How Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn Favor Viral Content
Each platform has its own algorithm that decides which posts go viral. While engagement is key across all platforms, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn prioritize different content formats, interactions, and trends.
Here’s how each platform boosts viral content.
What Instagram prioritizes:
- Watch time and replays (especially for Reels)
- Saves and shares (stronger signals than likes)
- Consistent engagement within the first hour
What TikTok prioritizes:
- Watch time and rewatches (longer retention means higher reach)
- Engagement in the first 15 minutes (comments and shares matter most)
- Use of trending sounds and challenges
- A strong hook in the first three seconds
What LinkedIn prioritizes:
- Meaningful conversations and long comments
- High engagement in the first two hours
- Engagement with connections
- Broader Topics + sharp hooks
10 viral hooks for Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.
- “Forget everything you know about [item in your niche]“
- “It’s going to be controversial, but [questioning majority opinions]“
- “You’re not going to agree with me but…”
- “How did I go from [X result] unto [X result] in [set time]”
- Why 99% of (audience problem) Don’t (in connection with the audience)
- That’s why X% of (target) fail afterwards (time).I tried every (advice, method), so you don’t have to
- I never thought I would [What you have achieved that your ideal client wants to achieve, too] — it’s crazy how much can change in [a year, a month, 2 years, …]
- Normally I wouldn’t reveal this, but… [Tip, Message, …]
- [Day of the week] Confession: I [Relatable Habit your Audience will understand]
- It’s going to change the way you use (in connection with the target).
Tiktok
- “This hack will change the way you [do something common]…”
- “Here’s a trick that nobody tells you about [topic]…”
- “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen…”
- “This is the story of how I [achieved something remarkable]…”
- “I didn’t expect this to happen when I started [specific task]…”
- “I used to [struggle with something] until I found this solution…”
- “You’ve been doing [something] wrong — here’s the right way…”
- “Can I complete this challenge in 24 hours? Let’s find out…”
- “I tried [something extreme] for a week, and here’s the result…”
- “Here’s how to [achieve something] in just 60 seconds…”
- How I turned my [owned asset] into a [valuable asset][impressive results]
- X [things] you won’t [emotion/action] about in [time frame]
- How to [achieve specific goal] in [low time frame] per [day/week/month]
- The time I [experienced a notable event or situation]: “[Your name],” said [person]. “[Question inquiring about event/situation]?” “[Vulnerable/surprising response],” I said.
- [Time period] ago, I made a massive [life/business] decision. I [initial action taken]. I [secondary action]. I [tertiary action].
- I’ve [taken significant action] for the past [time frame] to build [project/course/product]. (This is tough as [personal constraint or responsibility]).
- [Unusual habit/action] solves [high percentage of major problem]. X more [simple/quick/easy] [habits/actions] to [improve/change a specific situation]
- “[Common statement or belief]” is usually code for “[Cynical or humorous reality].”
- No one knows [field or skill] better than [unexpected group]. I have [time period or impressive results] in/from this game. Here’s who really knows [field or skill] best: …
- When you realise most ‘[category advisors]‘ are [description of unspoken privileges]… You [humorous reaction].
Concluded for you!
Going viral isn’t about luck, it’s about knowing what works. In 2025, the key is to:
- Use strong emotions like joy, nostalgia, and surprise to grab attention.
- Hook your audience in the first three seconds.
- Share real, relatable stories instead of overly polished content.
- Work with platform algorithms to boost engagement.
- Make your content easy to share by adding personality and addressing common struggles.
If you want to create viral, high-impact content without the guesswork, Dopameme can help. Let’s craft a strategy that gets you noticed and drives real growth. Book a consultation today!
