What makes content go viral? According to our latest research, the key lies in triggering specific emotions, publishing at the right time and telling stories that resonate.
By understanding the emotional drivers behind viral content, brands can create campaigns that reach wider audiences and inspire real engagement.
The viral emotions driving brand engagement
Up to 70% of journalists say PR pros are important to the success of their jobs, yet 49% of journalists seldom or never respond to PR pitches, according to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2024.
So, where’s the disconnect? And how can your company stand out with newsworthy, viral content that drives valuable brand coverage and consumer engagement?
In 2013, Fractl (disclosure: I co-founded the agency) published a study on viral emotions in Harvard Business Review, analyzing the emotions that were activated when respondents viewed the top 100 images on Reddit r/pics from that year.
Then, respondents used Robert Plutchik’s “Wheel of Emotion” to label the emotions evoked by each image – helping us code the specific emotional interplay that drives viral content engagement.
In our study, we discovered:
Positive emotions were more prevalent in viral content than negative ones.
Viral success occurred when negative emotions also triggered surprise.
Emotions related to surprise were overwhelmingly present, including:
Curiosity.
Amazement.
Interest.
Astonishment.
Uncertainty.
Admiration was a highly common emotion in viral content.
Ten years later, I set out to retest and expand our research (with Fractl co-founder Kristin Tynski), leveraging AI to further our understanding of the science behind viral content.
Applying the same methodology, we analyzed Reddit’s top 100 images on r/pics for 2024 and we (happily) revealed the same set of viral emotions (above).
Delving deeper, our new research found several other prominent levers marketers can adjust to increase their potential for virality:
Emotional strength (40%): Posts with heightened emotional intensity draw more interaction.
Timing (35%): What time a post is published plays a crucial role in its performance.
Themes (25%): Specific narrative archetypes drive greater impacts.
1. Content with heightened emotional intensity can increase engagement scores by up to 24%
Emotional resonance is the single largest contributor to engagement, accounting for nearly 40% of overall interaction.
Since emotional intensity drives engagement, your team needs to be focused on campaign ideas that will leave your target market saying, “Oh, wow, that’s really surprising!” not just “Oh, that’s interesting.”
The stronger the emotion, the greater the engagement.
High-arousal emotions – such as excitement, curiosity and surprise – are especially impactful, boosting engagement scores by as much as 24%.
Also, aim to evoke either curiosity or laughter with your content – reactions that prompt instant sharing.
Dig deeper: 5 ways to incorporate trends into your SEO content strategy
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2. Evening hours have 24% more engagement than daytime hours
Our data shows that content syndicated to Reddit during late-night hours and on weekends garners significantly more engagement.
Late-night posts yield 15% higher scores, while weekend posts see an 18% increase in comments, underscoring the importance of timing.
This makes sense when you consider user behavior. During these times, people unwind and scroll through their feeds, and they are more likely to engage deeply with content.
Scheduling your highest-impact content for weekend, late-night Reddit promotion will help your brand reach consumers when they’re most likely to deeply engage with content.