Defining "Scroll Stopper"
Forget "viral". The sharpest brands are aspiring to create "scroll-stopping" content. Read on for how I think the best of the best are doing it.
A scroll stopper is a piece of content, a campaign, or a brand that is incredibly eye-catching to its core audience. A scroll stopper doesn’t have to go viral but must show enough creative flair to make a strong impact on its intended target.
If you listen to some of the loudest LinkedIn ‘warriors,’ they’ll tell you there’s a recipe for virality, but if you listen to the commenters on those posts (often strategists in the trenches, like myself), you’ll quickly learn that’s absolute bullshit. Once (and only once), I let a CEO social-splain to me what kind of content performs ‘nowadays.’ They went on to describe content traits and qualities so wildly averse to their brand’s mission and messaging that I laughed. Sure, controversial, strange content performs well (see: that era when kids ate Tide pods for social content). But, in the world of brand marketing, not all social visibility is created equal.
Would you prefer to be a scroll stopper for creating odd, polarizing content that sparks a full-blown comment war, or would you rather reach your core 'people' with a hyper-creative post that nails some sort of trope they distinctly relate to? You know my answer. The latter may be harder, but it’s a more integral way to build a brand.
So, how exactly does one becoming a scroll stopper? While there’s no true recipe for breaking through noisy feeds, I believe there’s a recipe for how brands “winning” on social are building.
Reminder: Algorithms Are Not Formulas
Before we get into said “recipe” for becoming a scroll-stopping brand or creating scroll-stopping content, we need to talk about “they who control the scroll” — the platforms. We know marketers don’t decide what’s trending. Users and algorithms do. But, who determines algorithms?
It’s important to remember that algorithms are not mathematical formulas. While there are quantitative factors that weigh into how Instagram or TikTok’s algorithms work, there are also qualitative factors. Who’s determining those qualities? Not sure. Probably boards of people. However, because we know this to be true, we can also know “human opinion has weight in how social platform algorithms show content” to be true.
Source: FastCompany
If you’re a brand marketer or entrepreneur, give yourself some grace. Creating top 10% content isn’t like figuring out how to win the highest level of a video game. It’s more like, trying to win some freaky social Squid Games or escaping life as an NPC in Westworld that you don’t know all the rules to. Game makers are constantly changing and updating the game.
The “Scroll Stopper” Recipe
Okay, here’s the part where I share two ways of building your brands that are so vague you might get angry at me for claiming I’ve got the secret sauce. Look — sometimes content creation can look like a five minute meme flip, but often it can look like of the hours of ideating and editing. Sometimes a “spaghetti on the wall” brand strategy hits, and sometimes it fails miserably. There is no singular approach, tool, creator, platform or template that will get you to the top quick. Reminder: Duolingo’s TikTok Manager came up with their iconic mascot, while Poppi grew into massive fame via a unique founder story and creator marketing. You just don’t know, until you know. You can’t!
But, as I mentioned, I do believe there are two things that brands “winning” right now on social are doing really well.
Being incredibly creative through campaigns, content formats and messaging WHILE staying true to brand. Not being afraid to test, capitalizing on new features, engaging with other brands in unique ways, all while honing a hyper-specific style / voice, etc.
Olipop is doing a great job of this right now, launching campaigns like “Olipop University” to better engage with collegiate communities (and preppy, wishful millennials?) and testing varying social formats cross-platform on an regular basis.
Tapping into the culture, passions and needs of their core communities and activating against them via relatable, often incorporating partners. This is the modern day “offering a solution to a problem you now recognize you have.” Brands looking to connect with their consumer on a deeper level are living in memeland, building IRL and activating lots of partners.
Luggage company Beis recognizing their product isn’t immune to dirt, created a pop-up “Luggage Wash” to answer their communities cry for help keeping their product in tip-top condition. (Source: Thrillist.)
Being able to nail these two concepts requires process and practice. Building a strong evergreen, community-forward social content strategy enables brands to 1) take creative time to develop campaign and launch marketing that is truly unique and 2) create on the fly, when trends come calling, because their “in-between” marketing is in place.
How To Build Like A Scroll Stopper
While social is certainly pay-to-play, organic social helps level the playing field. Any size brand has the ability to make a splash on social. I really believe that. The brands setting themselves up to be the most creative and community-forward (points 1 and 2 above 👆) have a few similarities. Let’s get into them:
They’re prioritizing creative strategy in-house — whether they have a creative strategist on the team or contract, brands with the best creative aren’t just letting their Social Media Manager run the show (respectfully). Building BIG picture stories, campaigns and launches requires big picture thinking, not post level brainstorming. Realizing this, and recognizing when you (the founder) isn’t your best creative can sometimes become your brand’s superpower. Shoutout to my new client Nello who is CRUSHING TikTok but recognized they needed an incredible creative copywriter (Hi, Emily Littlefield) to bring their brand to the next level before investing in a creative content strategist (hi 👋) to build a true cross-channel content strategy.
They’re leveraging creative content partners — whether they’re hilarious, a fantastic editor / designer / artist, or a distinct tastemaker. Even Unilever-level brands should never be creating every single piece of content their page posts. Brands big and small that are tapping into the creator economy for truly unique content, not just stamps of approval, are seeing high-growth. My favorite examples of brands nailing this strategy in the wild are Graza Olive Oil and Away. Both brands tap into illustrators, tastemakers in their industry (recipe developers and travel experts), frequently collaborate with other brands and ultimately use creative content and infrequent but impactful launches to drive interest in their brand.
They’re translating trends, not mimicking them — this one grinds my gears. Unless the trend is using a brat green screen to type your own text or creating your own version of the Rhode phone case… then, fine. But simply copying and pasting your brand logo on top of an existing trend is easily recognizable as LAZY even to the average consumer. The smartest brands? They’re sitting in offices thinking about how to CREATE trends that catch on with their community and have potential to reach beyond. It’s hard to give a singular brand credit for being “on trend” all the time, so instead I’ll give Drew Barrymore credit. Her team certainly pushes her to tap, test and try trending content formats and she typically does, giving them a unique, “Drew” edge!
They’re prioritizing activations and creative content around launches versus randomly — tying your product / services into content naturally is so hard. I think we’re beyond the days of brands building “hearts and minds” ad campaigns standalone from launches (see: Bumble campaign fail earlier this year). The strongest brands are building really unique narratives and experiences around their launches, versus marketing them traditionally. I mean, when is the last time any social strategist suggested you share a product photo to the feed, right? Beis is hosting a free masterclass on this (feed screenshot below). Their latest launch is a Utility collection, which they partnered with the National Parks Service on (we love a charitable collab). But, they ALSO worked with Chamberlain Coffee to align this launch with their Smores Coffee launch. I’m personally so ready to see what kinds of pop up activations and creator content we see come out of this partnership.
In a digital landscape where attention is fleeting, becoming a scroll stopper isn’t about following a cookie-cutter formula or chasing virality at any cost. It’s about tapping into creativity, staying true to your brand’s essence, and resonating deeply with your core audience. The brands that truly succeed in stopping the scroll aren’t just creating content—they’re creating connections. So, whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a budding entrepreneur, remember this: in a world of noise, it’s the thoughtful, authentic, and creatively fearless brands that leave a lasting impression.
Now, go ahead, go get ‘em to stop scrollin’! 😎
About Scroll Stopper
Scroll Stopper is your go-to source for smart, witty takes on modern marketing in a digital world that's anything but quiet. Through deep dives into scroll-stopping brands, campaigns, and trends, Nicole Czarnecki offers insights help you stay ahead of the curve via inspiration that cut through the noise. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just curious about what marketing makes people pause, Scroll Stopper delivers fresh perspectives with a dash of sarcasm and the occasional emoji.
About The Author
Nicole Czarnecki has over 10 years of experience helping consumer brands build visibility and community via social and influencer marketing. She left the NYC agency scene after becoming far too tired of sitting in rooms of 20+ people making decisions on one Instagram post. Since founding Say Hey Social in 2021, she’s been empowering early-stage, high-growth brands to create sustainable marketing systems and hyper-creative, digital-first strategies. Connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn.