The Science Of Virality with Jess Cook

what makes content shareable?

May 08, 2025

Hi DDMB Readers,

I'm feeling extra excited this week, maybe because I'm turning the big 2-7 (hello, birthday week!) But also because we're diving into a topic that many of us marketers tend to shy away from… until someone says, “Make it go viral.” 😅

Thankfully, we’ve got Jess Cook, someone who brings a whole lot of clarity and practical insight to this often misunderstood topic.

Before we get into the interview (hosted by yours truly), I have a small birthday favor to ask:
If this newsletter has meant something to you, helped, inspired, or simply entertained, please drop a comment below and let me know. It would truly mean the world to hear from you.

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Alright, let’s get into it. Here's the interview!

Success Lawal

So, the topic is The Science of Virality and What Makes Content Shareable. Recently, I posted on LinkedIn, and it gained traction, even LinkedIn itself engaged with it! It’s exciting.

Now, while we don’t want to box content creators/marketers into the mindset that every post must go viral, we also can’t deny that virality is appreciated when it happens. It’s something that marketers need to discuss.

To start, Jess, I’ll let you introduce yourself.

Jess Cook

I’m Jess Cook. I’ve been in marketing for about 20 years. I started as a copywriter and creative director working on major B2C brands like Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, and Kimberly-Clark. I’ve worked with Cottonelle, Rice Krispies, Pop-Tarts, and many others.

But in 2019, I decided to pivot completely, I took my copywriting and creative direction skills and transitioned into B2B marketing. I wanted to go in-house and dive into tech, which led me to content marketing, a natural fit, thanks to its storytelling elements.

Of course, I quickly realized that B2C and B2B are very different worlds, but I embraced the learning curve. Since 2019, I’ve worked my way up from Content Marketing Manager to Head of Content, and now I serve as Head of Marketing at Vector.

Vector is a contact-based marketing tool that helps businesses see who’s visiting their site and researching relevant topics at the contact level. This allows marketers to target the right people, those already interested in what they offer.

Success Lawal

That’s amazing! I also started as a full-time digital marketer before pivoting into content marketing, which has been an exciting transition. That’s how I found you on LinkedIn, I’ve followed you ever since.

Now, let’s get into our main discussion: In your experience, what are the core psychological triggers that make content go viral?

Jess Cook

Great question! From my experience, two major factors contribute to virality:

1. Creating Shared Experiences (Commiseration & Relatability)

Think about the memes you send your friends, they often highlight common annoyances, things like:

"Why does this always happen?"
"This situation is so frustrating!"

These memes spark connection because they resonate deeply with a specific audience.

The same principle applies in B2B marketing. Different groups; marketers, IT professionals, developers, product managers, each have a universal set of frustrations within their industries.

By tapping into these shared experiences, you can create content that feels like:
"Yes! I know exactly what this is like!"

For example, when I was at Island, our target audience (IT leaders) struggled with VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure), a notoriously difficult tech. IT teams frequently heard complaints about slow speeds, lagging performance, and overall frustration.

So, we created a funny ‘breakup letter’ video, positioning Island as the better alternative to VDI. We shared this on social media, and it took off.

The engagement came specifically from our target audience- IT professionals in our ideal customer profile (ICP), which confirmed that we had nailed the messaging. It was also the first piece of content from Island to receive the ‘laugh’ reaction on LinkedIn!

The takeaway? If you can capture a shared frustration in a clever, engaging way, it spreads organically within its niche.

2. Giving People an Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look

Another type of content that performs well is behind-the-scenes insights.

Think about what you send your friends outside of B2B, things like:

"Here’s how they filmed that movie scene!"
"Look at this selfie of the White Lotus cast together!"

People love seeing the process behind things they admire. The same applies to B2B marketing:

If you’re marketing to marketers, show them why a campaign worked.
If your audience includes IT pros, offer insights into a successful tech stack.
If your company is building in public, share the journey, the ups, downs, and decision-making process.

These exclusive insights feel valuable, and people are excited to engage and share them.

Success Lawal

Yeah, I totally get it! One of the things I love sharing with my friends is behind-the-scenes clips from movies. I enjoy the humor and creativity that goes into those moments. I think that’s similar to how relatable content triggers emotions in people, making it more shareable.

So, moving on, what’s the biggest misconception marketers have about creating viral content?

Jess Cook

I’d say the biggest misconception is thinking that virality happens just by posting.

A lot of people assume that if they put out a great blog post, it’ll automatically gain traction. But in reality, distribution and repurposing play a huge role in how far a piece of content travels.

The same principle applies to viral content, you have to strategically plan for it before you even create it. You should think about:

How will people share this?
Can it be easily turned into a post, a newsletter, or something people will send to their colleagues?

Marketers often fail to reverse-engineer virality, they don’t incorporate shareable elements early in the content creation process.

Success Lawal

That makes sense! It actually ties into my next question: Is virality purely luck, or can it be engineered?

Jess Cook

I believe you can absolutely engineer virality, though luck does play a small role.

Take LinkedIn, for example. The algorithm favors posts that get early engagement from people with large followings or high influence. This means who sees the post first can impact its chances of spreading.

However, you can create content strategically to improve the odds:

Tap into relatable frustrations in a clever or humorous way.
Get engagement from influencers who resonate with the pain points.

If your content speaks to people’s daily struggles, those with large networks are more likely to interact with it, increasing its visibility.

Another way to engineer virality is consistent posting. If you regularly create insightful, frustration-driven content, you’ll gradually build an engaged audience who looks forward to your posts.

Success Lawal

That reminds me of a great example; Surreal Cereal. Their content always grabs my attention with its fun, engaging approach. Sometimes I even look up their Creative Director and team just to see who’s behind it!

They consistently put out witty, relatable content, making people laugh. I’ve seen a lot of posts saying “You guys did it again!” which proves their consistency pays off in terms of visibility.

This leads to my next question; what role does storytelling play in making content viral?

Jess Cook

I love that example! Storytelling makes people feel seen, and that’s a powerful emotional trigger.

When someone reads a post and thinks, “This is me! They’re talking to me!”, it creates a connection.

One way to craft viral stories is by talking to customers and understanding their pain points:

What frustrates them the most?
What keeps them up at night?
What was the moment they realized they needed a solution like ours?

For example, you might hear customers say, “Everything broke at once, and I had no idea how to fix it, that’s when I started looking for a new tool.”

If you hear similar stories over and over, you’ll identify recurring themes that resonate with your audience.

These insights help you create content that people recognize and relate to, whether through humor, emotion, or personal experiences.

Success Lawal

So, do you think the format of content affects its likelihood of going viral?

Jess Cook

Absolutely! And honestly, you have to test different formats to find what works best.

For example, at Island, we wanted to highlight how frustrating VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) was.

We started with an image-based post illustrating a “breakup letter” with VDI.
➡️ It did well, but we wanted to boost engagement.

Then, we upgraded it to a GIF, adding movement.
➡️ This performed even better, probably because it made people stop scrolling.

Finally, we turned it into a 2-minute video, showing someone typing out the breakup letter in real time.
➡️ That version exploded, which was surprising, because longer videos don’t usually perform well on LinkedIn.

The key takeaway? Different formats drive different levels of engagement, so testing is crucial.

One more tip: don’t make viral content too salesy.
People remember how content made them feel, not whether it directly promoted a product. The best viral pieces focus on universal emotions, themes, and frustrations.

Success Lawal

Yeah, what I’m getting from this conversation is that virality in content often sits at the top of the funnel, right?

Jess Cook

Totally! That’s a really good point, Success. Viral content tends to align with broad themes and the overall problems a brand solves, rather than focusing on the product itself. So yes, it’s very much a top-of-funnel execution.

Success Lawal

And from your explanation, if something goes viral, you can repurpose it in different ways or test alternate formats to extend its reach, right?

Jess Cook

Yes! If a piece of content gains traction, it’s a strong indicator that you’ve hit on a major pain point or frustration within your audience.

Even though viral content is typically top-of-funnel, it provides valuable insights that can be leveraged in sales conversations and demo calls.

If a post resonates deeply with a large group, it signals:

This is a real problem for our audience.
This issue is worth emphasizing in our sales messaging.

Marketers can use viral content as data points to refine messaging, focusing more on the value and solutions that directly address those widespread frustrations.

Success Lawal

Interesting! Now, how do emotions influence the shareability of content?

Jess Cook

There are two major emotional drivers behind shareable content:

Shared Frustration (Commiseration & Relatability)

People share content that reflects their struggles and allows them to bond over shared pain.

For example, a marketer might send a post to a colleague saying:
"We’ve both dealt with this, so relatable!"

This shared experience triggers engagement because:

It acknowledges common frustrations.
It provides a humorous or validating perspective.

2. Pride & Thought Leadership

Another reason people share content is to boost their perceived expertise, they want to be the person who discovers and shares valuable insights first.

This plays into emotions like credibility, reputation, and status. If a post makes someone feel smart or ahead of the curve, they’re more likely to:

Share it with their team or network.
Engage with it publicly to reinforce their thought leadership.

Both of these emotional triggers - relatability and credibility make content highly shareable.

Success Lawal

Now, how can brands strike the right balance between authenticity and intentionally designing content to go viral?

Jess Cook

It comes down to two key factors:

Deep Customer Understanding

Authenticity starts with listening to your customers; knowing their pain points, frustrations, and real-life challenges.

Brands that speak directly to their audience’s reality create content that feels genuine rather than forced.

Bold, Unexpected Storytelling

Viral content needs to stand out, bland messaging doesn’t get shared.

To balance authenticity with virality, brands must:

Take risks with creativity.
Approach storytelling in unexpected ways.
Challenge industry norms to create memorable content.

Success Lawal

Sometimes teams compare their content to competitors, saying things like:
"Duolingo did this, let’s do something similar!"

How can brands avoid forced attempts at virality and instead create content that feels true to their brand?

Jess Cook

While inspiration from successful brands is valuable, copying trends for the sake of virality often feels forced.

The key is knowing your audience deeply and finding ways to:

Speak authentically to their experiences.
Create content that is bold, fresh, and unique.

If your brand genuinely understands its customers and delivers something unexpected but relatable, it automatically feels authentic even if it was strategically designed to go viral.

Success Lawal

So, when creating viral content, what steps do you take afterward?

You mentioned repurposing viral content, but does that mean you create additional pieces? Given that content strategy targets different stages of the funnel, do you adapt viral content to thought leadership pieces or other formats that address deeper problems?

Jess Cook

Viral content serves as a barometer, it shows whether a story or theme resonates deeply and is worth expanding into different content formats.

Going back to the VDI example, when we saw how well those initial social posts performed, we knew we had uncovered a major pain point for our prospects.

So, we expanded it into mid-funnel and bottom-funnel content, such as:

How our product solves or replaces VDI.
How much money companies save by switching.
Comparing the user experience of our solution vs. VDI.

This ensures that viral insights don’t just stay at the top of the funnel but are used to create valuable content across different marketing disciplines, ultimately leading to a bigger business impact.

Success Lawal

What other side content strategies or distribution tactics can increase the chances of virality?

Jess Cook

It’s often the little details that drive virality:

✔ Presentation Matters: The first few lines of a post must hook the audience immediately.
✔ Visual Appeal: Bright colors, movement, or an attention-grabbing design make a difference.
✔ Optimizing the Journey: Do people see the image first and then read the copy or vice versa?

Thinking through how people consume the content helps refine its design to maximize engagement.

Success Lawal

How important is timing in making content go viral? And how can marketers determine the best moment to publish?

For example, when TikTok was banned in the U.S., there was a surge in LinkedIn content discussing the issue. That moment felt crucial for engaging the audience.

Jess Cook

Timing is less about choosing the perfect time of day and more about relevance.

To determine whether a topic is timely, ask:

Is something happening in the world that makes this topic feel urgent?
Is there a major industry trend, legislation, or shift affecting audiences?

For example, when LinkedIn removed certain brands for violating platform rules, it would’ve been a great opportunity for other companies to create content addressing:

Why they operate differently.
What lessons companies can learn from it.

Virality is often about capturing the moment and inserting your brand into relevant conversations.

Success Lawal

What’s your take on leveraging influencers or brand advocates?

Jess Cook

Influencer-driven content is incredibly valuable, especially since social algorithms prioritize personal voices over branded accounts.

A great strategy is having multiple voices share the same core message, but in their own way.

If different influencers amplify the same content using their unique perspectives, it creates the perception that:

The brand’s message is everywhere.
The company’s influence feels larger than it is.

Success Lawal

Once a piece of content goes viral, how can brands capitalize on the momentum to drive real business results?

Jess Cook

Here are a few ways:

✔ Leverage Your Network: Get employees, partners, and investors to engage and amplify it.
✔ Extend the Buzz: If the comments generate great discussions, repurpose those insights.
✔ Replicate Success: Analyze what made the post go viral, can those characteristics be reapplied to new content?

Success Lawal

For a content marketing manager aiming to create bold, impactful content with virality in mind, what advice would you give?

Jess Cook

✔ Optimize for Shareability: Make it easy and fun to share with colleagues or friends.
✔ Personalization Matters: Can the audience relate to it directly?
✔ Check Social Preview: What does the open graph image look like when shared on Slack or LinkedIn?

Success Lawal

Can you walk us through a typical day as Head of Marketing at Vector? How do you approach content marketing for a B2B brand?

Jess Cook

At the core of everything, I aim to make people feel seen.

✔ This emotion must be embedded in every aspect, words, colors, branding, and even social media presence.
✔ Earning trust through genuine storytelling is hard for competitors to replicate, once a brand builds that trust, it’s difficult to unseat.

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