When assessing the reasons behind content performance, we first focused on CREATIVE EXCELLENCE, i.e. is the post well designed? Does it make good use of sounds? Of text / caption? Is its story (hook, plot, close) so compelling it triggers a reaction that goes beyond the mere “like”?
Turns out the more viral posts we analysed, the more posts we came across that didn’t tick the box on creative excellence. Many didn’t boast great stories or quality hooks, many more made poor use of sounds, if any. This is when we started to pay closer attention to SIGNALS.
Signals are those content elements that algorithms use to locate likely receptive viewers based on their recent interactions (engagement, searches, UGC posted etc.): a famous face or creator they searched, a trending sound, a topic. Posts that boast both creative craft AND signals multiply their odds of taking off and making it to the top 1% status.
After yet more analyses, we concluded DEMAND deserves its own specific grouping. By demand, we refer to content elements that tend to engage above average even among people that never signalled any interest in them previously: think product news, babies, animals, football, celebs, popular music, controversy, viral moments etc... For example, Pepsi’s Super Bowl 2026 sensation (11.5m engagement on TikTok alone) was a gem of creative mastery, but comments reveal a lot of its engagement came from the inclusion of friendly bears (DEMAND), and references to the viral Cold Play Kiss-Cam moment (DEMAND and, for some viewers, SIGNAL).
Master creative craft, use signals and demand tactically
Another motivation for differentiating these 3 drivers is to highlight that they each play a different role in the content posting-to-consumption journey:
Signals are most important to get the algorithm's attention — they tell it exactly who to show the post to next: posts can perform well without signals, but they are especially helpful for brands with a smaller social footprint or lower market shares
Demand elements obviously help sustain many viewers attention, but they’re most impactful when (also) used as hooks to keep viewers from scrolling. Also disproportionately important for brands with smaller social footprints
Great craft matters from start to finish and for this reason remains the most important of the 3 drivers: it’s key to help capture attention, sustain it, and provide a comment-or share-worthy closing to the post.
When ideating and designing each piece of content, ask yourselves whether you're making good use of all three drivers: giving the algorithm clear SIGNALS to help reach receptive viewers; tapping high DEMAND components to give viewers additional reasons to stop; and adhering to best practices of CREATIVE EXCELLENCE, from storytelling (hook, plot, close), to sounds, protagonists, tone of voice.
Reminders and case studies
Mastering these 3 drivers for owned AND earned content remains essential since 90-95% of attention and engagement go to the top ~5% of posts.
This post from KFC Spain a great example not just SIGNAL, but signal layering — a technique we will deep dive into in our next newsletter
This Dakota Johnson post from Calvin Klein is an example of DEMAND (sex) and some signals. There is some craft, but comments suggest it’s less important than the demand component.
Here a great example of pure CRAFT by Crocs: no demand, no signal boosting its near 1m engagement.
