Mia Krysa

In this day and age, stickiness is what makes content stand out. It’s not just about views — it’s about content that gets people’s attention, encourages emotion, and lingers in people’s minds. Content that makes people emotional (good or bad), makes it more likely to be shared and remembered, which is incredibly useful when it comes to social media.

The Stickiness of Food, Inc.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about “sticky” content, is the documentary Food, Inc. It’s a documentary about factory farming and shares information about how horrible the animals in factory farms are treated. I’ve watched it a total of two times in my life, and both times, I went vegetarian for probably a month. The documentary shared information that while disturbing and sad — was true — which made me remember it more, hence “sticky” content. I can almost guarantee that if you decide to watch it, you’ll remember it forever.

Using Stickiness for Good

Sticky content, when used correctly, can help create a better world. It can go viral and drive change. When creators use emotional storytelling and bold visuals, they can raise awareness about social issues or inspire people to take action with the causes they care about — in other words, me going vegetarian after I watched Food, Inc. Think about something that you saw on social media that you’ve always remembered. What are some features of that message, post, or content that made it stick in your brain? It probably elicited emotion and/or was bold. Websites can also be made “sticky” by encouraging engagement and return visits. According to TMDesign, this means designing platforms that make it easy to learn more, get involved, or take action.

Another way to use “stickiness” in social media, is to post “sticky posts“. These are images or posts that can be pinned to stay at the top of feeds, keeping important messages visible longer — which makes people remember them more. In the sense of using social media for public good, accounts and organizations can keep things up on their pages for a long period of time if they want users to remember a specific detail.

Concerns with Sticky Content

It’s important to remember that just because something goes viral, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or accurate content. Sticky content, even if it contains false information, can spread just as quickly as something that is telling the truth. Creators of content must be thoughtful and intentional with the things that they’re posting. And users must be thoughtful about the content they’re sharing. If you see a TikTok video spreading information about something that sounds crazy, research it before you share it.

When used correctly, stickiness can help turn something that’s forgetful into something that encourages lasting impact — and that’s exactly what we need for a brighter future.