My Video Got 84K Views

Why you might not want to go viral...

There's someone on Twitter who's famous for saying "likes ain't cash". And last week, I saw someone on LinkedIn remix it to "claps ain't cash". In other words, getting loads of likes, comments, and views on your content doesn't guarantee revenue.

Don't get me wrong, going viral can help.

Because you need to be regularly getting your message in front of new people to grow both your business + your impact. There's loads of ways to do this, and organic content is one of them (other ways include paid ads, collaborations, and cold outreach). But you don't want to fall into the trap of chasing views + likes, because that doesn't necessarily bring in clients.

I can say this with certainty, because...

1. I've had people with big impressive follower counts + posts that regularly get hundreds of likes ask me for help because despite winning the popularity contest, they were struggling to make money in their coaching business.

2. Last week, a client of mine had a post "tank" (it got very little views and only 18 likes vs their regular 50-70 likes per post) but that post led to a highly interested potential client DM'ing them.

3. I've had several posts go viral. Some tremendously changed the trajectory of my life, business, and bank account. While others exploded with views + engagement and had practically no impact (other than overwhelming me with notifications + comments to respond to 😅).

So let's break a few of my viral posts down....

Post A - 289K views, 421 comments, 222 likes

This poll from 2022.

Why did it blow up?
It was talking about coffee on a platform that's all about work + business, it had a great hook that sparked curiosity, it's format enticed lots of interactiveness, and it included a poll which LinkedIn was heavily amplifying at the time.

What impact did it have?
I got some new followers, most of them where not my Dream Clients.

Post B - 84K views, 147 likes, 96 comments

This video from two weeks ago.

Why did it blow up?
The hook created an open-loop (a question that people wanted answered). The topic was highly relevant to the majority of my LinkedIn audience + community: What do you really need to build a $100K/year coaching business? And tbh, I think I just won the LinkedIn lottery that day because LinkedIn seems to be moving towards a "winner take all" approach where fewer posts take a larger share of the views/engagement on any given day. This is similar to the algorithm on IG + TikTok.

What impact did it have?
I got a couple dozen new followers, many of which are my Dream Clients + seven new subscribers to my newsletter. While it will be harder to measure, I'm confident it will lead to new clients in the coming months after some of these folks spend more time in my orbit.

Post C - 20K views, 348 likes, 102 comments

This video from 2019.

Why did it blow up?
I was extremely bold in declaring that I quit my job. The post was celebrating two milestones (leaving my full-time Director role + signing a new coaching client) and people love celebrating milestones. Plus, you can feel my energy + enthusiasm in the video.

What impact did it have?
I was inundated with messages from people who wanted to work with me. I signed several clients, including my first international one (a total stranger), and it led to me having to quit my job a month earlier than planned.

Why did this one have such a measurable impact on my business when it went viral?

I was powerfully speaking to the exact people I knew I wanted to serve. And I didn't just describe who they are + how they see the world, I characterized them in positive labels that they'd want to identify with. It led to people messaging me and describing themselves in the exact words I used in the video. Lastly, I was being extremely bold. And when you're taking bold leaps, you attract others who are serious about making change + want to take bold leaps themselves.

If you just chase views/likes...

You'll find yourself doing things purely to try and go viral. On LinkedIn that might mean talking about coffee, while on IG that could mean posting bathing suit pics. And unless you're selling coffee beans or sunscreen, that's not going to move your business forward.

Instead...

Speak directly to your Dream Clients in every post, so that if/when you do have one spread further, it will actually help you have more impact.

See you next Saturday.

-R

P.S. Want to start thinking bigger + be more bold?

Join us at Do Bold Sh!t on October 19th in Toronto. This is more than an in-person event, workshop, or mastermind. It’s an invitation for you to create the bold shit you were called here to make. When I first announced it last week, it was limited to 100 tickets. And now? There's only 58 of those spots left.