The STEPPS Viral Content Playbook: A Timeless System for Creating Share-Worthy Posts

The STEPPS Viral Playbook for Founders & Entrepreneurs

From Jonah Berger’s “Contagious” — distilled into a repeatable, forever-relevant system.

STEPPS =

• S → Social Currency → People share things that make them look good or feel special.
• T → Triggers → Link your idea to everyday cues so it stays top of mind.
• E → Emotion → Strong feelings (awe, anger, joy) drive people to share.
• P → Public → Make your idea visible so others can see and copy it.
• P → Practical Value → Give tips or insights that are useful right now.
• S → Stories → Wrap your idea inside a narrative people want to retell.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction – Why STEPPS Works
2. Social Currency
3. Triggers
4. Emotion
5. Public
6. Practical Value
7. Stories
8. Quick-Reference Checklist
9. Conclusion

The Founder’s STEPPS Quick-Reference Checklist

Before posting on Twitter/X, ask:

• S: Does this give founders social clout if they share it?
• T: Is it tied to something they’re already thinking about?
• E: Does it trigger a strong feeling?
• P: Is the progress or proof visible?
• P: Can they apply it right now?
• S: Is it wrapped in a shareable story?

3–4 STEPPS hit → Strong founder post.
5–6 STEPPS hit → Potential viral moment in startup Twitter.

1. SOCIAL CURRENCY – Make Your Audience Look Smart for Sharing You

Core Idea: Founders share what makes them look plugged-in, insightful, or part of the insider club.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Share behind-the-scenes startup insights you wish you knew earlier.
• Drop rare numbers, industry patterns, or frameworks no one talks about publicly.
• Give your audience something they can re-share to look like the “smart friend.”

Examples:

• Tweet: “We wasted $50K on ads before finding this one tweak that doubled conversions. Here’s the breakdown 👇”
• Thread: “The cold-email template that got us meetings with 5 Fortune 500 execs.”

Quick Founder Test:

• Would another founder DM this to their team?
• Does it feel like a “founders-only” secret?
• Will it make them look more competent if they share it?

2. TRIGGERS – Tie Your Content to What Founders Think About Daily

Core Idea: More mental triggers = more shares. Attach your content to cues founders already encounter.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Sync posts with funding news, product launches, tech trends.
• Tap into founder pain cycles — fundraising season, product hunt launches, end-of-quarter goals.
• Use widely-discussed topics in tech/startups as “springboards” for your own insight.

Examples:

• “Everyone’s talking about AI replacing jobs. Here’s what AI can’t replace in startups.”
• “It’s pitch deck season. Here’s the 1-slide change that got investors leaning in.”

Quick Founder Test:

• Will this pop into a founder’s head during their work week?
• Am I riding a conversation that’s already hot in startup Twitter?

3. EMOTION – Make Founders Feel, Not Just Think

Core Idea: High-energy emotions (awe, pride, anger, urgency) drive more retweets than logic alone.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Show transformations — zero to traction, near-failure to funding.
• Expose frustrating truths in the industry.
• Share wins with a “we almost lost it all” twist.

Examples:

• “We were 2 weeks from shutting down. Here’s how one email saved us.”
• “Founders: stop chasing investors. Chase this instead.”

Quick Founder Test:

• Will this make them nod, laugh, or get riled up?
• Would they quote-tweet it to make a point?

4. PUBLIC – Make Your Progress Impossible to Ignore

Core Idea: If founders can see your journey, they can copy, comment, and join in.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Share public milestones: revenue screenshots, funding updates, user growth charts.
• Use public challenges (e.g., “Building to $10K MRR in 90 days — Day 14 update”).
• Make it easy for others to replicate your experiments.

Examples:

• “We just hit $100K ARR. Here’s exactly where the revenue came from (and what didn’t work).”
• Public Notion board tracking growth experiments.

Quick Founder Test:

• Could someone screenshot this as proof of “what’s possible”?
• Am I showing evidence instead of just telling a claim?

5. PRACTICAL VALUE – Give Tactics Founders Can Use Today

Core Idea: Founders share posts that save time, money, or painful trial-and-error.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Share battle-tested tools, scripts, and workflows.
• Turn lessons learned into step-by-step templates.
• Avoid theory — show “copy-paste” ready solutions.

Examples:

• “The 5 tools we used to run a $500K/year business with 2 employees.”
• “This investor intro email template has a 60% reply rate. Steal it.”

Quick Founder Test:

• Could a founder use this in the next 24 hours?
• Would it replace weeks of mistakes?

6. STORIES – Make Your Lessons Travel Through Founder Lore

Core Idea: Founders remember and share stories more than bullet points.

How to Apply as a Founder:

• Turn each big lesson into a mini-founder origin story.
• Make it relatable by sharing your “messy middle” — not just the highlight reel.
• Keep it short and visually vivid for Twitter threads.

Examples:

• “We lost our biggest customer overnight. It was the best thing that happened to us.”
• “How a broken coffee machine led to our first VC check.”

Quick Founder Test:

• Could someone retell this at a startup meetup?
• Is the takeaway obvious without me forcing it?

If you follow this format most likely your content will outperform others.