New: 📱 Feed Study #2

Hey there,

I stumbled upon a marketing concept recently that I didn’t even know had a name—and it turns out, I’ve been pulling it off all along.

It’s called Opportunistic Virality.

This strategy is all about capitalizing on the moment to create viral content. Sometimes it’s planned, other times it’s a happy accident. But the common ingredients include:

Timing, Creativity, Risk-taking, A fast approval process, and a dedicated creative team.

For me, it was pure accident.

I’m a self-taught marketer. I didn’t learn this stuff sitting in a classroom; most of it comes from intuition or learning by doing. So when I discovered I had unknowingly been using opportunistic virality, it all started to make sense.

Here’s how it went down:

At my current company, we’ve kinda hacked creating viral “Story Posts”—the long-form content we share about successful founders to inspire others. Our hit rate? 30% of our Story Posts go viral.

Here’s what that looks like:

- 1 post hit 50k+ views
- 2 posts hit 100k+ views
- 7 posts landed under 15k views
- And 70% of them scored 50+ likes

Now, this wasn’t just luck.

Before we create any Story Post, I always send out "feelers"—short posts or teasers to gauge the audience's reaction to the founder’s story. It's like testing the waters before jumping in.

Here’s a feeler we sent out:

And here’s how the full post performed:

By testing the idea first, we turn small moments into big viral wins for the brand. It’s all about Idea Validation.

How You Can Do It Too

You might not always know if a post or idea will go viral, but you can predict its potential. The trick? Test small, post big.

Before committing to a full-length thread or long-form post, pre-test your idea with your audience. Tiny posts, polls, or quick engagement checks can give you a sense of whether the concept has legs.

For example, I keep a Notion page called "Viral Moments." It’s my go-to vault of posts, events, strategies, and trends that we could tap into for viral potential. Every time we create a Story Post, I look back at these moments to guide our content and increase our chances of hitting those big numbers.

But there’s more to it than that.

To truly capitalize on Opportunistic Virality, you need to consider these key factors:

1. Audience Buy-In – Are they invested in the topic, founder, or brand you’re talking about?

2. Idea – Is your idea compelling? Will it grab attention?

3. Hook – Does your opening line stop the scroll? Does it promise value or a benefit?

4. Formatting – Does your post flow? Is it easy to read and does it deliver on what the hook promised?

Keeping these elements in check will help improve your chances of hitting viral moments when the opportunity strikes.

So, if you’re ready to start making noise in your industry, take a page from my book: Test your ideas, time your moments, and never stop experimenting.