The holy grail of content creation! Everyone dreams of going viral on social media, but what happens when it finally happens to you?

Congratulations! 🎉 If your journey is anything like mine, you might have created a spontaneous, funny, or relatable reel that unexpectedly took off. Suddenly, the Instagram gods crowned you the chosen one, and your notifications are blowing up.

As of writing Going Viral on Social Media: The Ultimate Guide, my reel has 10.1 million views. You can view the Viral Instagram Reel, here.

Once the initial shock wears off, you might wonder: What’s next?

Going viral is exciting, but managing it effectively is what truly sets apart a fleeting moment from lasting success, and it most definitely isn’t all rainbows and Oprah Winfrey interviews. 😅

In Going Viral on Social Media: The Ultimate Guide, we’ll help you navigate and capitalize on your viral moment with insider tips and tricks and an information-packed interview with Public Relations Expert Kateria Owens.

In the Going Viral on Social Media: The Ultimate Guide, you’ll find:

• The Positive Side of Going Viral On Social Media
• The Negative Side of Going Viral On Social Media
• What To Do When You Go Viral On Social Media
• Bonus Tips For When You Go Viral On Social Media
• PR Expert Insights by Katerina Owens
• What Should You Do to Prepare for a Viral Moment?
• How Can You leverage a viral moment to create lasting personal or brand recognition?
• The best ways to attract media attention after going viral?
• How do you balance authenticity with the increased pressure to capitalize on virality?
• The most effective way to handle negative comments or backlash in a way that protects your brand?
• Are there ways to monetize a viral moment without alienating your audience?
• Going Viral on Social Media FAQ’s
• What Does Going Viral Mean?
• How Do You Go Viral On Social Media
• How Do You Monetize a Viral Social Media Post?
• What to Do If Your Kid is In Your Viral Post?

The Positive Side of Going Viral on Social Media

Going viral can:

• Expand Your Audience: Reach people outside your usual niche.
• Boost Engagement: Gain new followers, likes, and shares.
• Create Opportunities: Attract brands, media attention, and collaborations.
• Validate Your Content: Show you’re creating something meaningful or entertaining.

The Negative Side of Going Viral On Social Media

However, virality has its dark side as well:

• Shifting Audience: Your viral post may attract people outside your target demographic.
• Trolls and Negativity: Viral content often attracts hateful comments.
• Overwhelm: Managing an influx of followers and engagement can be stressful.
• Loss of Control: Your content may be reposted or misinterpreted.

My community was small but mighty, supportive and lovely. Going viral introduced us to the dark side of the web. The people who have accounts only to spread hate and show each other how witty they think they are by tearing others down. Most of the accounts had no profile pictures, hardly any posts and were private; another frustrating thing was that they had their settings on so that you couldn’t reply to their comments.

What To Do When You Go Viral On Social Media

Here are my top tips to navigate going viral on Social Media to make your viral moment work for your brand:

1. Introduce Yourself to Your New Audience

Chances are, your viral post attracted a lot of new followers. Take the opportunity to speak directly to them! Introduce yourself and share what your page is about.

I did this in my Instagram Stories and posted a reel outlining what my page isn’t and the vibe followers can expect from me. You can view that post here.

My goal? Repel the haters and attract my aligned community ASAP.

2. Remember Your Why
Until December 2024, my Instagram account had about 3400 followers and focused on female empowerment, finding yourself outside of motherhood, and discovering your passions and voice in your 40s.

Ground yourself and remember why you create it in the first place, who you’re trying to attract, and the impact you are trying to make.

Then, make sure that all your content remains focused and intentional.

When I went viral, I realized I was reaching lots of teenagers. When they checked out my page, I wanted it to be VERY clear that I was speaking to their moms, not them. 😂

I did that by posting this reel that addressed life over 40, view here, and this one calling in the moms who were looking for something more in their life, view it here.

3. Share the Viral Reel in Your Stories

Don’t let the buzz fade away! Share your viral post to your Stories and let your community know what’s happening. People love following viral moments and will enjoy being part of your journey. It’s also a great way to keep the engagement rolling.

4. Post More to Ride the Wave

Consistency is key after going viral. Typically, I post 2–3 times a week, but during the viral wave, I posted daily. Truthfully, the first time I posted after our viral moment was scary, I had no idea what effects going viral would have on my account.

My usual reel views before going viral ranged between 2,000–5,000. Two weeks after going viral my average for the following six reels was 10k views.

Another benefit was that my past content view climbed dramatically. The reel I posted right before the viral moment had been a dude on my account with only about 900 views and has since climbed to 7900 views.

Take advantage of the increased attention and keep showing up with fresh content that promotes your services, leads you toward your business goals and builds a relationship with your new followers.

5. Engage With Your New Audience

Comment and connect with the people engaging with your viral post. This helps keep the momentum alive and shows your new followers that you’re approachable and engaged. Building a community is more important than ever during this time.

6. Protect Your Mental Health

While riding the viral wave is important, remember to balance it with self-care. Avoid getting too caught up in the momentum to the point where you feel drained.

After going viral, there were several nights that I lost sleep thinking about the implications of what having extra eyes on my family could mean. You need to mind your mental health and make sure you don’t get run down and start taking the trolls to heart.

7. Block and Delete

Going viral brings both love and, unfortunately, hate. My Reel featured a lighthearted moment between my daughter and me, yet internet trolls seemed to take great joy in criticizing our appearances. The level of negativity was shocking. I blocked and deleted hundreds of accounts.

Protect your peace, you don’t owe anyone your time or emotional energy.

The good news is that I’ve deleted a good chunk of the unhealed people in the world, so may be this is a good cleansing exercise. 😅

8. Turn Off Comments (If Needed)

You’re in control of your page. If the comments become overwhelming, remember you can turn them off anytime. You can even toggle them off temporarily when you’re unavailable to manage them and back on when you’re ready to engage. This simple feature can save you a lot of stress.

9. Turn Off Downloading (If Needed)

You can also turn off the option for others to download your video by going into Reel’s settings, then manage, then “turn off downloading.”

Bonus Tips For When You Go Viral On Social Media

Reassess Your Content Goals

A viral moment can clarify what resonates with your audience. Use this insight to plan future content.

Stay Authentic

It’s tempting to chase trends after going viral, but staying true to yourself is what brought you here in the first place.

Analyze Your Analytics

Look at what worked for your viral post—timing, hashtags, tone—and see how you can replicate those elements in future content. Use Instagram Insights to understand your audience demographics and engagement patterns.

PR Expert Insights by Katerina Owens

I’ve contacted PR expert Katerina Owens to help you maximize your viral moment.

Named a Top Brand Expert by MSN.com, Katrina Owens is the Founder of Knockout Directive and a Brand & Publicity Expert empowering passionate personal brands with the magic of public relations. 

Katrina helps entrepreneurs feel FAMOUS for their work by discovering their unique position in the marketplace, curating a distinct brand presence, and amplifying their business using modern-day PR tactics. Her clients have been featured in Vogue, the New York Times, and podcasts worldwide.

Interview with Katerina Owens of Knockout Directive

What Should You Do to Prepare for a Viral Moment?

“The best thing anyone can do is start building their personal brand right now. Given this isn’t an asset you can create overnight, operating under the assumption that one day you will have a viral moment or an opportunity that puts you in front of a large audience, you’ll be well-prepared if you’ve already laid the groundwork.” 

Also, ensure you set up professional brand assets like a website and optimize your social media profiles.

How Can You leverage a viral moment to create lasting personal or brand recognition?

“If you’re in the midst of the viral, attention-grabbing moment and it’s too late to turn back the clock, I suggest finding as much clarity around what you want to be known for as possible. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help with this process: 

• What is the #1 thing I want to help people with?
• What is the #1 thing I want to sell? 
• What is my mission and/or purpose? 

Once you know what you want this new audience to know you for, begin creating content that supports this.

Oftentimes, building the audience for these things is the biggest battle – but since that’s not your current issue, really lean into speaking to your newfound audience and building recognition for the one, very special thing you do or stand for.”

The best ways to attract media attention after going viral?

“Depending on the level of virality you’re experiencing, you may find that news outlets start reaching out to you. To make receiving these opportunities as easy as possible – ensure your contact information is easy to find on your website or social media profiles.” 

“You also have an amazing opportunity to pitch your local news networks if you don’t find opportunities flowing. In this case, clearly understanding this “thing” you want to be known for will help you craft your pitch. You’ll want to focus on pitching lifestyle journalists, as they will be most likely to cover your story.”

How do you balance authenticity with the increased pressure to capitalize on virality?

“It’s important to remember that going viral is a fleeting moment, so maintaining your authenticity and sense of self is crucial for maintaining the new audience members you might have. Now is your opportunity to continue to foster a connection with these people, just as you always have on social media.

Don’t focus on devising new ways to entertain or communicate with these new audience members—your viral moment is what got you this far, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel or experiment with something new. Continue to create content that feels aligned with you, and the audience that wants to stick around will.”

The most effective way to handle negative comments or backlash in a way that protects your brand?

“Unfortunately, negative comments are the downside of becoming a public figure. The internet is a place where people feel entitled to say whatever they want without recourse, so it’s your duty to protect yourself and your mental health. I strongly encourage anyone experiencing this to take advantage of the protections in place on social media – limiting comments, inbox filters, muting words – these are all features that Instagram puts in place to help you, so I strongly suggest taking advantage of them.” 

“It’s also really important to remember that these comments are not a reflection of your brand. While the words can certainly hurt, they do not reflect you or your work, and they say far more about the commenter than they do about you.

With that said, having a tidy online presence before your viral moment can help ensure that there aren’t opportunities for further damage to your brand. Taking care to make sure that you don’t have previous posts that may have been discriminatory or mean floating around online (and honestly, don’t post that kind of stuff in the first place) will help keep your reputation polished during moments of widespread attention.”

Are there ways to monetize a viral moment without alienating your audience?

“This truly varies based on the situation – what exactly was the viral moment? Did it involve a product or brand? How widespread was the virality?” 

“That’s why building your personal brand in advance of these moments is so powerful. If you have an existing presence in place, these moments will help you increase your partnership rates, appeal to new brands and open the door for more opportunities. But without this foundation established, it will be very challenging to start from scratch in the moment as it won’t seem authentic to your audience.”

“When we see creators, influencers or public figures sign bigger and better brand deals after attention-grabbing moments, we don’t see this as inauthenticity because their existing audience is already accustomed to seeing this type of content from them.

That’s why Big Brand Energy is so important – treating your brand like you’ve already achieved all of those opportunities you’re dreaming of – because once you do start receiving them, it will seem totally natural and unforced.”

To learn more about Katerina Owens, visit www.knockoutdirective.com

Going Viral on Social Media FAQs

The Going Viral on Social Media Guide would not be complete withoutut a FAQ section. So here are the most asked questions I’ve received since going viral on Instagram.

How Do You Go Viral On Social Media

The key to going viral on social media is having something incredibly funny, relatable, triggering, or inspiring that others want to share and comment on. Have a great hook and lots of visual interest to keep the brain busy, and you’ll be laughing to viral heaven—or are you?

Our reel went viral because it had lots of visual interest: a woman who looked excited but a little nervous in an interesting outfit. It showed the inside of our home and had a great hook: “POV—A mom who likes to have fun with fashion but…”

The next scene cuts to my daughter in her PJs, shockingly reacting to my outfit.

The text says, “You have a teenage daughter.” #humbling

For some people, it was relatable. For some, it raised parenting issues of respect and appropriate interactions between a mother and a child.

We hit the humour, relatability, and triggering mark. Also, because many people couldn’t understand what my daughter said, they had to rewatch the video several times.

Listen, I’d love to tell you I’m a viral video-making mastermind, but the truth is I had NO idea this is the one that would get legs and run!

I create because I love creating. I love making videos and capturing moments, and I knew mothers of teens would understand this experience.

My goal was not to go viral but to connect with other mothers who shared this feeling.

How Do You Monetize a Viral Social Media Post?

There are several ways to monetize a viral moment if you are smart.

1. Affiliate Marketing

If you love and use products, share them! Add affiliate links in your bio or captions, and earn a little something every time someone buys through your link.

My viral video included several small businesses, which was thrilling for me because I love empowering other women in business.

I was wearing a vest by Sophia Grace, a local Canadian women’s wear designer.

A lace top by my friend’s company, Koquetta Accessories, had tagged both companies in my caption. Rosa immediately told me her Shopify page received extra clicks and asked if we could set up a discount code and an affiliate link.

You can purchase the lace top from the viral video.

2. Brand Collabs

A viral reel is like a billboard saying, “Hey, I know how to get attention!” Use it to pitch yourself to brands for partnerships. You can feature their products in future content and get paid for it.

3. Sell Your Stuff

Have a product or service? Showcase it in your reel! Whether you offer handmade jewelry, coaching sessions, or digital downloads, a viral reel can drive people to your shop or website.

4. Promote Your Services

If you offer consulting, workshops, or content creation, make sure your reel tells people how to work with you. Don’t be shy—tell them what you offer!

5. License Your Content

If your reel is super shareable (think funny, heartfelt, or highly creative), you can sell the rights to brands or media outlets who want to use it.

6. Crowdfunding or Donations

If your reel speaks to people, you can ask them to support you! Platforms like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee let your audience contribute to your creative journey.

7. Grow Other Platforms

Use that reel to point people to your blog, YouTube channel, or podcast—primarily if those platforms are monetized. A viral moment can be the perfect push to grow your community elsewhere.

8. Create Custom Content for Others

You’ve clearly got a knack for this! Offer to create custom reels for brands, businesses, or other creators. Show them you know how to make content that pops.

9. Digital Products

Think eBooks, guides, or templates. If your reel solves a problem or inspires people, sell a product that helps them explore that topic further.

10. Lead Generation

A viral reel is an incredible way to grow your email list. Offer a freebie, like a downloadable guide or a discount, in exchange for people signing up.

11. Promote an Event

Hosting a workshop, webinar, or social? Use your reel to hype it up! Offer early bird deals or special perks for attendees who saw your reel.

12. Launch Merch

If your reel has a catchy phrase or a strong vibe, turn it into Merch! Think of t-shirts, mugs, or stickers that your audience will love.

The best way to monetize is to stay true to yourself and your brand. Lean into what feels natural and fun—because when you enjoy the process, your audience will, too! 💫

What to Do If Your Kid is In Your Viral Post?

This will be different for every family. My daughter was 13 when this post went viral. So, at first, we had a good laugh over people sharing their funny stories of families roasting their outfits. As more trolls commented on the post, I worked hard to delete and block them.

We also talked about how some people enjoy spreading hate and feel brave because they hide behind their screens and set up their accounts so no one can see or write back to them.

They are simply unhappy bullies who say nasty things to make themselves feel witty and ease some of their pain. We reminded her that happy people don’t treat others this way.

We often asked her how she felt about the reel and kept lines of communication open between my husband, me, and our daughter.

The Viral Experience

Going viral on social media is a whirlwind—exciting, overwhelming, and full of potential. By staying grounded, protecting your peace, and leveraging the moment strategically, you can turn fleeting virality into meaningful growth for your brand.

Have you gone viral? Share your story and tips in the comments below!

xx
C

You may also enjoy: 13 Ways An Online Community Empowers Women Female Entrepreneurs

About the Author

Christine Coughlin is a content creator and the founder of YVR Creatives, an inclusive community dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs to share their messages and grow their businesses.

She helps women amplify their voices through in-person events, VIP content creation days and speaker spotlights, guiding them to feel confident on camera and create impactful content.

Christine also curates inspiring in-person events, including monthly masterminds, social events, and lunch-and-learns, offering opportunities for women to network, share knowledge, and connect within a supportive community.

Christine lives in the suburbs of Vancouver with her husband, three kids, and one million plant babies. A self-proclaimed personal development junkie, she finds peace and inspiration in nature, whether hiking through the woods or spending time on the water.