What do Gangnam Style, Justin Bieber and Nathan Apodaca have in common?
For different reasons, they all cracked the social media algorithm leading to overnight fame.
Or, in simpler words:
They went viral.
Going viral is the goal of many creators. It’s the reason countless online professionals lost their jobs and or minds and some might even argue lives. It can lead to success at the speed of light or shed (unwanted) attention on people or topics.
I have an ambiguous relationship with social media and am still in the process of feeling comfortable creating, sharing and posting regularly.
Online and offline I do not aim at being in “the spotlight”, nevertheless I know how important it is to have an online presence when it comes to certain topics in this modern age.
This is why I am active on LinkedIn.
Last week, something happened that I did not expect.
What Happened
After nearly 1 1/2 years of more or less regular postings on LinkedIn, I landed a viral post a couple of days ago
The Analytics are straight out of a marketer’s dream which could have the title
" Viral Organic Reach, Zero Dollars Spent on Ads"
| Type | No. |
|---|---|
| 👁️ Impressions | ~ 600k |
| 👍🏾 Likes | ~ 4,1k |
| 💬 Comments | ~ 450 |
| 📣 Shares | ~ 400 |
| 👥 Followers | + 3,5k |
(09.07.22)
What’s strange about this post is, that I did not put that much effort into it. It took about 5 Minutes.
This is why I reflected on this unusual development.
An Attempt To Explain The Unexplainable
If I look at my stats of the week I can only say that this post stands out:
| Day | Impressions | Engagement | Engagement Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mo | 686 | 7 | 1.02% |
| Mo | 1.036 | 15 | 1.44% |
| Di | 5.574 | 71 | 1.27% |
| Di | 5.288 | 57 | 1.08% |
| Mi | 590.361 ✨ | 4.927 | 0.0008% |
| Mi | 2.638 | 5 | 0.19% |
| Do | 8.796 | 93 | 1.06% |
| Do | 3.099 | 23 | 0.74% |
| Do | 3.320 | 54 | 1.63% |
| Fr | 6.581 | 64 | 0.97% |
| Fr | 2.570 | 36 | 1.4% |
I tried to analyze potential reasons for the post going viral and have come up with 4 factors and one conspiracy theory.
Potential Explanation #1 - Tags
I tagged 9 companies in the post which have a combined reach of 326k followers.
I think this had a heavy influence on the reach of the post.
Potential Explanation #2 - One Big Interaction
The LinkedIn Account of We Work Remotely with 123k followers liked my post which may have led to a great number of their followers seeing this.
Potential Explanation #3 - Hashtags
I used 3 Hashtags
#remotework - 83k followers
#digitalnomad - 4,1k followers
#workfromhome - 527k followers
Maybe the combination of the high-reach hashtag #workfromhome with my first line “Here are 11 websites to find remote jobs 👇🏾” has pushed the reach of the post
Potential Explanation #3 - Randomness & Luck
Sometimes you are simply at the right place at the right time.
And this might have been the moment.
The combination of all, or none of the potential reasons with a grain of being lucky in terms of timing might be the deciding factor at play here.
Conspiracy Theory
In the same week, I have been running a little paid media experiment for leadership.remotenactive.com and thought:
" Did LinkedIn maybe boost my organic reach because I am running ads? "
There is no way for me to validate this and I think it’s rather unlikely, especially because the budget for the campaign was slightly below 100$.
One interesting and unintended development also occurred:
Random Messages
I am getting a mix of messages from people thanking me, to people asking me my opinion on how and where to get a remote job, to a whole load of people wanting to apply at my company. Although I have never stated that I am hiring or searching for help my post has somehow given off the impression that I might be hiring.
The most interesting messages are from people “demanding” me to help them find a job, or asking where they can find a remote job, although I just showed them a list of 11 websites where they can start their research.
I do not think the messages come out of bad intentions, but rather out of laziness or the not accurate thought I might know some kind of secret or shortcut to find a remote job.
Random Outlook
So, what’s next?
you might be asking me in our fictional conversation.
Short answer: I don’t know
Honestly, I am just moving forward as before and continuing to post and interact with the followers.
I must say, that this push did increase my motivation, as I now have the feeling people are caring slightly about what I am sharing.
Although most of my posts are a reflection of topics I am dealing with any way I am hoping to see positive, meaningful interactions come out of this development.
---Do you want to see if my next posts go under without notice, or spark up a social media flame? Join my journey on