Emotional Triggers That Drive Social Media Shares

Published on 25.07.2026 by Chizoba T

In this AI era, social media has become saturated with content, making it harder to create content that easily gets shared. According to various studies, for your content to be highly shared, it needs to strike the right code that makes it pushed on the internet. 

That means if you want your content to be highly shared, you need to understand the emotional triggers that drive social media shares. In this article, we look at these emotional triggers that are key to making your content go viral in 2026.

Top 5 Psychological Triggers to Drive Engagement

If you want to make your social media audience share your content, consider implementing these psychological triggers:

Strong Emotions

One of the key factors that impacts the shareability of content is emotions. Posts that elicit emotions such as joy, inspiration, anger, or excitement drive a higher number of social shares and can be key to making Facebook Reels go viral. According to one study, 20% of people share content because they found the message to be brilliant, witty, or funny. 

Additionally, content that elicits awe and inspiration, such as motivational stories, unique perspectives, and achievements, is also highly shareable. Content that elicits nostalgia is also highly shareable because of the sentimental values that make people want to share it more. Finally, when content stirs a feeling of surprise, it can drive engagement, thereby making users share it more.

When we come across posts that are emotionally charged, our brains release dopamine, which results in a sense of pleasure or reward. The reaction is so intense that people end up liking, commenting, and sharing before they can fully process the information. Positive emotions such as awe, surprise, or laughter often lead to higher engagement. On the other side, negative emotions, such as anxiety or anger, stir actions encouraging other users to rally behind the cause by sharing the content.

For instance, the Real Beauty Campaign by Dove in January 2023 encouraged users to view their bodies positively to gain self-esteem using testimonials and real stories. The campaign resulted in 30% more shares and 15% higher brand sentiment. Emotional content performs well because it's relevant and authentic, and therefore, you don't have to force the emotions, or else it will backfire. For emotions to work, they should feel genuine, share human experiences, and align with core values.

On top of driving engagement, such as shares and likes, it also delivers great business benefits, such as more sales, greater brand loyalty, and a higher level of customer retention. 

Social Proof

Social proof refers to a psychological phenomenon that makes us want to do what others are doing, especially when we are unsure of what to do. On social media, it means people are more likely to interact with a piece of content they feel is popular. That is why you may have noted that when you come across a social media post with thousands of likes, comments, or shares, it instantly grabs your attention.

This results in a bandwagon effect that makes the content feel more valuable, even driving engagement further. When a piece of content appears popular with a high number of comments and shares, more people show interest in it. The value of the post can be seen through metrics such as likes, comments, and shares, as they make the content feel more valuable. These validations help increase the level of trust, reduce the risk, and increase the chances of others seeing your content as valuable. 

You can use social proof in different ways, such as:

Showing Customer Reviews, Testimonials, and Ratings 

These show real experience and enhance credibility. They use the power of authentic voices to show the voices of your happy customers, as people say they trust the recommendation of peers over brand messaging. When combined with relevant videos and images, the personal touch of these stories can turn the snippets into compelling stories that resonate with the buyers. You can make the testimonials look more genuine and personal by adding the name and image of the customer.

An example of a brand that does this well is Amazon, as its product pages feature various customer testimonials and reviews with the relevant star ratings. At times, they even go ahead and add the image of the product.

Influencer Endorsement

Another way to leverage social proof is through collaboration with industry experts and influencers who are in your niche. Through their endorsement, you can reach a larger audience as it opens the door to a bigger audience while leveraging their credibility.

User-Generated Content

Encouraging your followers to create outstanding user-generated content on social media platforms can help you magnify community involvement and authenticity. Whether it's by sharing their experiences on the top platforms, creating product reviews, or unboxing videos, UGC can help show your brand’s impact.

Verified Badges

On platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram, this badge can help show legitimacy, increasing trust and driving engagement. If there are awards and certifications that your business has received, you can use them for your marketing narratives. The badges will show that you are committed to quality and experience. An example of a brand that uses badges is eBay, as it often displays the trust certifications and seals, showing that the platform is secure for payment.

Encouraging Engagements

Engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and followers act as a visual endorsement of your brand, encouraging other users to take action based on FOMO. When social media algorithms see posts with higher engagement, it increases the visibility of the content and interactions. This system helps to build credibility and derive momentum.

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

Fear of Missing Out is another emotion that taps into the fear of being left out or missing out on exclusive opportunities and trends. These feelings work on social media as it causes people to act fast, whether by liking, sharing, or commenting on posts, especially when they come across time-sensitive posts. This acts as great motivation that drives people to act before it is too late.

You can use FOMO in different ways, such as flash sales, live streams, and 24-hour stories, to add a sense of urgency. According to one study, 56% of millennials confess to having experienced FOMO, with 56% of them buying because of it. This is why posts that feature time-sensitive offers often experience a higher engagement by up to 30% compared to normal posts, amplifying their sense of urgency.

An example of a brand that uses FOMO well is Nike. One of their 48-hour Instagram stories campaigns for their sneaker launch generated over 1.2 million views and resulted in 40% more traffic. Similarly, Sephra used 24-hour flash sales to drive their sales by 20% and engagement by 35%. Therefore, FOMO isn't only good for engagement but also acts as a great trigger online.

Curiosity

This is another key driver of social media engagement. When you create content that provides a hint of a higher level of engagement, it may tap into the natural urge to fill the blank. This can be key to filling the information gap theory, a gap between what your followers know and what they want to learn.

According to research, using headlines filled with curiosity can increase your engagement by 30% as compared to straightforward content. 

To stir curiosity, you can use different topics, such as:

  • Ask interesting questions, with promises and teasers, to get some valuable insights. For instance, “Are you making these mistakes in your weight loss journey?” This will work as it stirs an inside resolve to find the answer.
  • Teasers with important information, such as likes, comments, and shares
  • Using a strong hook on visual platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
  • Using questions for text-based platforms like Facebook and Twitter to encourage discussion and speculation. 
  • Using interactive tools like polls and quizzes.

However, avoid overusing these tactics, or else they may backfire, frustrate users, and erode their trust. The most important thing is to add interesting headlines with content that stirs the curiosity gap ignited by the content.

Reciprocity

Another great psychological trigger is reciprocity. This principle is based on the fact that when someone is kind to us, we also feel the urge to do good to them. That means if you produce useful content with helpful information on social media, they are more likely to engage with your content. The concept is what acts as the background of strategies that drive authentic engagement.

You can trigger this emotion in different ways, such as:

  • Providing a free resource, such as a guide. This can make your audience feel obligated to take action. They can then respond with different actions, like a higher level of interaction and brand loyalty.
  • Sharing valuable content. This can help you drive engagement and build the trust of your audience. When they get highly valuable information, they are also more likely to share the post with their friends and recommend it to other users.

In Conclusion

Emotional triggers can be a great way of driving curiosity and reciprocity, therefore driving social media engagement. This is because they tap into a major human need, which is the need for validation, connection, curiosity, pull, or even an emotional bond.

To get the most out of curiosity, you need to combine these triggers. For instance, you can combine social proof with emotional storytelling, such as the use of testimonials. This will enable you to create content that is relatable and trustworthy.