Create Social Buzzworthy Characters

Creating well-rounded characters is a critical step for any storyteller, whether you’re crafting the next blockbuster screenplay, a TV pilot, or a series. The best characters not only capture the hearts of audiences but also ignite conversations on social media that expand your reach and amplify your impact.

Here’s how to develop characters that become cultural phenomena and examples of campaigns that successfully leveraged social media:

Black Panther: T'Challa played by Chadwick Bosman

1. Develop a Backstory That Resonates

A strong backstory shapes a character's motivations and helps the audience connect emotionally. These details might not always make it into the final story, but they influence how your character reacts to situations, making them authentic and relatable. Disney launched Black Panther with a whole social media campaign that highlighted T’Challa’s dual responsibilities as a king and superhero. They included a lot of behind-the-scenes features and actor interviews that tied the character to universal themes of family, leadership, and legacy, making him one of the most discussed Marvel heroes on social media.

2. Highlight Character Arcs That Inspire or Intrigue

A character’s evolution is one of the most compelling parts of storytelling. Audiences love to watch how characters change through conflict, triumph, or personal discovery.

3. Create Dynamic Relationships

Characters are often remembered through their interactions with others. Whether it's a rivalry, a romance, or an unlikely friendship, relationships create opportunities for audiences to invest in the story.

4. Lean Into the Power of Flaws

Flaws make characters human, relatable, and more interesting. A perfect character is forgettable, but a flawed one stays with audiences and gets people talking. HBO's Euphoria did this well by spotlighting Rue’s struggles with addiction and mental health, paired with moments of vulnerability and humor. These traits made her deeply relatable which inspired fan edits, discussions, and even TikTok challenges based on Rue's storylines.

5. Quote Their Best Lines

Characters with memorable dialogue often become viral sensations. A sharp, snappy quote can encapsulate a character’s essence, making it instantly shareable. One of my favoires is from Kelly on Insecure where she says, "you know what that is? Growth" lol.

Overall, Issa Rae’s Insecure featured authentic, witty, and hilarious dialogue. Lines from the show quickly became memes and GIFs, fueling social media buzz and increasing its cultural footprint and turning it into an instant classic of its generation.

6. Encourage Audience Participation

Create fans then encourage them to engage with your characters—through polls, fan art contests, or hashtags. This builds a sense of community and elevates your characters into cultural icons even if you're a fresh face in the game. For a good example, let's look at Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the interactive episode that allowed audiences to make choices for the protagonist. The format itself went viral, and fans went crazy on social media to share their outcomes and theories. This kept the conversation going well beyond the release.

7. Show, Don’t Tell

Social media thrives on visuals. A well-crafted character reveal, iconic costume, or visually compelling moment can go viral without any need for context. For example, I have never seen Game of Thrones (don't judge) but, I couldnt' seem to get away from that “Winter is Coming” campaign that focused on key characters in highly stylized visuals, which led to a flood of fan content, memes, and anticipation posts. Maybe I'll go watch it soon cuz I can feel the judgmental stares LOL.

8. Leverage Representation

Audiences deeply value representation and diversity, which makes characters that reflect a wide range of experiences and identities resonate powerfully. Think about how FX broke the internet when they released Pose. They used social media campaigns that celebrated the show’s cast and fans turned the characters into memes, debate posts, and endless discussions.

Real-World Case Study: Social Media Buzz

One standout example is the reaction to The Bear, which gained massive attention for its nuanced characters. Social media conversations often revolved around Carmy and Sydney's dynamic. Fans debated their relationship and analyzed subtle moments, leading to viral posts, trending hashtags, and even op-eds dissecting the pair's interactions.

Click here for a tidbit about Hulu's award-winning series The Bear: Teen Vogue wrote an article about how the intimate nature of these two characters caused dissent among The Bear fandom, as a platonic faction emerged to resist the idea of Sydney and Carmy engaging in a romantic relationship. Whether you agree with the article or not, this kind of attention for your characters is GOLD!

Even without big budgets like the shows I mentioned, you can leverage these strategies and create social buzzworthy characters by giving them rich backstories, authentic arcs, and relatable dynamics so they naturally become social media stars--even if you prefer to stay in the background. By strategically leveraging these elements in your campaigns, you not only build a loyal audience but also create opportunities for your story to reach new heights.