Why Some Creatives Know How to Make Content Go Viral
Main Topics
The "Getting It" Factor: The fundamental difference between creatives who understand viral mechanics vs. those who don't
Content Virality as a Formula: The existence of replicable principles for making content spread across social platforms
Hiring and Talent Evaluation: How brands assess whether new marketing team members possess viral content expertise
Key Points
Divided Camps: There are essentially two categories of content creators:
Those who understand the formula for making content go viral
Those who create interesting ideas or amazing art but lack this understanding
Beyond Platform-Specific Skills: Knowledge of individual platforms (YouTube, Substack, etc.) isn't the same as understanding how to propel content into viral territory
Propulsion is Learnable: The ability to make content "move on the internet" isn't purely subjective—it's a systematized, formulaic approach
Binary Assessment: Whether someone "gets it" functions as a yes-or-no evaluation rather than a spectrum
Notable Quotes
> "Do they get it? Do they understand that if you put these couple things together, it's a formula that you can make content move on the internet?"
> "You understand how to propel something outside of its shell into a more viral world."
Takeaways
Viral success isn't random—it follows reproducible patterns and formulas
Creative quality alone isn't sufficient; understanding distribution mechanics is equally critical
When hiring for modern marketing roles, brands should evaluate whether candidates possess viral intuition alongside creative ability
The ability to scale content virally is a distinct, learnable skill separate from artistic or platform expertise
One of the biggest questions that I'm always asking whenever I'm talking to a brand who's in that—they're hiring someone for a new age marketing team. And the question's always, do they get it? Do they understand that if you put these couple things together, it's a formula that you can make content move on the internet? And there's camps that do or don't. They make really interesting ideas or amazing art, but they don't get it. They don't understand, and you could get any social network. You could get YouTube, Substack, whatever it looks like, but you understand how to propel something outside of its shell into a more viral world. And it's a yes or no, and it really comes down to how do you evaluate that?
whenever I'm talking to a brand who's in that, they're hiring someone for a new age marketing team. And the question's always like, do they get it? Do they understand that if you put these couple things together, it's a formula that you can make content move on the internet. And there's basically camps that do or don't. They make really interesting ideas or amazing art, but they don't get it. They don't understand, and you can get any social network. You could get YouTube, Substack, whatever it looks like, but you understand how to propel something outside of its shell into a more viral world. And it's kind of a yes or no, and it really comes down