One internet untied, to argue over the colour of a dress or whether Barry Keoghan was actually hot or not (it’s the latter, btw.)
But times have changed. We live in a different world now. Audiences are scattered, the internet fragmented like the great ice caps of Antarctica.
And what’s replaced it is messier, harder to track, and requires way more strategic thinking.
We’re in the era of fractured virality, where success isn't about dominating the internet, but sparking conversation across multiple niche communities, all at once.
I've talked about fractured audiences before. I've banged on about the importance of community. It’s old news that this shift completely changes how we reach people.
But at this point, it’s ripping up the entire playbook. Old metrics are obsolete. Some strategies just don't work anymore. And if you're still chasing mass virality, you're fighting a war that's kind of already over (hear me out)…
The internet used to have a town square. It used to BE a town square.
Twitter trends, Facebook's universal feed, YouTube's front page. Everyone saw roughly the same stuff, which meant one viral moment could genuinely reach everyone.
Then algorithms got smarter (or more invasive, depending on your perspective). Platforms realised they could keep people engaged longer by showing them hyper-personalised content. Your FYP became your FYP. My Reels became my Reels. We all ended up in our own little algorithmic bubbles.
And the result was the internet fragmenting into thousands of niche communities.
Each has their own in-jokes, drama, and viral moments that never escape their bubble. What's massive in BookTok might be completely invisible to FinTok. What's blowing up in fitness communities might never reach fashion communities.
Your viral is not my viral anymore. And that changes everything.
Instead of one massive explosion that everyone sees, success now looks like 50 smaller fires burning across different communities simultaneously.
A brand launches a campaign. It catches fire with Gen Z on TikTok, gets picked up by parenting communities on Facebook, sparks debate in marketing Twitter, gets memed by irony-poisoned millennials on Instagram, and somehow ends up as a case study in LinkedIn thought leadership posts.
Each community engages with it differently. And each has their own conversation about it.
The magic happens when those conversations start crossing over - when BookTok discovers what FinTok is saying, when fitness communities stumble into fashion community discourse.
But when it works, it's way more powerful than the old model. Because you spark genuine, sustained conversation across multiple communities who actually care.
Think about it this way: you can have 10 million views from people who scrolled past in 2 seconds. Or you can have 100,000 views from people who actually engaged, shared it within their communities, and sparked real conversation. Guess which one drives actual results?
The new metrics you should be looking at:
Depth of engagement within specific communities: Are people actually talking about this, or just scrolling past?
Cross-community spread: Is the conversation jumping between different niches?
Longevity: Is this a 24-hour spike or a sustained conversation?
Community-specific relevance: Does this actually matter to the people seeing it, or is it just noise?
If you're still measuring success solely by "did we hit X million impressions," you're missing the real point.
The new playbook:
1. Map your communities (not your demographics).
Stop thinking in demographics like "women 25-34." Start thinking in communities like "BookTok romance readers," "fitness accountability groups," "ironic meme accounts," "personal finance nerds." These are people united by shared interests and values, not age brackets or locations.
2. Create for communities, not platforms.
You can't make one piece of content and blast it everywhere anymore. What resonates with productivity Twitter won't land with mental health TikTok. Tailor your approach for each community. Not the platform they're on, but the community they're in.
3. Speak the language.
Each community has its own references, humour, and communication style. If you show up speaking corporate marketing-ese, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Learn the culture before you try to participate in it. Otherwise, you’re kind of being exploitative.
4. Plant seeds, don't force explosions.
Fractured virality is organic by nature. You can't manufacture it the way you could engineer a mass viral moment. Instead, create genuinely valuable or interesting content for specific communities. Then let them do what communities do: talk about it, share it, bring it to other communities. The interest-based algorithm will bring you the right audience if you aim your content in the right direction.
5. Track the spread, not just the numbers.
Watch how conversations move between communities. That cross-pollination is where the real power is.
It was easier to understand, easier to measure, and easier to replicate.
Fractured virality is harder. It requires deeper understanding of communities, more strategic thinking, intention and nuanced content creation. Also, completely different success metrics.
But it’s also more sustainable, more authentic, and ultimately more effective. Because you're building genuine relevance within communities that actually matter to your brand or content (and that is the point, right?).
Now, dear reader, it’s time for you to figure out what communities you belong in.
-Sophie Randell, Writer
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