A viral tweet is a particular kind of tweet: it’s the one that takes on a life of its own and quickly spreads throughout the platform, as it keeps gaining a lot of attention and engagement from an ever wider audience who, likes, comments and retweets it.
There are various factors in play for a tweet to go viral, but all viral tweets have one major thing in common: they prompt Twitter users to react to them, spreading the word and keeping the momentum going.
A viral tweet is a powerful tool – it can help you spread a message or promote a product, and it can bring more visibility to the person or organization behind the tweet.
So why not try and use it!
But how do you go viral?
This article will help you with figure out what can help you go viral, and what you can do to give yourself the best chances of making the most of your tweets.
Table of contents:
- Choose a topic that resonates with your audience
- Craft a compelling message
- Don’t be afraid of being funny
- Include visuals
- Use hashtags
- Tag influencers or brands
- Include links
- Time your tweet for maximum exposure
- Be thought-provoking
- Engage with your audience
Choose a topic that resonates with your audience
The first thing you need to ask yourself is: why would you want to go viral?
Whether you’re trying to build your first few thousands followers, or are already speaking to a strong community, you should always aim to talk about something that is relatable to you.
Some people may say all publicity is good publicity, but is it, really? You don’t want one of your tweets to go viral and have thousands of people, including your followers, talk negatively about you or your product or think of you in a totally wrong and inaccurate way!
For your tweet, you should pick a topic that your followers are passionate about. It could be something timely, like a current event, or something that’s always popular, like a funny meme or a heartwarming story – but whatever it is, it should be related to your persona or brand.
In the example below, film critic Manuela Lazić shared something she learned about a classic film with her audience of film fans and filmmakers, and got hundreds of likes and reactions.
Over the weekend I learned that Kubrick used rear-projection for one (1) shot in EYES WIDE SHUT, with Tom Cruise walking on a treadmill!!! pic.twitter.com/yj1EEa2Ooh
— Manuela Lazić (@ManiLazic) September 13, 2021
Craft a compelling message
Of course form is important, but the message you convey in your tweet is key to its success.
Make sure it’s concise and avoid unnecessary details or explanations. Don’t squeeze too much information into one tweet, use Twitter threads and divide your knowledge efficiently instead!
Be attention-grabbing, use humor, emotion or simply a clever turn of phrase to catch people’s eye and make them want to engage with your tweet. Also think about being shareable – viral tweets often get shared widely because they’re so easy to share!
Don’t forget to add value: the most successful tweets offer something of value to the reader, whether it’s information, entertainment, inspiration or a call to action. Consider what your audience is looking for and how you can provide it in a way that’s unique or valuable!
Don’t be afraid of being funny
When Twitter first started, most people were on it for the jokes! And although things have changed a little over the years, funny tweets are still very popular.
Humor is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience and increasing the likelihood of your tweet going viral. When you inject humor into your tweet, it can make your message more memorable, relatable and shareable, as people will want to share the laugh with their friends.
There are many ways to incorporate humor into your tweet. You can use wordplay, puns, sarcasm, satire or pop culture references to make your tweet more entertaining and engaging. Just make sure that your sense of humor is appropriate for your audience and aligns with your brand’s tone and voice!
When done right, humor can also help you stand out in the crowd and differentiate yourself from your competitors and other users. It also makes your brand seem more human and friendly, which will help you build a deeper and more authentic connection with your audience.
But remember: humor can be subjective and what’s funny to one person may not be funny to another! So make sure to test your tweets and gather feedback from your audience to see what resonates and what doesn’t, all while staying true to yourself and always respectful.
User Jaythechou came up with a devastatingly simple yet effective concept: photoshopping Paddington the bear into a movie, game, TV show, or album until he forgets. At the time of writing of this piece, he’d been at it for 713 days, and all his posts get thousands of likes!
He’s also created a Patreon to support himself and his family, through which people can request particular things in which he can photoshop the beloved bear. He doesn’t have too many patrons yet, but there’s no reason for his popularity not to grow!
I Photoshop paddington into a movie, game, TV show, or album until I forget: Day 713 pic.twitter.com/BAMEGnY7Wp
— Jaythechou (@jaythechou) February 20, 2023
Include visuals
Considering the 280 characters limit on Twitter, embellishing your tweets with visual content is always a great idea to better express yourself. Visuals are always highly shareable on Twitter and can help your tweet shine.
Consider including a relevant image, GIF or a video that boosts your message and makes it more fun and engaging, or even clearer. Make sure you choose visuals at least somewhat related to what you are talking about, they are a great tool to connect with your audience!
I've written hundreds of in-depth profiles of people with fascinating stories.
But without exaggerating, @francis_ngannou's story blew. me. away.
Here's what I learned 👇 pic.twitter.com/Bm0HLeczTe
— Polina M. Pompliano (@polina_marinova) April 13, 2022
Polina M. Pompliano writes about interesting people and always makes sure to include visuals in her threads. Here, she illustrated her story with photos to make the subject of her story appear more real and to better show the trajectory of his life.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are still very useful and relevant, so don’t hesitate to use them to try and reach the people who will make your tweet go viral!
Hashtags can help your tweet get discovered by a wider audience if you use them well. Choose hashtags that are popular and frequently searched, as well as relevant to what you’re tweeting about.
You can use Twitter’s search function to find relevant hashtags or use a social media management tool to help you find the most popular ones.
You can even create your own hashtag more suited to your message! This can help you brand your content in a more specific way and make it more memorable for your audience. Make sure it’s short, easy to remember and, naturally, appropriate to your message.
Be mindful however not to use too many hashtags – you want to leave some space for your actual original text!
Participate in conversations and communities related to the hashtag you choose so as to help build momentum and increase engagement around it! This will help your tweet indirectly, as well as help you build relationships with influencers and other people in your industry who may love your tweet too!
Tag influencers or brands
Using some flair and delicacy, you can try tagging influencers or brands in your tweet to give it another shot at extra exposure. The person you tag may find your tweet worthy of a like or even a retweet and share it with their many followers!
Make sure to stay relevant and respectful, and don’t feel entitled to an answer. The last thing you want is to overdo this and annoy the people you tag and your followers, and come off as a try-hard!
Include links
People love to learn or discover something new, so including links in your tweet can be an effective way to help it go viral. It can be a way to give your audience an opportunity to learn more or engage further with whatever your message is.
By providing real value, your tweet is more likely to go viral as people will be grateful for the learning experience and want to pay it forward – social media as its most wholesome!
Adding a tweet can also help increase your tweet’s discoverability. Search engines and social media algorithms prefer tweets with links, which may mean that your tweet will have a real chance of appearing on people’s feeds.
Finally, including links in your tweet can help establish you as a thought leader in your industry. If you share a real deep cut relevant to your niche, you will come across as the real expert and make your tweets more credible – and therefore, more shareable.
Time your tweet for maximum exposure
Timing is a crucial factor in determining the success of your tweet – even if it’s not always easy to figure it out.
If you post your tweet when your followers are not active, it is unlikely to gain traction and may just fall flat. That’s why it’s important to time it right!
To determine the best time to post your tweet, consider the behaviour of your followers. If you have a global audience, keep in mind that your followers may be in different time zones! You can use analytics tools to find out when your followers are most active and engaged, and schedule your tweets accordingly, of course, using amazing tools like Hypefury! Timing gives you more of a chance to go viral.
Be thought-provoking
It’s important to strike a balance between being thought-provoking and not being too opinionated. While it’s great to share your thoughts and perspectives, you don’t want to come across as overly aggressive or polarizing!
Instead, remember to always focus on presenting your ideas in a way that invites conversation and engagement. Use language that is inclusive and open-ended, and be willing to listen and respond to other people’s thoughts and ideas. By being thought-provoking without being overly opinionated, you can encourage others to share your message and help your tweet go viral.
THREAD: 10 significant lies you're told about the world.
On startups, writing, and your career:
— Julian Shapiro (@Julian) January 9, 2021
In this viral thread, Julian Shapiro debunks 10 ideas that people take for true, from short attention spans to the need to pursue wealth at all costs. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and this made for an interesting thread worth reading in full, commenting on and sharing with your friends to debate.
Engage with your audience
Engaging with your audience is a critical step to ensuring your tweet can go viral.
First, you need to have a following before you can even hope to go viral!
But even once your tweet starts to gain traction, it’s important to monitor the comments, replies and retweets that it receives so that you can respond to them in a timely and thoughtful manner. This will help build momentum and keep the conversation going, which can keep your tweet doing the rounds for longer to reach even more people.
When responding to comments and retweets, make sure to always be respectful and genuine. Acknowledge people’s contributions, answer questions and even thank people for their support! This can help you build relationships with your audience and establish trust and credibility with them, which will boost your tweet even more.
Remember, the key to engaging with your audience is to be authentic and personable. Treat your followers as individuals and try to provide value and insight in your responses! By doing so, you can foster a sense of community around your tweet and help it go viral even more.
