The Science of Making Things Go Viral

In today’s marketing landscape, the barrier to entry for creating and publishing new content is at an all-time low.

That means social networks and other distribution channels are flooded with content – and so naturally, as a way of filtering and screening our feeds, we gravitate to the content that everyone else is sharing.

These widely-shared articles, infographics, and videos tend to pique our curiosity, or they hit us with powerful “a-ha” moments. After all, these things are going viral for a reason.

Making Things Go Viral

Whether you are a marketer or an occasional writer, it’s worth knowing how this coveted viral effect comes about.

Today’s infographic comes from Outgrow, and it covers two psychological theories on what leads to viral content, why we share certain things, and some examples of winning viral campaigns that took advantage of triggering these emotions.

People share individual pieces of content for all types of reasons, but there are some commonalities.

According to psychological theory, content that feels novel or that fills information gaps may trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. Further, content that touches the right emotions (excitement, surprise, nostalgia, etc.) can also latch onto a viral effect.

Virality and The Brain

What role does psychology play in making things go viral?

Here are two well-documented psychological effects that trigger the reward pathways in the brain.

1. Novelty Seeking
Your mind is tired of seeing the same old ideas over and over again. That’s why things that are new or unusual will catch your eye – and this includes the content on your favorite website or social feed.

In fact, the brain is hardwired to search for novelty in this way. Seeing something new can motivate us to explore our environment for rewards, and with social media that reward is just a click away.

2. Information Gap Theory
Humans are obsessed with information and have an unquenchable interest in the world around them. That’s why, when your Facebook feed provides a chance to temporarily satisfy your curiosity with just one click, you can’t help but succumb.

Scientists haven’t figured out exactly how curiosity works yet, but what we do know so far is that it’s an itch that humans feel they must continually satisfy. More specifically, according to George Loewenstein’s information gap theory, we often act to fill a gap between what we know, and what we want to know.

Sharing is Caring

But even if something catches our attention, it still needs to spread far and wide to have a viral impact. That’s why the reasons we share content are important, and why posts typically hit on certain emotions to achieve virality.

People share content to:

• Connect with someone over a shared interest
• Promote a product they believe is useful to others
• Be involved in a current trend or event
• Be the first to tell a friend about a trend or event
• Share something about themselves
• Socialize with friends offline
• Promote a good cause
• Demonstrate their own knowledge or ability
• Start an online conversation
• Boost their reputation among friends

Lastly, specific positive emotions lead people to sharing content, including those of amusement, affection, surprise, happiness, and excitement. On the flipside, nostalgia and disgust are two other psychological responses that trigger sharing as well.