Harvard Business Review has an insightful article on why videos go viral.
Unruly, a marketing technology company, offers an answer. Its analysis of some 430 billion video views and 100,000 consumer data points reveals the two most powerful drivers of viral success: psychological response (how the content makes you feel) and social motivation (why you want to share it).
The New York Times also wrote about this last year in Why That Video Went Viral.
“People share things they have strong emotional reactions to, especially strong positive reactions,” Dr. Guadagno said.
Social motivation has also been driven by ego.
But pressing the share button can also be driven by ego. Constructing and refining an online persona has become a daily task for many, experts say; posting a link that evokes laughter or gasps can confer status on the sharer.