How to go viral on LinkedIn: my personal experience and learnings

Disclaimer: While going viral on LinkedIn is certainly exciting it is most likely not the right strategy for most people.

How the Post Took Off: First 24-36 Hours

The post gained traction gradually in the beginning. During the first hour, I saw decent engagement, especially with some initial likes and comments from people I’d reached out to for an early boost. The response was steady, but it wasn’t until the post hit about the one-hour mark that LinkedIn’s algorithm seemed to take notice. At that point, it was as if LinkedIn switched gears, pushing the post beyond my network.

Once this happened, engagement skyrocketed. I was receiving several comments and likes per minute, and for the next 24 hours, it just kept gaining traction. Toward the end of that period, things slowed down a bit, but comments were still coming in regularly until around the 36-hour mark, when the post’s visibility noticeably tapered off.

I was lucky enough that two of the big creators commented on the post. One of them VERY early on which definitely helped. It was Lara Acosta who almost commented first and I could see the majority of the audience being from the London area for the first couple hours. Something that I attribute to her reach.

The Viral Strategy: How It All Started

To set this post up for virality, I offered a freebie—a carefully crafted set of 35 LinkedIn post templates. These templates were based on the top posts from seven of LinkedIn’s most successful copywriters and creators. By studying these posts and transforming them into reusable templates with prompts, I created something that would make my audience’s LinkedIn content creation faster and easier. Here’s how I structured the post:

• Draft the post with ContentIn:
  Of course I used ContentIn to write the post. In this case I went through the AI Ghostwriter to do so.
• First Line Hook:
  I opened with an attention-grabbing line, something like “I found the top 1% of posts on LinkedIn.” This hook was critical in pulling people in immediately.
• Clear Call to Action:
  The post was straightforward—comment to receive the freebie. No other call to action or link was needed.
• Tagging Influencers:
  I tagged the creators I referenced, which added credibility and visibility to the post.
• Early Engagement Boost:
  Within the first 30 minutes, I asked some friends to like and comment, which gave the post an initial push.
• Active Engagement:
  I spent the first hour replying to every comment on the post and engaging across the platform, including commenting on posts by the creators I tagged. This built additional awareness for my profile and my post.

 

The Results

The post picked up momentum gradually, but after about an hour, it hit the LinkedIn algorithm’s radar and started gaining impressions outside my immediate network. For a full 24 hours, engagement surged as people commented to get the freebie, and I saw results like:

• Impressions: Over 70,000
• Comments: around 1,200
• Follower Growth: almost 1,000 new followers
• Profile Views: Surprisingly, these didn’t increase much.
• Content Engagement: While comments flooded in, it seemed few people actually opened the freebie templates (partial data). I dive deeper into this in the learnings section.

Key Learnings and Future Improvements

Watching the post’s performance unfold, I picked up some valuable lessons to make future viral posts even more effective:

1. Automate Freebie Delivery

Manually sending out the templates was overwhelming, so I used tools like Linked Savvy to automate the process. For high-engagement posts, automation is essential to maintain momentum without excessive manual effort.

2. Track Engagement with Link Tracking

I missed a big opportunity by not setting up link tracking on the freebie’s download link initially. By using a link shortener, I can measure how many people actually click to view the content. Midway through, I added tracking, which gave me partial data, but I plan to do this from the start next time.

3. Use a Secondary Freebie to Capture Emails

Directly asking for an email can be a barrier, especially when promising free content without strings attached. Instead, I introduced a secondary freebie within the template download—a more extensive Notion bundle. This allowed me to offer additional value while providing an opportunity to collect emails for future engagement.

4. Lead Nurturing Strategy

The viral mechanics of LinkedIn posts work well to get comments, but converting those interactions into long-term engagement requires more. By directing people to a bigger resource in exchange for their email, I’m able to capture leads and add them to a nurturing sequence and newsletter, ensuring ongoing opportunities to engage and add value.

Final Thoughts

This post showed me how powerful LinkedIn’s algorithm can be if you hit the right notes with engagement triggers. But it’s not just about going viral—it’s about converting that viral engagement into meaningful relationships and leads. Next time, I plan to implement these learnings from the start to ensure every viral post maximizes both reach and lead capture. Going viral is great, but making it count for your brand and business is even better.