This content outlines a psychological framework for creating engaging and viral social media content by focusing on effective scripting, storytelling, and simple, digestible packaging, emphasizing that audience comprehension and emotional connection drive virality, not just algorithms.
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In this video, I'm going to show you the
exact scripting and storytelling
framework that's helping my friend Ryan
grow 500 followers every single day on
Instagram, which is about 100,000
followers in 6 months. And the crazy
part, when we were planning this new
content strategy out and he wasn't
posting, he wasn't gaining any followers
at all. In fact, he was losing followers
just 2 weeks ago. Anyone can go viral on
social media in any niche. But you're
going to need to understand how to
package your ideas into engaging
stories, simple scripts, and viral
hooks. and I'm going to share all of the
fundamental concepts that are based on
real psychology that will allow you to
package your ideas and finally create
your first viral video. I'm going to cut
through all of the noise that most
people talk about when they give you
social media advice. I'm going to tell
you exactly what you need to know about
creating your own content. So then by
the end of this video, you'll have an
easy, fun, and simple way to start
creating content. And at one point, I
never thought my own Instagram account
would go viral either. I was awkward. I
didn't know how to speak to the camera.
I was shy. And to be honest, I just
didn't have any confidence that
[clears throat] my videos with my face
and my voice would actually go viral. I
never thought someone would actually
want to listen to what I had to say. But
once I made my own viral talking head
video, which gained me 50,000 followers
from just one video, and then that ended
up totaling about 100,000 followers in
just 3 months, which was absolutely
insane, and it shattered any sort of
limiting beliefs I had with content. So,
I really do mean it when I say anyone
can go viral in any niche. I've seen it
with myself. I've seen it with my
friends. And you can do this all without
running ads, without buying followers,
without tricking the algorithm, without
any viral luck, and without spending
hours on scripting videos just for it to
feel inauthentic and robotic. I would
suggest for anyone to only spend a
maximum of 1 hour a day on content. If
you have the right system, this is
plenty of time to start creating
content. And if you don't know who I am
yet, my name is Ethan. I'm a
photographer turned content creator and
over the past couple years I've grown
hundreds of thousands of followers
across different niches and I've had
many videos reach millions of views and
this was starting from zero. It doesn't
matter what you look like. It doesn't
matter what you sound like. It doesn't
matter if you're shy or introverted. It
doesn't matter how good your camera is.
Anyone can go viral. It's all about the
packaging delivery and the emotion you
can provoke in your content. And we can
apply this emotion evoking principle
across business content, lifestyle
content, fitness content, valuebased
content. And then of course the
traditional entertainment styles of
content as well, like comedy, music,
motivational niches, and anything else
you can really find on the internet.
Because fundamentally, we're just
looking at how people's brains react
when they're consuming content and
allowing our piece of content to look
appealing. So then we can get more
attention for our valuable content
rather than them just scrolling to more
brain rot or random AI memes and slop.
So it's quite literally a disservice to
people if you don't package your content
in a way that's going to be digestible
for people to watch. So before we get
into the first main point, let's talk
about a few blind spots that you may be
having with your own content so you can
develop your taste as a creator, which
is what all of the best creators have
developed over a few years. But I'll
just give this to you in a few minutes
so we can get you up to speed. Blind
spot number one is that we need to take
accountability for how our content is
performing. So the hard truth and the
industry secret is that the algorithm
doesn't determine who goes viral. People
determine who goes viral. When people
are scrolling, their brain is making
split-second decisions. You have less
than 1 second to stop them. You have to
win people over, but you can still be
authentic. I'm still being exactly how I
am in real life. I'm just packaging my
ideas in a way that's easy for you to
understand and follow along with this
video. Just as if I was publishing an
essay or a newsletter, people have to
understand what I'm saying and why what
I'm saying is important. Why should they
care? So that first hook needs to also
be really important to stop the scroll.
Then the information also needs to be
good enough. And this is where I can
kind of prove to you that it's not
actually the algorithm determining how
many views your video gets. Imagine if
this YouTube video you're watching right
now or the Instagram video I just posted
got 10 shares out of the 20 views that
it received and each of those 10 people
posted on their story and sent it to a
friend, then naturally that's going to
multiply the amount of views the video
is going to get. And then if those
people who saw the video that was shared
also decided to share the video, now I
might have 100 shares and then a,000
shares. And then all of a sudden the
video has 10,000 shares and 100,000
people saw the video. This is not the
algorithm pushing it to people. This is
literally other people recognizing good
content being hooked in by the topic,
the ideas or the format and find value
in the video that they want to share. So
we don't need the algorithm to be
pushing our content. good content will
be shared and seen and recognized, which
is why we need to make good content,
which is what we're going to get into.
So, when you're starting out, we want to
make sure our scripts and and content
packaging is very tight. And once we
develop that rapport, once we give the
viewer and audience some value, then we
can slow it down a little bit and take
our time to explain concepts, to get a
little bit more personal or to tell more
stories. So, those are the fundamentals
of why this information that I'm about
to tell you works. It all comes back
down to psychology, which is just human
behavior, how we act, what we like, and
then the actual creative, the actual
packaging of your content, because it
needs to be wellreceived, hook people
in, and creating content that's easy for
people to enjoy and share and talk
about. So, then, how do we actually do
this if the creative is the only thing
that matters? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Let's get into how to write a hook using
this three-part framework. And then
we'll get into how to structure a story
to keep natural tension and keep people
engaged throughout the video after you
hook them, which is going to be super
important. And then number three, we'll
get into how to make your content
simple, digestible, and making sure your
audience actually understands what
you're saying. This is the most
important tip out of all of them because
if people don't understand your content
or understand your hook, then nothing
else matters. So, make sure you wait
until 3 so then you have a full
understanding of how to package your
ideas into viral formats. So, the exact
framework that I use and all of your
other favorite creators use is something
along these lines. I call this one
specifically the three C's framework,
which the first sentence starts off with
a cliffhanger, which is a polarizing
hook. Something that's going to stop the
viewer in their track and have to know
what the next sentence is. The second
sentence is going to be credibility,
which is the importance of why the
information that you're about to tell
them is valuable. Why is the topic of
this video relevant to them? Why should
they listen? And number three,
completion, which is the payoff of the
video. We don't want to waste any more
time in the video. Once we have hooked
them in through the cliffhanger, then
we've told them why it's important and
why it's correct with the credibility
statement. Then we go into completion,
which is the payoff, and start giving
them value. And we want to have a high
value per second when we're creating
content so people trust us and they know
they're not wasting their time when they
watch our content. And that first
polarizing statement is where you
typically see creators talk a lot about
of like the main hook. You just want to
make this bold, contrarian, or
curiosityinducing. I also like to think
of it as emotion-provoking as well. This
is not the time to play it safe or be
casual or be slow. We want to use
polarizing statements. So, here are a
few examples. Never do X. Most people
fail because they miss this one thing.
The number one mistake about here's how
my friend Ryan is growing 500 followers
every single day. So, we want to be
using key words and strong words. Stuff
like never, always, most important,
biggest mistake, crazy, secret. And you
can see those in my viral hook grading
guide, which I've collected a whole
bunch of viral hooks that are proven
that I've stolen from other viral
videos. Just that first line, and then
you can fill in the blank with your own
topics and ideas. Link is going to be in
the description if you want to check
that out. The human brain also tends to
gravitate towards negatively positioned
hooks. We tend to like the gossip and
drama of a negative hook. So, never do
this. This is the worst thing you can
do. it kind of creates this pain and
curiosity of what's something I should
be avoiding. So that's also why you see
a lot of negative hooks naturally do
better because again our brain kind of
gets more curious about the negative
hooks. Then element number two is the
credibility statement. Immediately after
that bold claim, you need to prove why
you're worth listening to. This is where
you can drop your results, show some
experience, or show the proof of where
you got this information to begin with.
You can use specific numbers, time
frames, methods, sources, your own
personal stories or experiences, your
client's stories or experiences,
whatever makes sense for your own
credibility statement. You can be pretty
creative with this and have some fun.
You don't always have to make it so
salesy and so numberbased if you don't
want to be, especially if that doesn't
relate back to your own niche. It's also
worth noting here that some creators use
visual credibility or their own brand to
then have a implied credibility
statement. So if there was like a jacked
fitness guy teaching you how to do
biceps and in the video he has really
nice biceps. Um that is like a visual
credibility statement. So he doesn't
really need to say so you can get biceps
like these. It's almost implied in the
video because he's already jacked. And
then the last one is completion which is
the payoff. This is where I just add one
more sentence to make it very clear to
the audience that we're getting into the
video. I'd say like that transitional
sentence to really time pace the video
so they watch all the way through and
give a promise that the value is coming
right away that I'm not wasting their
time. So some transitional phrases that
I see a lot on Instagram or that I use
uh is so this is exactly how to do it. I
say this is exactly how as in it's easy.
I'm not leaving out any fluff and it's a
step-by-step guide. Or you could say
something like the first part is blank.
Or you could say, and I'm going to break
this down exactly in the next 2 minutes.
Just something like that where you're
making it clear and reminding the
audience that we're getting into the
meat of the video. So that is the first
hook of the video on Instagram. This is
going to be your first 10 seconds of the
video. It's literally one line, two
line, and three lines all said pretty
quickly. So then this brings us to the
story structure and how we can actually
deliver our message in content. This is
going to make sure people keep watching
all the way through. Amazing stories
keep natural tension throughout the
whole story. So you never know what's
coming next. And in value based content,
because we're not telling a story, we
can use similar frameworks that still
work by just creating emphasis on points
and making sure that the audience or the
viewer needs to understand the big
picture of things to make it all make
sense or to make sure that they get the
most value possible. And the method that
I've been using over the past couple
years is the ABT method, the and but
therefore method. This was popularized
by the creators of South Park and they
use this method all of the time. But it
was actually invented by someone called
Randy Olsen who was also another
filmmaker storyteller. But essentially
the ABT method, the end but therefore
method is a simple framework to tell
stories to create and keep tension in
your story. It's something that our
brain really finds interesting. And we
can look at a couple different ways that
it's been used over time. For example,
we could tell the story of the three
little pigs using this method. Three
little pigs built their houses and each
chose different materials, but a big bad
wolf came and blew down the straw and
stick houses. Therefore, the pigs ran
into the brick house to stay safe. And I
find when I'm personally using this
method, I just really emphasize the word
but. But naturally has like a very
dramatic meaning to it when we make
content. It implies conflict and
conflict means tension and tension is
what keeps people watching. And then
without conflict then there's no reason
for our brains to to care. So the viral
storytelling formula is introduced with
some sort of conflict which typically in
value based content is the problem
you're trying to solve or the solution
that we're trying to get. Then we have
more context. So then the problem or
solution is easier understood or fully
understood by the audience. And then we
have the resolution which is the actual
value the solution that you're giving
them to reach your solution or to fix
their problem. And then finally you can
finish off with a lesson or the
implementation which is going to be the
full story. And we can tell these types
of stories using the ABT method. At the
end of the day, stories creates emotion
and content is emotion-provoking. That's
why we watch content. That's why we find
it entertaining. So, we have to get
really good as creators to prompt
emotion, to provoke emotion. So, then
people enjoy watching our content. If
you think about all the viral content,
it typically does provoke some type of
intense emotion. Politics is
controversial. Natural disasters are
kind of scary and fear-based. AI content
is very popular right now. That is
fear-based. We have exciting and happy
stories. We have like cute viral kittens
going viral. Then we have like really
badass valuebased videos or we have
motivational videos like Jacko Wilnne or
any of those motivational quote type
videos or we have really calming and zen
type of videos or creators that tune
into that and provoke those emotions out
of you that make you want to watch. So,
the better we can tell stories and
package our content or value to provoke
more emotion, the better we're going to
have. And using those butt statements
are going to be the most important and
the easiest way to do that. An example
that I would personally use using the
ABT method is is something off the cuff.
I could say you want to grow your
Instagram in 2026 and you've tried
everything, but nothing seems to work.
Therefore, you need to learn the future
of content creation using AI. So then in
that hook or in that framework of that
video, we have a unique mechanism which
is using AI. We have a problem which is
the but statement and then we have the
context or the goal which is you want to
be growing on Instagram in 2026. So
hopefully that makes sense there. And
then the most important topic now is the
simplicity of your content. Most
creators think that they want to flex
their knowledge with complex vocabulary,
but this is actually the worst thing you
can do for your content. See how I used
the word butt there? We want to keep our
content as natural and as simple as
possible, so as many people can
understand our content as possible. We
have to remember, not everyone is going
to keep up with the jargon and the
industry language that you're using.
You're probably an expert in your field.
You have to remind yourself that a lot
of people watching your content are just
going to be beginners or a lot of people
watching your content might not even
speak English as their first language or
or and and a lot of people watching your
content may not want to process and turn
on their brain to understand your
advanced vocabulary. Alex Herozi is one
of the best creators that does this. He
purposefully speaks and writes at a
sixth grade reading level. He
intentionally removes cleverness and
fluff from his content. So this is kind
of paraphrased from his ideas, but if
you don't get rid of the extra details
and jargon, then people are going to be
spending time and mental energy trying
to understand what you're saying rather
than understanding the concepts of what
you're trying to tell them. Then
secondly, the simpler language gets
better results because more people can
actually understand you and your content
is more widely applicable to more
people. And you can do this all without
sounding stupid or sounding like you're
uneducated. We all think Alex Herozi is
pretty damn smart and a very good
business entrepreneur. And this is
actually one of the biggest mistakes I
see with many creators is they're is
they're making content about really
advanced topics or speaking in advanced
ways that it doesn't even make sense.
One of the most famous and viral
YouTubers right now, Jenny Hoyos, she
makes entertainment content. literally
AB tested vocabulary and she found
advanced words like business or profit
is too complicated for her audience and
it makes the views go down. So instead,
if she had to use a term like business
or like profit, she would explain what
it means in the video. So, instead of
Jenny saying, "We made $10 of profit
from the cookies," she might say, "The
cookie cost us $20, but we were able to
sell it for $30, which means we have $10
left over," implying she made $10
profit. She's better off explaining the
concept rather than jumping deep into
advanced topics. And of course, this is
a very easy example with profits and
cookies, but you could use the same
terminology with more advanced topics
like coding, like stock trading, like
real psychology, neuroscience hacks,
whatever your niche is. And not only
does vocabulary matter, but the actual
topics matter, too. And this is a really
funny test, but would your older
relatives understand the topic of the
video that you're making? Would your
grandma understand it if you just showed
them this video with no context? Does it
make sense? Does the hook make sense of
what the video is about? Does your
credibility statement make sense of why
this information is important and why
they should be listening to it? Does the
payoff and the value make sense? And is
it actionable enough for your older
relative to actually gain value from
that video? If not, then that video is
too complicated. It's not going to be
shared. It's not going to be understood
and it's not going to be watched. So
that's why we want to optimize for
simplicity in our content, not for the
sake of dumbing it out for people, but
just for the sake of increased
comprehension, so then people can care
about the actual topic and the value in
the video rather than trying to
translate it into words that they
understand or can't use. And think about
it too, if you want or expect your video
to get millions of views, not everyone
even speaks English as their first
language. There's 8 billion people in
the world. So, if you want 10 million,
100 million views, there's no way for
your videos to actually go viral if
they're using complicated phrases and
words. This is why some of the most
viral videos online don't have a
language barrier. It's like people
dancing or really big and exaggerated
facial expressions like um who's that
one uh Tik Tocker like Kabi Lame. His
videos, he doesn't even say anything.
It's just relying on basic human
psychology using uh his emotions through
his facial expressions. And then a bonus
tip for you guys, you can also use
staccato pacing to keep things
interesting. So it doesn't feel like
you're always lecturing to the camera.
So staccato pacing is following your
sentences with short and then medium and
then long answers, keeping it slightly
different each time you speak. This
creates it more engaging, more fun for
the viewer to process and still keeps it
simple. So, we might have a short
sentence followed by a medium sentence
which has a little bit more detail and
then a longer sentence to really bring
everything together like the short
sentence I just said and the medium
sentence and this is the long sentence.
Okay, I hope you enjoyed this video. If
you found some value on how to structure
and package your content ideas, then you
might find this video interesting here
where I talk about how to actually start
posting consistently, how to actually
grow your personal brand, and how to
create a space and a vibe on the
internet. So then when you do build an
audience or get a viral video, they have
somewhere to go. That video is going to
be right here. How I grew 0 to 200,000
followers on Instagram in 2026. That's
really going to help you package all of
your ideas together into one cohesive
brand. Thank you so much for watching
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