Virality Isn’t the Goal. Trust Is.

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend Orlando’s AdX event; not just as an attendee, but as a guest speaker and panelist. I co-presented alongside my Grounded with Data Strategic Partner, Patti Brownsword, where we spoke on AI: how it can write, create, and generate at scale,  but still requires human strategy, discernment, and intention to be useful at all.

And while we came ready to talk AI, I left thinking about something bigger… something that showed up in the talk before ours and after ours.

Tyla Harrington of Obscura and Dr. Darius Lana of Knight Agency both shared powerful reflections on storytelling, community, and the role human connection plays in shaping culture. Their message was simple and urgent: influence isn’t about attention — it’s about trust.

During the Q&A panel, I made a comment that visibly landed in the room with attendees and fellow panelists alike:

“Social media is not a form of connection. It’s a pastime tool.
If you want to make a connection, go where the humans are and stop trying to build connection in a virtual world. ” 

That moment, and that conversation, is what sparked this post.

Because it hits at the core of a question I see brands wrestle with every day and it supports a positioning I feel strongly about: for ‘connection’ to happen, humans are required. 

The problem with chasing virality

Marketing conversations keep circling the same question: How do we go viral?

Virality is seductive because it’s visible. You can measure it. Screenshot it. Celebrate it. It feels like momentum.

But here’s the thing:

Virality is:

• unpredictable
• fleeting
• rarely repeatable
• and often disconnected from any long-term outcome

You can go viral and still be forgotten.
You can go viral and still not be trusted.
You can go viral and still not be chosen.

Virality creates attention spikes.
It doesn’t create relationships.

What actually builds connection: storytelling

Trust isn’t built in a moment.
It’s built through coherence, repetition, and time.

Storytelling does the work virality can’t:

• It creates meaning, not just reach
• It provides context, not just exposure
• It helps people understand why you do what you do

And the kind of storytelling that builds trust isn’t about manufactured drama or slick delivery. It’s about:

• showing up consistently
• communicating with clarity
• offering perspective, not just performance
• building a voice people come to recognize

Recognition is the beginning of trust.

Community isn’t a metric — it’s a practice

Community is what happens after someone finds you.

It’s the difference between:

• being seen once
• and being returned to

Community forms when people feel:

• understood
• represented
• invited into an ongoing dialogue

That doesn’t happen because of an algorithm.
It happens because of intention.

And importantly: community doesn’t have to live online.

Some of the strongest brand connections happen in rooms, conversations, shared spaces, and repeated human contact. Digital tools can support that, but they can’t replace it.

Where the creator conversation gets it wrong

There’s a lot of noise right now around ‘the year of the creator.’ But in all the hype, we often miss the point.

The creators who last aren’t showing up because they go viral every week.

They’re showing up because they:

• build familiarity
• tell coherent stories
• prioritize trust over tricks
• and deliver, consistently

Their audiences don’t just consume their content, they believe them.

That belief isn’t built in one post.
It’s built through continuity with intention, not continuity for consistency sake.

AI makes this distinction even more important

AI can generate content at scale.
It can accelerate production.
It can amplify what already exists.

But it cannot decide what matters.

Without strategy, storytelling, and human intention, AI just accelerates noise.
With them, it becomes a tool that supports the brand, not replaces it.

That’s why brand building matters more now, not less.

Brand building is slow by design

Strong brands aren’t built through shortcuts.
They’re built through clarity, repetition, and restraint.

That means:

• choosing resonance over reach
• consistency over chaos
• relationships over spikes

It also means accepting that not every post needs to perform.
And that performance isn’t always the point.

The brands that last are the ones people recognize, remember, and return to.

A better question to ask

Instead of asking:

How do we go viral?

Try asking:

• What story are we telling consistently?
• Who are we building trust with?
• Where are we actually showing up for people?

Virality might introduce you.
Storytelling helps you stay.
Community is what makes you matter.