Would Anyone Screenshot This?

Welcome back to Viral Examples.

Today (in 2 mins or less) we're diving into the single question that separates content people scroll past from content they screenshot and send to a friend.

The Resonance Test: Reverse-Engineer Posts That Get Shared

You've published something you're proud of. Good advice. Solid structure. Useful information.

It gets 12 likes and disappears.

Meanwhile, someone posts a one-liner that sounds almost too simple, and it floods your DMs for a week. The gap between those two outcomes comes down to a test most creators never run.

Before you publish anything, answer this one question.

"If someone screenshots this, what would the caption be?"

If you can picture someone texting it to a friend with a specific caption ("this is literally us" or "told you!" or "read this immediately"), you have something. If the best you can imagine is "interesting read," kill the post and start over.

Screenshots are the highest form of content currency. They mean someone stopped scrolling, captured your words, and attached their identity to your idea. That only happens when your content triggers one of three responses.

The 3 screenshot archetypes

1. Validation "THANK YOU. I've been saying this for years."

This content puts words to something your audience already believes but struggles to articulate. They share it because it makes them feel seen, and it makes them look smart for already knowing it.

2. Revelation "Wait... I never thought of it this way."

This content reframes something familiar into something surprising. A new lens on an old problem. People share it because it makes them the person who finds the interesting stuff first.

3. Identification "This is literally me and I feel attacked."

This content describes a specific behavior or experience so precisely that your audience feels like you're reading their mind. They share it because specificity creates intimacy, even at scale.

Why "helpful" fails and "obvious" spreads

Most creators pack their posts with information. Tips, frameworks, data points. And most of that content dies quietly.

The problem with purely helpful content is that it asks the reader to do something later. Bookmark it. Save it. Try it eventually. And "eventually" means never.

Content that feels obvious does the opposite. It gives the reader something right now. A feeling. A shift. A moment of recognition. They engage immediately because the value is emotional, delivered on impact.

The most shared posts in any niche sound like things everyone already knew but nobody had said out loud yet. That tension between familiar and freshly articulated is where virality lives.

Putting the test to work

Next time you draft a post, finish writing it and then step back. Picture your ideal reader holding their phone. Can you see them taking the screenshot? Can you hear the caption?

If you can, publish. If you can't, rewrite until you can.

One question. Every time. Before you hit post.

Time to Grow

There’s two parts to getting results from posting content:

1. High quality content

2. Relevant distribution

Megaphone, the team behind Viral Examples, helps with both.

1. Our writing team works learns your voice and delivers weekly batches of content for you to post.

2. Our creator network helps get your posts in front of the right audience.

Grab time here or just reply to this email to learn more.