Creating Content
ViralToby supports two ways to create content: autonomous generation by Toby and manual creation by you. Both methods produce the same high-quality output -- the difference is who initiates the process.
Two Ways to Create
Autonomous (Toby)
When Toby is enabled, it continuously monitors your content buffer and generates new content automatically. Toby selects topics, hooks, personalities, and visual styles based on your Content DNA and its learned strategy scores. All Toby-generated content goes through the Pipeline for your review before publishing.
Manual
You can also create content manually at any time. Manual creation lets you:
- Specify the exact title and content lines
- Choose the content format (Format A, Format B, Carousel, Thread)
- Select which brands to generate for
- Pick a specific music track or let ViralToby choose automatically
- Override visual settings for a specific piece of content
Manual content follows the same generation pipeline as Toby's content -- same quality scoring, same rendering engine, same output quality.
Content Formats
Format A Reels (Text Overlay)
Format A is the classic viral reel format. It produces a short-form video with text overlaid on a visually striking background.
How it works:
- Text generation -- AI generates the title, content lines (key points), and call-to-action based on your Content DNA.
- Background creation -- An AI image model generates a background image that matches your niche and visual style. Alternatively, a user-uploaded or sourced image can be used.
- Thumbnail rendering -- A branded thumbnail is created with your brand colors, fonts, and layout.
- Video assembly -- The background image, text overlays, and music are composited into a video reel with smooth animations.
Content structure:
- Title (headline)
- 5-12 content lines (key points, facts, or tips)
- Call-to-action
- Background image
- Music track
Format B Reels (Slideshow)
Format B produces a slideshow-style reel with a header image and multiple content slides. This format is ideal for story-driven content, step-by-step guides, and listicles that benefit from visual variety.
How it works:
- Story generation -- AI generates a polished narrative with distinct sections.
- Image sourcing -- Multiple images are sourced from stock libraries or AI generation, one per slide.
- Slide rendering -- Each slide is rendered with text overlaid on its image, using crossfade transitions and Ken Burns zoom (25% scale) for cinematic movement.
- Video assembly -- All slides are composited into a single video with smooth transitions and music.
Content structure:
- Header slide with title
- Multiple content slides (each with text + unique background image)
- Crossfade transitions between slides
- Ken Burns zoom effect for visual interest
- Music track
Carousels (Multi-Slide Posts)
Carousels are multi-image posts designed for platforms that support swipeable content (Instagram, Facebook). Each slide is individually rendered as a static image.
Content structure:
- Cover slide (eye-catching first image with title)
- Content slides (each with a key point or tip)
- CTA slide (final slide with call-to-action)
- Per-slide text and visuals
Threads (Text Posts)
Threads are text-only posts optimized for Threads and Bluesky. No images or video are involved -- just well-crafted text.
Content structure:
- Text body (adapted to each platform's character limits and formatting)
- Hashtags (platform-appropriate)
Quality Scoring
Every piece of content generated by ViralToby is evaluated by the Quality Scoring Function (QSF) before it enters the pipeline. The QSF judges viral fitness and pattern compliance across five dimensions:
| Dimension | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Structural Compliance | 25% | Does the content follow the expected format? Correct number of points, word limits, proper structure. |
| Pattern Familiarity | 20% | Does it match proven content patterns from your niche? Recognizable frameworks that audiences engage with. |
| Novelty | 20% | Is it fresh and not repetitive? Avoids rehashing recently published content. |
| Emotional Hook Strength | 20% | Does the hook grab attention? Uses proven psychological triggers (curiosity, surprise, urgency). |
| Plausibility | 15% | Is the content believable and accurate? Avoids outlandish claims that damage credibility. |
Score Thresholds
| Score Range | Action |
|---|---|
| 80-100 | Publish -- content meets quality standards and enters the pipeline |
| 65-79 | Regenerate -- content is tweaked and re-scored |
| Below 65 | Reject -- content is discarded and regenerated from scratch |
Quality scoring happens automatically. You do not need to configure it. The QSF ensures only high-quality content reaches your review pipeline.
Design Customization
Brand Colors and Fonts
Each brand has its own visual identity configured in its settings:
- Primary and secondary colors -- used for text, backgrounds, and accents
- Font selections -- brand-specific typography for thumbnails and text overlays
- Layout preferences -- how text is positioned on slides
Thumbnail Types
ViralToby offers two thumbnail designs, independent from the content format:
| Thumbnail | Style |
|---|---|
| Thumbnail A | Clean, modern layout with bold title text and brand accent colors |
| Thumbnail B | Alternative layout with different visual emphasis and composition |
Thumbnail type is set per brand in your brand configuration. You can change it at any time -- it only affects the visual rendering, not the content itself.
Content format (A or B) and thumbnail type (A or B) are independent axes. You can use any combination: Format A with Thumbnail B, Format B with Thumbnail A, and so on. This gives you four distinct visual styles without changing your content strategy.
Caption Generation
Every piece of content gets a platform-optimized caption generated by AI:
- Instagram: Longer captions with hashtags, emojis, and line breaks for readability.
- Facebook: Slightly different formatting optimized for Facebook's text display.
- YouTube: Title and description formatted for YouTube Shorts discovery.
- Threads: Concise text optimized for the conversational Threads format.
- TikTok: Short, punchy captions with trending hashtags.
- Bluesky: AT Protocol-compatible text posts.
Captions are generated from your Content DNA settings (CTA options, hashtags, brand personality) and tailored to each platform's best practices.
Music Selection
Music is a key component of Reels and video content. ViralToby supports three music modes:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto (weighted random) | ViralToby selects from its built-in music library using weighted random selection. Tracks that pair well with your niche are preferred. |
| Trending | Select from currently trending audio tracks. |
| User-uploaded | Upload your own music tracks to use in content. |
| None | No music -- silent video. |
When Toby generates content autonomously, it automatically selects appropriate music. For manual creation, you can choose the music source and specific track.
Ensure you have the rights to use any music in your content, especially user-uploaded tracks. ViralToby's built-in library consists of royalty-free tracks suitable for commercial use.
Content Deduplication
ViralToby has a built-in anti-repetition system that prevents duplicate or near-duplicate content from being published:
Title Deduplication
Before a new piece of content is finalized, ViralToby checks it against your recent content history. If the title is too similar to something recently published or scheduled, the content is flagged and regenerated.
Topic Diversity
The Content DNA topic system encourages variety. Even when Toby finds a winning topic category, the 35% explore ratio ensures it continues trying other topics to keep your feed diverse.
Quality Guard
Toby runs a Quality Guard sweep every tick cycle that inspects scheduled content and detects:
- Duplicate titles -- near-identical content that would bore your audience
- Caption duplicates -- repetitive captions across scheduled posts
- Slot collisions -- multiple posts scheduled at the same time
- Fallback content -- lower-quality content that was generated as a backup
Detected duplicates are automatically cancelled, and their time slots are freed up for fresh content.