What Makes Influencer Content Go Viral and Why It Always Comes Back to Storytelling
Influencer marketing is everywhere.
Lilly’s First Camera
But storytelling is what separates good content from viral, unforgettable content. Trends change. Algorithms shift. Platforms evolve. Yet the posts that truly break through all have one thing in common: they tell a story people want to stay with — and share.
Elodi & Bowen
We’re Lilly and Elodi, influencer marketers at Morning Walk. Between the two of us, we spend our days shaping social content, guiding creators, and building campaigns rooted in authenticity. Lilly is an Assistant Account Executive with a passion for storytelling across all forms of digital media, while Elodi is an Integrated Communications Manager who brings a strategic, platform-first lens to how stories are told and scaled. Together, we work closely with influencers and brands to turn real moments into meaningful, remembered ones.
While our paths into influencer marketing looked different, they were always guided by the same thing: a love for storytelling.
Lilly found this passion early on. At just seven years old, she walked around the house with her dad’s flip camera interviewing family members like a tiny talk show host. Siblings were asked about their day, parents about their jobs, and everything was edited into mini vlogs — yes, she was very ahead of her time. Looking back, it wasn’t just about playing with a camera. It was about learning how to capture personality, emotion, and real life.
Elodi grew up alongside the rise of social media itself. A few years older, she was customizing MySpace pages and uploading photo albums to Facebook, then moving through grade school as Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat launched. Social platforms weren’t something to learn later, they were woven into everyday communication. Then TikTok arrived, introducing an entirely new way of storytelling: shorter, faster, more personal, and more powerful.
Having lived through every major social shift, from long captions to disappearing stories to algorithm-driven feeds, we’ve developed a deep understanding of what people actually want to watch and why they stop scrolling. The platforms have changed, the cameras are better, and the stakes are higher — but the heart of the work hasn’t changed.
Storytelling.
The Types of Content That Go Viral
In our experience, viral influencer content usually falls into one of three categories. While they look different on the surface, they all tie back to the same foundation: storytelling.
1. Short-Form, Hyper-Shareable Content
This is the content designed to stop the scroll. It’s quick, relatable, funny, or emotionally punchy, the kind of post you immediately send to a friend. Sometimes brand storytelling shows up in unexpected places. One example is an Instagram account run by Elodi for her very stubborn, very expressive Siberian Husky, @wolfofwindycity. A grumpy paid ad grooming appointment paired with Doechii’s trending “my anxiety” audio wasn’t overly produced or polished — it was honest, relatable, and simply put, funny. That single moment reached 3.5 million views, 200,000 likes, and 70,000 shares, simply by letting personality lead and the brand (a.k.a the mobile grooming van) take the back seat.
2. Long-Form, Narrative-Driven Content
Virality doesn’t always mean fast. Sometimes it means slowing viewers down and giving them a moment they want to sit with. A campaign with @thehuskyfam reinforced this idea. Instead of leaning into humor or trends, a calming, minute-long outdoor movie night surrounded by huskies and neighborhood friends told a complete story. That longer-form content generated over 3 million views across platforms, proving that narrative-driven influencer marketing can perform just as powerfully as quick clips. Different formats, same result — connection. (And yes, maybe it’s the huskies. We joke. Mostly.)
Different creators. Different formats. Same principle: storytelling does the heavy lifting.
So, How Do We Find Success?
Whether Long-or-Short, It Has to Be Authentic.
We’ve seen it firsthand with partners like @travelwithclee, @purplehighways, @sarahfunky, and @jaymiknowsfun, among many others. There’s no guaranteed formula for going viral, but the common thread is always the same: the content feels human. It doesn’t feel forced. It doesn’t feel like an ad pretending not to be an ad. It feels like a story someone genuinely wanted to tell.
That authenticity looks different for every creator. With Sarah, her family’s long-standing relationship with Kalahari is impossible to miss; they’re regulars, not just ambassadors. On the other hand, creators like @travelwithclee and @jaymiknowsfun were brand-new partners, helping Kalahari reach young twenty-somethings outside its typical family-focused audience. By trusting creators to tell the story their way, both saw over one million views on their very first partner post.
Today’s audiences don’t want carbon copies of the same content. They want to know why the creator loves something. They want the moment, the memory, and the meaning behind the recommendation. They want to follow a story, not just read a caption.
Virality isn’t about chasing algorithms. It’s about creating moments people want to share.
That’s why influencer marketing works best when creators are allowed to be themselves. At Morning Walk, we don’t match brands with influencers based on numbers alone. We look for alignment, voice, lifestyle, and credibility, because influence isn’t about perfection, it’s about connection.
In many ways, we’re still those kids with cameras, just with better equipment, bigger stories, brands we truly believe in, and a dog willing to model for treats.
Trends fade. Algorithms change. But authenticity always resonates. And at Morning Walk, that’s exactly who we are.
About Elodi Bodamer
Elodi Bodamer is an Integrated Communications Manager with experience across industries including pet wellness, fashion and beauty, hospitality, wine and spirits, legal tech, and more. She joined the Morning Walk team in September 2024 and has loved every moment since, working with standout team members and clients alike. Elodi holds a master’s in public relations and corporate communication from NYU and earned her bachelor’s in strategic communication from Texas Christian University. Elodi also runs a dog mom and lifestyle account on Instagram, where she shares the joys (and chaos) of life in Chicago with her Siberian Husky, Bowen. In her free time, you can find her on a walk with her dog, at a bar patio with her dog, or curled up on the couch with her dog. Basically, you’ll always find her with her dog. A passionate storyteller, people person, and creative thinker, Elodi is always looking for new ways to push boundaries, spark conversation, and connect with audiences — both human and canine.
About Lilly Mullooly
Lilly Mullooly is an Assistant Account Executive of Integrated Communications at Morning Walk, where she supports efforts across influencer marketing, media relations, content creation, and social strategy. Since joining the team, she has played a key role in driving creative campaigns that blend cultural relevance with measurable results, helping brands show up in ways that feel both strategic and authentic.
Lilly brings a strong foundation in sports and lifestyle communications, with previous experience spanning San Diego State Athletics, the San Diego Padres, PREM PR & Social, VPR Branding, and The Daily Aztec. Her background has shaped her passion for storytelling that connects brands to audiences through earned media, influencer partnerships, and thoughtful digital strategy.
A Milwaukee native who grew up in California, Lilly is a natural relationship-builder and creative thinker who thrives at the intersection of culture and communications. She is especially passionate about influencer campaign development and telling stories that resonate beyond the scroll. When she’s not crafting narratives through digital media, she’s likely telling one to her friends or family with a matcha in hand, Bob Dylan on repeat, or on her way to a yoga class.
