How to go viral in a dead internet

The internet isn’t short on content, but it is short on novelty.

By the time most people publish, their “hot take” or "breaking news" has been posted, reposted, summarised, and rehashed into the algorithmic void.

That’s why most content fails — even the expensive stuff (more on that later).

In this article, we share the peer-reviewed component for generating viral content and 2 tools to make and measure viral content.

Why is it hard to go viral?

In 2025, marketers face three linked problems:

• Content is expensive to make — both in cash and time.
• Viral hits are rare — most posts barely dent engagement, and virality is hard to predict.
• Freshness windows are short — even great ideas go stale in days, sometimes hours. For a seemingly immutable reason, there is something special about being first (even though we might cringe at the comment sections on recently posted youtube videos).

The brutal economics

For written content alone*:

• $150–$600 for a basic blog post.
• $600–$1,200 for an in-depth guide.
• $5,000+ for expert-level or high-trust pieces.

(Source)

Even with AI and other workflow tools, you still pay in hours. The average article takes 3 hours, 48 minutes to make, and high-performing ones take 6+ hours. Most of that time is spent on research, not writing.

(Source)

*Interestingly, we learnt from user interviews that experts are often paid for their name and record of content creation. Established writers can command a higher price for their tastes. However, it is a universal challenge to produce engaging content which wins viewership.

Timing kills content

Two people can publish the same insight. The one who’s first and relevant to their audience wins.

Our Thesis: Fresh + Relevant = Viral

• Fresh means your audience hasn’t seen it yet.
• Relevant means they care enough to share it.

Miss freshness, and you’re late. Miss relevance, and you’re ignored.

We believe that both freshness and relevance are major coefficients of virality.

Made to measure

How do we measure inputs to virality? Well, some folks have tried.

A comprehensive review, Two decades of viral marketing landscape (2025), identifies freshness — defined as temporal proximity to current trends — as a core driver of viral success. While much research focuses on emotional triggers or social mechanics, this study confirms that content tied to what’s new has a significantly higher probability of being shared.
(Source)

Similarly, the SSRN paper What Drives Virality (Sharing, Spread) of Online Digital Content? empirically finds that freshness fuels momentum. Sharing extends exposure into new networks, but the content’s ability to spread depends heavily on its freshness, emotional resonance, and relevance to audience sentiment at the moment of posting — not just its quality.
(Source)

The academic consensus is clear. Freshness is not just “nice to have”. In fact, it’s measurable, and it moves the needle on virality.

"Fresh ice please, none of that frozen stuff"

The results of these studies are hard to ignore, but given the churn of today's content ecosystem, it is easy for us to overlook the relationship between freshness and impact.

How I think about it

Content is a bit like ice. Water and ice are the same thing, but timing changes the experience. Serve ice straight from the tray, and it’s crisp, cold, and memorable. Leave it sitting out and it loses its edge. Fresh ideas work the same way.

Why should I care?

Virality can mean a lot to a lot of people. To some, achieving it can mean traction, growth, promotion, success. Imagine what accomplishments as fresh as your content could mean for your next steps.

What could a perfect launch, an engaged audience, or informed subscribers mean to you?

Breaking the Bottleneck

If you want to improve your odds, you need to solve two problems before you start writing.

Will my idea resonate?
→ Tools like Artificial Societies (really one of a kind) let you test headlines, hooks, and content angles against AI-simulated audiences before you post to your audience — cutting wasted spend and focusing on what’s most likely to land. We are most excited about this one because we can model and measure Flux' impact on virality.

Credit: Artificial Societies

Am I first to the story?
→ This is where Flux comes in. We index the live web and surface fresh, relevant results via our Search API, giving marketers and content creators an edge in spotting stories, trends, and signals while they’re still new. We might not cover the entire web (yet ;)) but we can already surface millions of hot-off-the-mill results per hour, delivered via an intuitive search.

When you combine early discovery with fast validation, you’re not guessing — instead you’re targeting viral potential before you commit time and money.

If this hits home, we suggest you sign up to beta (or get in touch) to see how we can help drive your viral content creation.

The New Playbook for Virality

Discover early — Monitor emerging topics before they reach the mainstream with tools like Flux Search.

Validate fast — Use tools like Artificial Societies to pressure-test ideas before investing in them.

Publish inside the freshness window — Make the dynamic nature of today's web an asset and not a liability.

Looking for a constant in the change?

If we made you think, nod in agreement, or curse your screen - we want to hear.

♾️ Let's chat!

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