How to Go Viral: Reframing through a Viral Lens

Going Viral on Social Media: Part Luck / Part Science

Going viral is part luck and part science. In many instances, it’s not necessarily the concept that is flawed, rather it’s the execution. In other posts I talk about the 3 Second Rule, which is all about the hook (“If you aren’t hooking, you aren’t selling”).

In this post, I’ll go over some ideas to show how you can elevate your concept with a viral hook. This will help you take your initial idea and reframe it through a viral lens.

Same Concept, Different Framing

A video concept where your opening line is “I’m starting a beverage brand…” isn’t the type of idea that will be pushed out to millions of people, liked, and commented. Instead, what’s needed is something like, “6 months ago I quit my job and risked my entire life savings to launch a business…”

Same concept, different framing.

The difference between “I’m starting a beverage brand” and “I quit my job and risked everything to launch this” is stakes and storytelling. Viral content usually has one (or more) of these ingredients:

High stakes (risk, reward, struggle, sacrifice)
Relatability (something the average person can connect to)
Surprise or novelty (unexpected twists, crazy visuals, bold statements)
Emotion (inspiration, humor, awe, anger, nostalgia)
Cultural relevance (trending topics, memes, social issues, celebrity tie-ins)

Let’s go through some examples together so you start to get a flavour for it.

High-Stakes / Relatable Founder Stories

“I put my entire life savings into an idea that no one believed in and it actually worked. Here’s how.”

“I truly didn’t know the meaning of sacrifice until I launched my beverage brand.”

“Here’s how I went from working 9-5 out of my tiny apartment to launching one of the bestselling beverage brands in Canada.”

“Nobody ever tells you what it actually takes to risk it all for a dream.”

“Here’s how I went from broke college student to becoming a multimillionaire in less than 3 years.”

Shock Value / Pattern Interrupts

“This drink shouldn’t exist.”

“Here’s why it’s nearly impossible to launch a successful beverage business in Canada?”

“This was either the dumbest decision I’ve ever made… or the smartest.”

“We tried to make the world’s most controversial drink.”

Transformation / Behind-the-Scenes

“From an idea on a napkin… to this can in my hand.”

“This is what 2 years of my life, thousands of dollars, and countless sleepless nights looks like.”

“The first time I saw my product on a store shelf…”

“How I went from 0 to my first customer.”

Emotional / Inspirational

“I built this brand for people who…” (insert: love the outdoors, need an alternative, want to celebrate life, etc.)

“If you’ve ever had a dream and felt like nobody believed in you… this is for you.”

“I didn’t create a drink. I created a reason to celebrate the good.”

Humor / Viral Entertainment

“We taste-tested every competitor… and here’s what happened.”

“I gave random strangers my drink to see if they’d lie to my face.”

“What if a luxury fashion brand made a beverage?” (mock-up ad, parody)

“Ranking the worst drink ideas I almost launched instead.”

Cultural / Trend-Jacking

Tying your video to trending audio or format is still viable. Some examples are:

“POV: You just found out your friend started a beverage brand.”

“What if Batman had a favourite drink…”)

Key Takeaways

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are dozens more ideas, each with unlimited hooks. The point of this was to show you how you can take a concept and elevate it to become more viral.

If you’re on YouTube, pay close attention to your title and thumbnail. Those two things can make all the difference in the world between getting clicked or being ignored.