What Makes Posts Go Viral on LinkedIn? (And How You Can Make Yours Go Viral Too!)

"What makes posts go viral on LinkedIn?"

This is a question that many content creators are trying to figure out.

After all, if you can create content that goes viral on LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach a large number of people, which can be great for your business and your personal brand.

So, what's the secret of viral LinkedIn posts? Is it luck, or is there some science behind it that anyone can replicate?

Well, to help you and other content creators out there, we took the time and did the research.

We analyzed the profiles of 30 people that frequently went viral on LinkedIn and looked at more than 120 viral LinkedIn posts. We found that there are certain things and factors that these viral LinkedIn posts and content creators have in common.

Whether you're looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or just create a little buzz, knowing and keeping these things and factors in mind can definitely help you create content that has a much higher chance of going viral on LinkedIn.

So, without further ado, here are the things we found:

Topics

When we started doing our research, one of the first things we noticed was that the most viral LinkedIn posts were usually about certain topics.

These topics are evergreen and broad enough to apply to various industries and businesses.

Why?

Because more people can relate to and are interested in these topics. And the more people are interested in your content, the more likely it is to go viral.

Let's take a look at 8 of the most common topics that go viral on LinkedIn:

Career Advice

This is one of the most popular topics on LinkedIn and for a good reason.

Most people are always looking for ways to improve their careers and advance in their fields.

And whether you're just starting or you've been in your industry for years, there's always something new to learn.

So, it's no surprise that content that offers advice on how to do just that usually does quite well on LinkedIn.

Candidate experience

Almost everyone has been a job candidate at some point in their lives.

And whether the experience was good or bad, it's something that many people can relate to and are interested in reading and talking about.

That's why posts about candidate experience usually do pretty well on LinkedIn.

People want to know what companies are doing right and wrong, they are interested in hearing about other people's experiences, and they want to learn from both the good and the bad.

So, if you have some insights, tips, or stories to share about candidate experience, there's a good chance your post will be well-received by LinkedIn users.

Content creation

Content creation is another trendy topic on LinkedIn; again, it's not hard to see why.

In today's day and age, if you want to have a chance of being successful, you need to be creating content. Good content.

That's why so many people are interested in reading about and learning more about content creation, and that's why posts on this topic frequently go viral.

Another reason content creation is such a popular topic on LinkedIn is that many people on Linkedin are content creators, and a significant percentage of them are either professional marketers or have experience working with professional marketers and copywriters.

So, if you have any tips, tricks, or advice to share about content creation that may help other LinkedIn users, then go for it! You could even write a post about how to go about creating viral LinkedIn posts... like this one! Just kidding. Kind of.

In all seriousness, though, if you have any helpful tips or advice to share about content creation, go for it! You're more than likely to get a lot of attention and engagement.

How-I/We/They-made-it

Success stories are always popular, no matter what the topic is.

We all love reading about how other people and businesses have made it big, and we're always interested in learning about the strategies and tactics they used to get there.

LinkedIn users are no different.

If you have a story about how you or your company made it big, go ahead and share it! Just be sure to focus on the strategies and tactics you used and why you think they worked so well.

People will be interested in reading it.

And, who knows? Maybe your story will inspire someone else to go out and achieve their own success! That's always a good thing.

Side hustles

We all know that the traditional job market isn't what it used to be.

Most people today dream of a side hustle that will bring them joy, creativity, and, of course, extra income.

That's why side hustles are a very popular topic on LinkedIn and why posts about them go viral more often.

So, if you have a great side hustle that you're passionate about, go ahead and share it! Just be sure to include some helpful tips and advice so that other LinkedIn users can benefit from your experience. This will bring some eyeballs to your post.

Mindset

Mindset is a popular topic in general, but it's also something that LinkedIn users are interested in.

After all, it is something that can make or break our professional, and private life and people are always looking for ways to improve it.

If you have some helpful tips or advice to share about mindset, go ahead and write a post about it! You're sure to get some engagement and, who knows, maybe even go viral!

Work-related topics

Remote work, hybrid work, 4-day workweek, free days/PTO, and company culture are all topics that are getting a lot of attention on LinkedIn.

And it's not hard to see why.

Work is a big part of our lives, and we're always looking for ways to make it better.

By sharing your thoughts and experiences on these topics, you're sure to get some reactions from other LinkedIn users, as Ivana did in her viral post.

Anything related to your network

LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a social media platform.

That means that anything related to your network and that your network finds interesting and useful is sure to get some attention.

Our research found that all creators of viral LinkedIn posts are writing about the topic their network is interested in. Which didn't come as a surprise at all.

If your network is full of programmers, it only makes sense that a post about programming would go viral.

The same goes for any other topic.

So, if you want to go viral on LinkedIn, write about topics that your network is interested in; otherwise, you're unlikely to get much engagement.

Clear writing

This one should go without saying, but we'll say it anyway.

Every post we analyzed that went viral on LinkedIn was well-written. The grammar was good, the sentences were clear, and the overall message was easy to understand.

There was only one specific topic and takeaway. The story was easy to follow, and there were no loose ends.

There were no extra words or fluff. Just clear, concise writing that got straight to the point.

You never forget where did the author start with the post and what was the main idea by the time you finish reading it.

Interesting take

The majority of the post we analyzed had an interesting take on the chosen topic. This one, for example:

It wasn't just a rehashing of what's already been said. It was a new perspective, a different way of looking at things.

It was something that makes you go "hmm, I never thought of it that way before".

But it wasn't something so far-fetched that it was difficult to believe. It was something that made sense, and that author could back up with data, stories, and examples.

Also, it was usually something that goes against the mainstream.

For example, if everyone thinks side hustle is great, the post emphasizes how hard it is, and that is not for everyone. Or, if the common understanding is "unlimited PTO is great", the post is about how it could backfire and why it may be broken.

What makes this strategy so effective is that it's a great way to get people to stop and think about your message.

And given that there is an opinion attached to it, it's also a great way to get people to comment and share their opinion, take, or personal stories on the topic.

Do you see where this is going? One comment leads to another, and before you know it, your post has gone viral!

Interesting opening line

If there's one thing that we noticed about all of the viral posts we analyzed, it's that they all had an interesting opening line.

The reason for this is simple.

For a post to go viral, people need to actually read it. And for people to read it, the first few lines need to be interesting enough to make them want to read more.

This is why an interesting opening line is so important. It's what gets people to actually read your post.

Once they're hooked, they're more likely to read the rest of your post, like it, and comment on it.

And once people start engaging, that's when the viral magic starts to happen!

Here are 2 great examples of interesting opening lines:

Both Jed Mahrie and Nicolas Cole are experts at writing interesting opening lines that make you want to read more.

One thing that can help you tremendously with creating an interesting opening line is AuthoredUp.

AuthoredUp is a free Google Chrome extension that allows you to see how your post will look in the LinkedIn feed before you publish it.

With AuthoredUp, you can easily see which parts of your post will be visible in the feed so that you can make sure your opening lines are interesting and make people want to read more.

All you have to do is to go here, install the extension, add it to your browser, go to LinkedIn and enable it!

It will change how your editor looks, and after adding text on the left side of the screen where you actually write your post, you can see a preview of how it will look in the LinkedIn feed on the right side.

Here's what that looks like:

As you can see, AuthoredUp is a great way to make sure your opening lines are as interesting as possible and that they make people want to read your post!

Type of the post

When we analyzed the most viral posts on LinkedIn, we noticed that majority of them were text-only posts, without images, videos, or links.

Out of all the posts we analyzed, only a small minority had images, and even a smaller minority had videos. Posts with links? We didn't find a single one.

This goes against what most people think when they hear "post go viral". They think that you need an image, a video, or some other type of multimedia for your post to go viral.

But that's not the case!

The most viral posts on LinkedIn are text-only posts. And there's a reason for that.

Text-only posts are very easy to consume and they require the least amount of effort from the reader.

Images and videos are great, but they add to the complexity of the post and they require more effort from the reader. Although that effort is only a few seconds, it's still enough to make people not want to read your post.

People love simple and easy!

When it comes to the length of the post, we noticed that most viral posts are quite long, between 800 and 1500 characters.

There were some posts that were shorter and some that were longer, but the vast majority of viral posts fell into this character range.

Why is that?

Longer posts have more meat, and they go into more detail. This allows you to better explain your ideas and thoughts, and it also allows you to add more value.

People are also more likely to comment on longer posts because there is simply more to comment on!

So if you want to increase your chances of going viral, write longer posts!

Of course, don't go overboard and write a novel, but try to write posts that are at least 800-1000 characters long.

This is a great way to increase your chances of going viral!

Formatting

Another thing we noticed in every single viral post we analyzed was that they were all very well formatted.

The posts were very easy to read, they looked nice in the feed, the sentence length was just right, and they had proper spacing

between paragraphs.

It may sound strange to you, but many people don't format their posts properly. They write huge paragraphs, they don't space things out correctly, and as a result, their posts look terrible in the feed. It's no wonder that those posts rarely get attention.

Think about it, when was the last time you read a post that looks like a wall of text?

Probably never, right?

That's because people don't like to read posts that look like that. They are hard to read, they are not visually appealing, and as a result, people avoid them.

So if you want to go viral on LinkedIn, make sure to format your posts properly!

AuthoredUp can help with that as well!

It allows you to easily format and preview post on LinkedIn before publishing to make sure it will look great in the feed.

All you have to do is to add text on the left side of the screen, and on the right side, you can see how it will look like in the LinkedIn feed. Example.

If you want to add images or videos, you can do that with a few clicks as well.

It's really that simple!

Plus, you can add emojis, make the parts of your text bold or italic, and do pretty much anything you want to make your posts look great!

And the best part?

It's free to use!

So if you want to go viral on LinkedIn, AuthoredUp is something you should definitely check out!

Conclusion

Going viral on LinkedIn is great; it will get you a lot of attention, and it will make you feel good.

But it's not the most important thing, and it's not something you should solely focus on.

What you should focus on is creating quality content that provides value to your audience.

If you do that, going viral will come as a consequence!

Does this mean you should forget everything you've read in this article?

Of course not!

In fact, you should remember it, and you should use it to your advantage.

By following and implementing the strategies and tips in this article, not only you'll increase your chances of going viral, but you'll also create MUCH better content! And that's what it's all about!

So go out there and start creating quality content that provides value to your audience!

And who knows, maybe one day you'll go viral too! :)

P.S: We created five templates for Linkedin posts to help you write better. Check them out.