How to Go Viral on Facebook

Depending on how active you are creating content on Facebook and how many followers you have, a single Facebook post can reach thousands of people in just a few hours. Whether you’re an individual content creator, a business, or a social media influencer, that’s a lot of eyes on your content, which gives it a great chance of going viral on Facebook! 

“Going viral” is generally interpreted as getting a large amount of views very rapidly, usually within a 24-48 hour period max. The amount of views to hit virality varies depending on the platform.

For small accounts, a post might be considered viral if it snags around 10,000 or more likes or shares. For larger accounts or brands, viral status is often linked to widespread reach and trending status in the millions. But hitting between 25,000-50,000 views is definitely a Big Deal in the virality department, and anything over 100,000 is pretty golden. 

Having a Facebook post go viral is a tangible opportunity that can propel your content to high levels of engagement, giving you the chance to rapidly boost your account and grow your audience by taking advantage of that sudden virality and visibility.

So let’s get into it! We’ll look at what makes a Facebook post go viral, how you can increase your chances at virality, and the steps you can take to make your content stand out on social media, get noticed, and get more followers. We’ve also got some tips for how you can use tools like Fourthwall to amplify your social media efforts and keep those Facebook algorithms on your side.

What is a Viral Facebook Post?

Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms still in operation, and has a reputation as the “older” social network. Teens and Gen Z do use Facebook far less than the other socials (according to data from SproutSocial and other sources.) But Facebook can still be a great way to reach the slightly older Millennial and Gen X audience demographics that may have more disposable income, which can definitely benefit your business or brand. 

A viral Facebook post is a shareable one; one that spreads rapidly throughout the Facebook network, generating significant engagement, shares, and interactions beyond your initial existing Facebook audience. The key metrics that define a viral post are likes, shares, comments, and views. So when a Facebook post goes viral, it typically sees exponential growth in these metrics; may trend across Facebook; and may even get your content shared to external sites, pushing your social media reach even farther. 

Several factors can contribute to a post going viral:

• Relatability: Facebook content that resonates with your target audience on an emotional or personal level can easily go viral, bringing back sentiments or memories that are relatable.
• Shareability: Posts that users feel compelled to share with their friends or followers often have a much better chance of going viral through sheer numbers; Facebook's algorithm definitely likes to see lots of shares!
• Wholesomeness: PG-rated humor or memes, surprise elements, and heartwarming content tend to get more engagement and comments, and are shareable between older and younger age groups.
• Relevance: Posts tied to trending topics or current events (most effectively by using hashtags) often see better performance, as people are often drawn to sharing posts that reflect what’s going on around them.

6 Strategies to Help Make Your Posts Go Viral

Going viral may partially be a matter of luck, and appealing to Facebook's algorithm - but increasing your chances of going viral is a combination of good content, strategy, timing, and engagement. Here are six pro tips to increase your chances of creating viral Facebook posts:

1. Create High Quality Content That People Want to Share

One of the most powerful ways to make your Facebook post go viral is by tapping into universal emotions, shared experiences, or impactful moments. People are more likely to engage with and share content that feels familiar, makes them laugh, is heartwarming, or is otherwise relatable.

Posts with high quality images and engaging videos often perform better because they literally stand out visually in the Facebook feed, catching the eye of users as they scroll through their feeds. Videos are highly shareable, and Facebook’s algorithm often favors video content. Use vibrant, attention-grabbing images and well edited video clips for your posts that evoke emotion.

Nostalgia and humor are two other types of posts that are particularly effective on Facebook. Nostalgic posts that remind your audience of past experiences can really generate engagement, especially when it comes to generational references (for example, throwback posts to the ‘90s.)

Funny memes, topical jokes, or witty comments on current events are other types of humor posts that often gain traction on Facebook; good humor can encourage audiences to share posts and tag their friends.

2. Be Trendy By Staying on Top of Current Topics and Events

When you create content relating to trending topics or current events, it has the potential to attract more attention, as people are actively searching for posts around these subjects. Align your content with popular hashtags or news stories to can boost your visibility, and create your own original takes on these topics/events to really stand out.

Holidays, viral news events, pop culture and entertainment moments - all of these can be utilized to create content, ensuring, of course, that the topics are relevant to your own voice and your brand. Keep an eye on trending hashtags on Facebook, and incorporate them into your posts, further tying your content to these topics. And be sure to add relevant hashtags to help people find your posts.

3. Collaborate with Influencers or Popular Pages

Teaming up with influencers or popular Facebook pages can help extend the reach of your posts and content. Facebook influencers with larger followings can help amplify your message, increasing the chances of your post reaching a larger audience.

Find influencers and brands that relate well to your own brand and niche, and contact them to propose a collaborative post or content exchange. You could collaborate IRL (in real life) on a video or image post; ask for shoutouts and reposts in exchange for sharing their content or product; or exchange post shares so you can introduce your Facebook pages and content to each others’ audience.

4. Engage with Your Audience

One of the best ways to court virality is to actively engage with your target audience, to really get your comments section moving! Reply to your followers’ and friends’ comments, start conversations, comment on other creators' content, and show appreciation for your followers’ interactions. The more engaged your audience feels, and the more you reply to them, the more likely they are to share your content.

Don’t just wait around for comments, though; you can start conversations in your own comments section by asking questions, starting debates, and encouraging audience engagement through CTAs (calls to action.)

Posts that actively invite user participation and prompt comments - such as asking users to tag friends, share the post, or comment in a specific way - are more likely to go viral, such as "Tag a friend who would love this!" or "Share this post if you agree!" And be genuine when responding to comments; people love to see real interactions rather than automated responses.

Also link to your other socials to further build your audience, and consider putting together your own custom merchandise line on a site like Fourthwall, so fans can rep your brand with items like mugs and T-shirts!

5. Post at Optimal Times

Timing is a huge factor when it comes to going viral on Facebook. Posting when your target audience is most active increases the chances of your content and posts being seen, liked, and shared. Get your best chances by using Facebook Insights to track when your followers are online. 

Typically, Facebook users are most active during early afternoon hours and late evenings on weekdays, with weekends seeing a surge in activity. So schedule your posts for peak times, particularly when your target audience is most likely to engage.

6. Utilize Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups, which are specific sections of Facebook that function as hangout spaces for people who have similar interests, are a great place to share content and continue building your Facebook audience. By participating in relevant groups or even creating your own, you can increase your visibility and credibility within a focused audience.

Get started by finding Facebook Groups that align with your brand and your target audience and join in conversations, sharing valuable content that adds to the community conversation, offers something of value, or helps the community solve a problem.

Make sure that your posts aren’t solely promotional (about your own content), but show that you’re genuinely interested in becoming part of the existing community, and you’ll see benefits as your participation grows.

Viral Facebook Posts for Inspiration!

Check out these real-world examples of viral posts to see how these strategies play out:

ALS Bucket Challenge

The ALS Bucket Challenge - so notable that it’s still being talked about even though it’s been nearly 10 years old now - was the brainchild of three young men living with ALS who challenged people around the world to dump ice water on their heads and donate to an ALS organization.

The posts - which got over 28 million people talking on facebook - went hugely viral, attracted a long list of celebrity participants, and raised over $115 million to support ALS research and care for people living with the disease.

Cadbury’s Viral Chocolate Stunt

Cadbury Dairy Milk in the UK wanted to thank their fans after reaching 1 million likes on their UK Facebook page, so they dressed their team up in matching lilac-colored shirts and livestreamed a build of a giant Facebook “Like” thumbs-up.

Cadbury stacked over 6,000 pounds of their popular Dairy Milk chocolate bars to create the huge hand, which ended up being as tall as two cars stacked on top of each other; they then posted a time-lapse of the entire chocolate construction process. The content creation stunt gained Cadbury’s Facebook page an additional 40,000 followers (and probably also sold a lot of Dairy Milk bars.)

Library Humor

Sometimes the simplest thing can go viral because it strikes viewers in a universal way (in this case, quirky humor). This post from Facebook page FunnyHumourCrazy showing how a library found a funny way to deal with people bringing food into the building clearly made users laugh - the post snagged them over 45 million views and nearly 50,000 comments!  

More Pro Tips for Going Viral on Facebook

• Be Consistent: Regularly post engaging content to keep your audience interested. Posting too infrequently means you won’t stay front of mind for your audience; but posting too often risks overwhelming them with your content. Aim for 1 or 2 posts per day, or a minimum of 3 per week, to aim at good audience engagement and virality.
  
• Use Your Analytics: Use Facebook Insights to monitor which types of posts work best, and learn from that data so you can adapt to Facebook’s algorithms and refine your content strategy.
  
• Experiment: When creating content for Facebook, don’t be afraid to test out different posting formats, including images, video content, and short-form Facebook Reels. Try different formats of filming, too; experiment with filters, colors, text overlays, gifs, special effects, and a variety of trending hashtags.
  
• Be Patient: Going viral on Facebook requires a combination of good content, creative strategies, timing, and that all-important audience engagement. Stay on top of trending topics, engage with your audience, share (with hashtags!) across your social media, and utilize Facebook’s content creator tools to get your best shot at virality.

Increase Your Chances of Going Viral with Fourthwall!

Fourthwall offers so many ways help creators and businesses optimize all of their social media strategies, including Facebook! With Fourthwall, you can invite your Facebook followers to your very own custom website and merchandise store, sell them exclusive memberships, and even connect your Fourthwall site to Facebook Shopping, so your fans can buy your merch directly from your Facebook page (Facebook is also under the same Meta umbrella as Instagram, so you can use their tools to double your reach!)

By using Fourthwall’s tools, you can add components to your content that will help you better reach your audience, and improve the visibility you need to go viral on Facebook. Get started with Fourthwall today to take your Facebook presence to the next level!