Introduction
Our own CEO, Tim Davies, had huge success this week with a post he put out about Meta’s new AI bot, Blenderbot 3. We know that going viral is a dream for almost everyone on the internet, but it can be a nightmare for some since going viral can actually be pretty uncomfortable (just ask the poor people who go viral by saying something offensive). But what if you don’t care either way? What if your goal isn’t to become famous, but instead to build your brand? Does going viral on LinkedIn actually lead to more business? The short answer is no. The long answer is probably not.
The short answer is, no.
One thing is certain: going viral on LinkedIn will not directly lead to more sales. You can’t force a post to go viral, and even when it does, the effects are indirect.
If you want your business to benefit from LinkedIn’s content discovery algorithm and increase your organic reach, then you need a long-term strategy in place. You must be consistent with your social media marketing plan and provide engaging content consistently for months on end before these results start showing themselves—if they ever do at all!
The long answer is, probably not.
The long answer is, probably not.
We’ve all seen it: someone shares something on LinkedIn that blows up, getting hundreds or thousands of likes and comments. This can be in the form of an article, blog post or video — usually about a topic that’s hot right now (Meta’s new AI bot, “BlenderBot 3”), but sometimes just something that was put together well. If you have even a little bit of experience with marketing, you know one thing: people love to share things they find interesting! We’re social creatures who like to share our thoughts with others. It makes us feel good when we spread positivity around ourselves through our actions (and sometimes by sharing cat videos).
Going viral on LinkedIn can be a valuable asset to your business in other ways.
Going viral on LinkedIn can be a valuable asset to your business in other ways.
You can use it to build your brand by sharing content that informs, educates, or entertains readers. This is important because you want people to recognize and remember who you are when they think of the topic you’re writing about.
You can also use this opportunity to build your network, which will help lead others back to you when they need services like yours in the future. It could also mean more referrals from current customers and colleagues if they see that their peers are discussing and sharing what it is that you do.
Finally, going viral on LinkedIn means showing off how much credibility and authority experts like you have within certain communities (like those focused on business topics). When people see this kind of recognition being given out freely by other users through sharing buttons, then they’ll know immediately whether or not it’s worth clicking over there too.
But going viral won’t land you new clients overnight.
But going viral won’t land you new clients overnight.
It takes time to build a following on LinkedIn, and you need to be consistent and keep putting out good content. You also need to be patient, persistent, and willing to fail in order for your efforts to pay off.
In fact, it can take weeks or months to reap the benefits of going viral.
You may have heard that going viral is a great way to get traffic, boost sales, and grow your business. But in fact, it can take weeks or months to reap the benefits of going viral.
It’s not a magic bullet; you need to do all the same things that work for any successful marketing campaign: have good content (product), a great strategy (marketing), and be consistent with your efforts (business plan).
Fast success stories are few and far between.
No, viral success is not a lottery ticket. Yes, you can get lucky and have an article go viral in a matter of hours or days. But that’s not the norm—and it’s certainly not something you should expect.
Viral posts are great for driving awareness and increasing social proof on your brand page, but they’re rarely the catalyst for sales. If you’re looking to generate more revenue from your LinkedIn content strategy and don’t have time to wait months or years for a post to go viral organically (or if you don’t want to invest in paid promotion), there are other strategies we recommend trying first.
Nearly everyone who has gotten a lot of traction on LinkedIn has been on the platform for some time, putting out good content consistently.
You can’t expect a viral post to happen overnight. In fact, most people who have gotten a lot of traction on LinkedIn have been on the platform for some time, which means that they have likely put out good content consistently.
They also likely have an audience that is interested in what they are writing about and wants more information from them. So while you may see business opportunities come from your viral post, the best way to get ahead financially is by building up an engaged following over time; not just by having one big hit with no real follow-up strategy to back it up.
In short: if you want people to take action after reading your article, make sure you have something else interesting enough for them to read later!
For example, if you have an opinion on a hot-button issue, like Meta’s new AI bot, you might get some extra views by posting about it.
Since LinkedIn is a business-focused platform, you’re more likely to have conversations about things that matter in the workplace. For example, if you have an opinion on a hot-button issue, like Meta’s new AI bot, you might get some extra views by posting about it.
Or maybe your company has just released a new product. You could write about how it works and why customers should buy it—and include links to buy those products or services right in the post.
This kind of post can be shared by other people who work at companies that compete with yours (or even by customers who are interested in what they do). As long as they’re carefully written and informative enough for readers to enjoy on their own time, these sorts of posts usually get good responses from other users as well.
But that doesn’t mean people will suddenly buy your product or service just because they liked what you had to say about AI bots.
But that doesn’t mean people will suddenly buy your product or service just because they liked what you had to say about AI bots.
Viral posts can lead to more awareness of your brand and its message, which is great if you consider the long-term value of creating an engaged community of customers who want to support you.
In addition, viral posts often lead to more business in the form of referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations from people who like what you’re doing.
The same goes for traffic: it’s not always a reason for new customers coming in through the door with their wallets open wide waiting for another sale opportunity. Don’t expect viral posts to directly translate into sales immediately following their publication; be patient as they grow in popularity over time (and don’t give up).
Do you really care what other people think? Then go ahead and post whatever you want!
If you’re a business, your primary concern should be building relationships with potential customers. You want to make them feel valued and respected.
If you don’t care about what other people think, then go ahead and post whatever you want. You’ll get the same results as someone who does care about what other people think (but they will also have more fun). As long as they know that yours is a business that cares about what they think, then it doesn’t matter whether or not they like your posts.
But if you DO care about what other people think… well then I hope this article helped!
Viral posts can generate new leads with people you’ve never heard of.
Yes, a viral post can get likes, comments, reactions and shares but it can also help you create new leads with people you’ve never heard of. When people interact with one of your posts, they’re sharing your brand with their network of friends and followers. With each person who sees the post, there’s an opportunity to grow your audience and create new leads. Whether these leads convert to sales is up to you!
Here are some tips if you are lucky enough to have one of your posts go viral:
• Reply to comments that you think have merit. You don’t have to agree with what’s being said, but make sure you reply with something.
• Use the list of people who have interacted as a list of possible leads. Check out their profiles and if they match your ideal customer persona then reach out to them directly.
• Don’t get drawn into arguments. Replying is great, but you don’t want to come across as argumentative.
• If people are debating with each other, leave them alone. The more comments the post gets, the more LinkedIn will promote it so let them carry on.
• Review your inevitable influx of connection requests carefully. Don’t accept every single one, choose only those who you’d be interested in talking to or reading more about.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between having a viral post on LinkedIn and getting sales. If you want to be successful in business, it’s important that you understand how social media works and how your audience uses the platform. Just because you have a viral post doesn’t mean it will get customers or clients for your company – but by putting out quality content consistently over time, you can build up a following that trusts what they see from your brand!
What’s next: