7 Social Media Hacks for 2025—From a Top YouTube Creator

If you want to grow on social media in 2025, start here.

At SXSW 2025, former YouTube and Instagram insider Jon Youshaei took the stage to share the strategies he’s used to build an audience of over 1 million—and help creators go viral without burning out.

Named by TIME, Fast Company, and Inc. as someone who’s “cracked the code on how to go viral,” Youshaei delivered a no-nonsense masterclass packed with insider tips and frameworks for long-term success. 

Whether you’re building on YouTube, TikTok, or LinkedIn, this is your step-by-step blueprint to grow your audience—and never run out of content ideas again.

1. Master the key visual test

Many creators waste time making videos that should be articles or text posts. Use the napkin test to determine if your idea is worth turning into a video:

When you’re explaining your idea to a friend:

• Did you draw something on a napkin to explain it?
• Did you pull out your phone to show a picture while explaining it?
• Did you say, “You gotta see this” while describing it?

If you answer yes to any of these, your idea likely has strong visual storytelling potential and you should make the YouTube video. Otherwise, consider turning it into a written post for platforms like LinkedIn or X.

Pro tip: Follow Johnny Harris, one of the best YouTube storytellers, for inspiration.

2. Use Instagram’s hidden feature to discover your niche

Instagram’s algorithm already groups your account with similar creators. To find out who they are:

• Use a second Instagram account to follow yourself or ask a friend to follow/unfollow your account. 
• Instagram will generate a “Suggested for You” tray showing related accounts.
• Study these accounts to analyze their top-performing content. 

This hack helps you understand what works in your niche and what content ideas are pre-vetted for success.

3. The R.A.I.N.Y. framework for better video intros

Most creators lose viewers in the first few seconds of their videos. Apply this formula for engaging intros:

• R – Show the Result: What are they gonna get out of it?
• A – Address their Objection: Speak to their B.S. detector
• I – Make it Instant: Hook them in under 45 seconds.
• N – Explain why this matters Now.
• Y – Establish Why You are the best person to deliver it.

4. Identify viral content using the outlier method

Instead of guessing which topics will go viral, reverse-engineer success with this strategy:

1. Search 1-3 keywords related to your niche/idea on YouTube.
2. Sort by View Count.
3. Sort by Any Time.
4. Find the outliers – videos with significantly higher views than the channel’s average.
5. Start making a list to see patterns and trends.

Pro tip: Tools like Spotter Studio automate this process and identify outlier content at scale.

5. Find unlimited content ideas on Reddit

Reddit is an underused but powerful tool for sourcing trending topics:

1. Search for subreddits related to your niche.
2. Filter by Top, All Time to find a treasure trove of content for your niche.
3. Save posts with strong visuals or compelling questions for video ideas.
4. Set a weekly reminder to check top posts in active subreddits.

6. Clip yourself before others do

Short-form content dominates social media, and if you don’t clip your own videos, someone else will—without linking back to you.

Use tools like Opus Clip to:

• Automatically generate short-form clips from your long-form content.
• Optimize for engagement and virality.
• Insert embedded YouTube links to drive viewers to your full videos.

Pro tips:

• Point YouTube Shorts to longer videos with YouTube’s new embedded feature
• Try the Flood Method loved by Mr. Beast – change the links in your Shorts to point to your most recent video, even if it’s not completely related.
• Use OpusSearch to search your content – e.g. find me guests who talked about ‘x’

7. Find content ideas to solve popular problems

Use these search-based hacks to ensure your content meets audience demand:

• Use YouTube Auto-Suggest: Go incognito mode on Chrome and type a few title ideas into YouTube and see how it auto-completes the sentence. 
• Check Google Search’s “People Also Ask”: Find follow-up questions to address in your content.
• Search Quora for FAQs: Type in your topic, sort by questions, sort by all time. Make a list, make the content. 

Final thoughts: The second mover advantage

Many people assume the best time to grow on social media was a decade ago. The truth? You now have a second mover advantage, explained Youshaei. You can study what works, replicate success, and avoid past mistakes. By applying these seven tips, you’ll be ahead of 99% of creators who are still flying blind.

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