Why Some Winning Products Go Viral: The Science Behind It

Have you ever had that moment when a product suddenly appears everywhere—on your feed, at your local store, and even in your friend’s hand?

You’re probably thinking, “How did that happen?” Well, there’s a science behind viral growth.

Some products hit the sweet spot, and before you know it, they’re everywhere. It’s a perfect storm of timing, appeal, and strategy that drives winning product virality.

Curious about how it all works? Let’s dive in.

What is Winning Product Virality?

Winning product virality is when a product spreads fast through word-of-mouth and social sharing.

It happens when people genuinely love a product and can’t wait to share it with others.

Product virality is driven by emotional connection, social currency, and user-generated content.

Done right, it creates a viral loop that constantly attracts new customers and drives exponential growth.

The Science Behind Winning Product Virality

When a product goes viral, it’s rarely by accident. Certain patterns and triggers influence how people discover, share, and talk about products. The most interesting of these are:

Social Validation

One of the big reasons products go viral is something called social validation. It’s simple: people are likelier to buy or share something when they see others doing it too.

Take Glossier, for example. The beauty brand requests its customers to share photos and videos of themselves using their products on social media.

As more people post their experiences, it creates a snowball effect. Others want in, drawn by the real, authentic feedback and the social validation they saw.

Influencer Impact

Influencers have a massive impact on viral growth. When an influencer promotes a product, their followers are likely to follow suit.

For instance, beauty influencers on YouTube have been key in making certain skincare lines go viral.

Their reach among their target audience leads to a boost in sales and widespread visibility across social media platforms.

Emotional Connection

A product becomes viral when it creates an emotional connection with its audience. When people feel emotionally tied to a brand, they’re more likely to share it.

Take Warby Parker, for example. Their “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program struck a chord with customers who wanted to do good while buying glasses.

The brand turned every purchase into a feel-good experience. Customers felt like they were part of something bigger, and that emotional pull encouraged them to spread the word.

Scarcity and Exclusivity

Scarcity is a powerful driver for creating demand. When a product is limited or exclusive, it triggers FOMO (fear of missing out), compelling people to act quickly.

A good example is limited-edition sneakers, which people rush to buy before they’re sold out.

This strategy not only drives sales but also fuels viral product excitement and encourages sharing among the target audience.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is one of those powerful things that people don’t even realize is at play. Simply put, when someone gets something of value, they feel the need to give back. This is a key reason products go viral. Brands use this all the time.

Take TOMS Shoes, for example. Their “one for one” model—buy a pair, and they give a pair to someone in need—made customers feel good about their purchase. And that feeling encouraged them to share the brand with others, creating a ripple effect of positive word-of-mouth.

It’s this sense of obligation to give back that drives virality for certain products in the ecommerce space.

Cognitive Fluency

Cognitive fluency is all about how easy something is to understand. If it’s simple to get, it’s more likely to spread because people don’t have to put in too much effort to figure it out.

Take a product like the Instant Pot. It’s just a multi-use pressure cooker, but it’s simple. You know exactly what it does, and you don’t need to be a cooking expert to use it. The instructions are straightforward, and the product itself does the hard work.

When something like this clicks with people, it becomes easy for them to share it. They can tell their friends, “Hey, this thing makes cooking so much easier!” And because it’s simple, it spreads quickly.

Social Currency

Social currency is a powerful psychological driver that explains why people share certain products with others. The idea is that when people discover and share interesting products, they gain social value among their peers.

Winning products naturally give users something to show off or discuss. These items have unique features, stories, or qualities that make people want to talk about them.

For example, when Away Luggage first launched, early customers became natural brand advocates because the suitcases pioneered innovative features that weren’t common in hardshell luggage at the time. Sharing about features like integrated TSA locks, built-in compression systems, and roll-up laundry bags made customers appear knowledgeable and helpful to their travel-savvy friends.

Timing and Trends

Timing is everything when it comes to virality. Products that tap into cultural moments or trends have a higher chance of taking off.

For instance, face masks became a viral product during the pandemic because they aligned with a global need.

When a product hits at the right time, it resonates deeply, creating a surge in visibility and demand.

Viral Loop

A viral loop is the feedback cycle that happens when your product gains traction and is shared by more and more people, creating exponential growth. It’s the self-sustaining engine that drives viral success.

TikTok is a prime example of how a viral loop works. When a product catches fire on TikTok, the platform’s algorithm continues to promote that content to even more people, causing the product to gain more traction. Users then create more content about the product, feeding the loop, and the product becomes an unavoidable part of the trend.

Convenience

Convenience plays a major role in driving product virality. When a product saves time or makes everyday tasks easier, it often spreads quickly because people are always looking for ways to simplify their lives.

Take the Nori Press, for example. This product is designed to make ironing easier and faster. Instead of spending a long time ironing clothes, you can achieve the same results in less time, thanks to its efficient design.

Simple solutions like this are incredibly shareable. People love a good time-saving hack, and when something makes life easier, they can’t wait to pass it on to others.

How to Find Winning Products Quickly and Easily

Now that you understand the science behind why certain products succeed, let’s go over how you can find these winning products using Sell the Trend (not to brag, but it’s honestly one of the best tools out there for spotting high-potential products).

First, create an account on Sell the Trend. It’s simple and only takes a few minutes.

Once you’re in, you can start by typing a keyword related to a product you’re interested in, like “fitness gear,” into the search box.

You’ll get a list of trending products with detailed data on their performance, including sales numbers, social media buzz, and customer interest.

Look for products that have a high engagement rate and strong sales numbers. These are usually the ones that have the potential for success.

You can also filter the results to focus on the high-profit products or those with a growing trend.

Once you’ve picked a product, you can track its performance and stay updated on how it’s doing.

Sell the Trend gives you all the data you need to make informed decisions about which products to choose.

By using these insights, you’ll be able to focus on products with the most potential and avoid wasting time on ones that might not perform as well.

How to Check The Viral Potential Potential of a Winning Product

Now that you’ve identified a product with potential, it’s important to take the right steps to validate whether it can go viral.

1. Assess Social Media Buzz

One of the easiest ways to check for virality is to see how much buzz a product is generating on social media. Look at platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest for posts related to your product. Are people talking about it? Are there viral challenges, trends, or hashtags associated with the product? Use tools like Instagram’s Explore page or TikTok’s “For You” feed to gauge how much attention a product is getting.

If you see high engagement (shares, comments, likes), that’s a good indicator that the product is gaining traction. This buzz is a powerful sign that the product has the potential to go viral and capture the interest of new users.

2 Run a Pre-launch Campaign

Another effective way to check for virality before selling is to run a pre-launch campaign.

Create a landing page or a social media campaign that introduces the product and gauges interest. Use tools like Google Forms or social media polls to collect feedback. If you see high engagement and excitement from potential customers, this can indicate that the product has viral potential.

3. Test with Micro-Influencers

While you may not have launched the product yet, you can reach out to micro-influencers in your niche and ask for their feedback or participation in an exclusive pre-launch. This can give you an indication of how well your product will be received once it’s available to the general public.

If these micro-influencers show excitement about the product and share it with their audiences, it can create a ripple effect and generate initial buzz. The response from existing users (even if they’re just influencers at this point) can be a strong indicator of the product’s viral potential.

4 Gauge Interest Through Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo are fantastic for testing the waters with a product. These platforms are filled with early adopters looking to try out new ideas. If your product concept resonates with them, you’ll see a high number of backers, social shares, and comments.

Even if you haven’t started selling yet, these early financial and emotional investments give you strong signals that your product has the potential to gain traction and go viral. The more people are willing to back you financially, the more likely they are to share it with others.

5. Create a Shareable, Buzz-Worthy Teaser

Before you even begin selling, creating a shareable teaser—like a funny video or compelling story—can help generate buzz and measure how much virality your product has the potential to create. Share these teasers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. If people are sharing your teaser organically, that’s a strong sign that your product has viral appeal.

You can incorporate trends or challenges that already have momentum, and if your teaser taps into these existing cultural moments, it will give you a head start on achieving virality even before your start selling.

How to Make Your Product Go Viral

Once you’ve identified a product with viral potential, you can take the following steps to help it gain traction.

Leverage Referral Marketing

One of the best ways to get your product in front of more people is through referral marketing.

You can offer existing users incentives to invite their friends and family to try your product. This creates a viral loop, where the product’s success snowballs as more and more users invite others.

Make sure your referral program is easy to use and gives rewards that are valuable enough to motivate users to share.

Maximize Viral Marketing Through Video Content

Video content tends to perform better on social media and is more likely to be shared by users. Create short, engaging videos that showcase the product’s value, how it works, and its benefits.

Make the videos fun, relatable, and easy to share. Users will love to spread the word, and your viral coefficient will increase as the videos are shared across platforms.

Pro tip: Use our video ads creator tool to speed up the process of creating videos for your viral marketing campaigns.

Optimize for Early Adopters

Before going all-in, find early adopters who are enthusiastic about your product. These individuals can act as ambassadors for your brand, spreading the word to their networks.

Offer them exclusive access or discounts for their feedback and social media posts. Early adopters will help you build momentum and increase the likelihood that the product will go viral.

Utilize Social Proof

Displaying customer reviews and testimonials helps solidify trust with your target market. This creates social proof, which encourages new users to try your product. The more reviews and positive feedback your product receives, the more likely it is to spread through word-of-mouth, significantly increasing your chances of achieving product virality.

Offer Limited-Time Promotions

Limited-time offers and exclusive promotions can create a sense of urgency, pushing existing users to share your product with their friends and family. Users who feel they’re getting a deal or a limited edition item are more likely to spread the word to others. This helps grow your user base rapidly and can increase your viral coefficient by encouraging a burst of activity and word-of-mouth referrals.

Ready to Start Dropshipping Winning Products?

Now that you know the science behind viral products and the steps to promote them effectively, it’s time to take action.

If you don’t have a store yet, SellShop makes it easy to create a stunning, high-converting online store and dropship winning products immediately.

With Sell The Trend’s tools, you can find trending products, optimize your marketing, and grow your user base—giving your product the best chance at viral success. Let’s get started!

Winning Product Virality FAQs

What is product virality?

Product virality happens when users naturally share and recommend a product to others, creating rapid growth through word-of-mouth. Think of how WhatsApp spread as friends invited friends to join.

What makes a product a winning product?

A winning product solves a clear problem, generates consistent sales, and maintains good profit margins. It should be unique enough to stand out but reasonably priced for customers to buy without hesitation.

How do you measure product virality?

Product virality is measured using the viral coefficient (k-factor). You multiply your starting customers by how many new users each existing customer brings in during a specific period. The result gives you a measure of product virality.

How do you achieve virality?

Create something remarkable that solves a real problem and makes sharing natural. Make it easy for users to invite others, and ensure the product delivers clear value that users want to discuss.