Quick Tip 14 - How to Go Viral on Social Media

Funny enough, the question I get asked more than anything else is: “How did you get 180k followers in just 7 months on Instagram?”

Most people think going viral on Instagram or TikTok is just about showing up consistently and waiting for the algorithm to eventually “reward” you.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re not getting views, your content isn’t good enough. People see it, and scroll past. It’s that simple.

So let me break down the exact strategy that took me to 180k followers in 7 months.

Before I uploaded a single post, I did a lot of research, and I mean a lot.

I clearly defined my niche, then opened Instagram and intentionally trained the algorithm so my feed showed me exactly what others in that niche were posting.

That’s where the real insight comes in. The secret isn’t studying huge creators, it’s looking at small accounts with viral content. Profiles with 1,000–50,000 followers pulling in a million-plus views on a reel. That’s the goldmine.

From there, it’s pure analysis. Break down what made the post work: the hook, pacing, length, structure, music, captions, everything. Write it all down. Then adapt those patterns to your own style and voice.

At the end of the day, growth comes down to finding the right format for your content within your niche. The faster you identify it, the faster your audience grows.

Below you’ll see a glimpse into my strategy document I wrote before starting to upload.

In my case, I wrote down five different content formats that were already proven to go viral in the filmmaking niche. I then prepared around six reels in advance, giving myself a solid 2–3 week head start.

I uploaded my first reel, and it failed hard. No views, no engagement, nothing. But because of my clear plan, I wasn’t discouraged at all.

I scrapped that format and moved straight on to the second one on my list.

I uploaded again and went to bed. When I woke up, my phone was exploding with notifications, the reel had gone viral.

That’s when it really clicked for me: the algorithm doesn’t care about you showing up endlessly. It cares about the right format paired with high-quality content.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “My niche is totally different, this won’t work for me,” let me stop you right there. It’s the same in every niche. Every niche has formats, hooks, pacing, and narration styles that simply work.

Your job is to find them, adapt them to your personality and content style, and then execute. Do the research, put in the work, and growth becomes inevitable.

Another crucial part of growing your following successfully is analyzing your performance. I created a simple spreadsheet where I tracked a few key metrics that actually mattered to me, and I highly recommend you do the same.

You can customize the metrics however you like, but having a clear overview of each post’s performance is essential. As you can see below, it allowed me to quickly identify what worked, what didn’t, and adjust my strategy accordingly.

That’s it. No magic, no shortcuts, just research, preparation, and intentional execution.

Yes, you can grow by posting whatever you enjoy and maybe you prefer that route. But if you want to seriously increase your chances of success, I highly recommend following this approach and treating your content like a system, not a gamble.

Do the work upfront, and let the results speak for themselves.

Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!

Until next time,

Stefan

Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.

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