What do Jesus, a green juice and Taylor Swift have in common?
- Danielle Hughes
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
What makes a LinkedIn post go viral? 3 real examples
One of the most recurring questions I get from jobseekers and professionals at any stage is “what should I post on LinkedIn?” What they really want to know is “do I have to post?” (no) and “what posts perform the best so I can be more visible?”
So let’s discuss my three most viral posts in the past few years and try to find the thread. (spoiler alert: there isn’t one)
Give it up for the most famous man ever
Last year I decided that the best way to show how ridiculous corporate jargon is in a LinkedIn bio was by using a real life example.
What would it look like if a famous person used jargon to describe themselves?
How ridiculous would they sound?
So I wracked my brain to think about the perfect example. Who would be the most unusual person to have a LinkedIn profile?
And like a sign from above, it came to me: Jesus.
Creating this post was so fun and even more fun was the participation. As you can see there are 140 comments, 184 reactions, 22 saves and 7 reposts.
Impressions were north of 20,000 which for me is a lot, by a landslide.
Now, I’ve had posts with upwards of 40 or 50 comments before, so why did this catch on? Why was the engagement so high?
Yes, it’s a creative idea. I can own that. But plenty of people have creative ideas on LinkedIn. And I’ve had many prior.
Is it because I showcased the most famous person in history? Perhaps. My subsequent Marie Curie post didn’t perform as well with under 1000 impressions.
I think it comes down to content, but also timing. This post got instant engagement and it was sustained for days, even weeks. And most importantly a lot of engagement came from 2nd and 3rd degree connections.
Now, can I tell you how they saw this? Nope. But I will say this content perfectly encapsulated what I do and my own thought leadership. It educated. Which is something LinkedIn claims to be promoting right now. Does it feel like lightning in a bottle? A little.
But here are two more examples..
Juicing #FTW
As of two weeks ago I had my second most viral post. This post was a belated nod to my 54th birthday and how I celebrated in Spain with my son who’s currently studying abroad.
It’s almost at 11,000 impressions, has 160 reactions and 64 comments. 0 reposts and 2 saves.
Now, one reason this post performed well: it’s a photo of me. Not because I’m Cindy Crawford, but because photos of us outperform across all social media platforms.
While LinkedIn is a thought leadership and job search platform, it’s also social. It’s about connecting. And what connects better than a photo of us.
I also notably had no CTA and no link in this post. Of course LinkedIn claims vehemently that they don’t punish external links but evidence proves otherwise.
And it was about me being happy. Content. At peace.
We all love to see that and aspire to it, even if it was just for that day, hour or week.
I wore no makeup and was truly my authentic self - baseball hat, overalls and sunglasses. The antithesis of a professional headshot.
And yet, this did better than almost all my posts across the last 15 years. Because it was raw. Not raw like the “crying CEO” but raw like honest and not performative.
And now the final most viral post…
In my virality era
Back in April of 2023, I wrote this post after attending one of the first shows of the Eras tour. (It’s ok to be jealous, mad, etc.)
Unbeknownst to me, LinkedIn decided to do a round up of several TSwift posts on the platform and mine was included. So this helped boost an already popular post on a very popular topic.
This post received 43 comments, 56 reactions and 4 reposts.
Interestingly enough this post had a lot of hashtags (not a thing these days) and did include an external link to my full blog post. I believe impressions were somewhere above 6,000 but since this post is 3 years old I can’t access that info anymore.
Obviously it struck a chord due to the most famous woman on the planet (arguably) and everyone’s desire to get access to the hottest ticket in town. You can read how I got so lucky.
But even I was shocked by the engagement, which a few years ago, was a lot. No one was getting 20,000 impressions back then (that I know of), especially with only around 5,000 connections/followers like I had (I’m currently gunning for 10K but have a ways to go).
What’s in it for you?
The truth is LinkedIn has changed a lot. And until my birthday post, I’d been getting impressions in the hundreds for months (womp womp).
It made me want to give up. After all, I’ve built a following and been consistently posting and commenting on this platform for YEARS. It should be rewarding me more for that contribution.
Now, having said that, I don’t have a magic bullet and there’s no code to crack. But I do know that you can’t go viral without a clear brand and point of view. Or forget viral, you can’t get engagement or gain traction.
A good post might stand on its own once, but for posts that consistently get read, and to increase your own visibility and thought leadership, you need to know who you are and what you want to say.
And that all starts with creating your Personality Brand. And even more, with some Quick Wins.
This new area of my website offers you the chance to work with me and get content assessed or done quickly and affordably.
Of course you can still work with me one on one, or bring me in to speak to your organization, but if you’ve been putting off focusing on you and your brand, this is your chance.
Why aren't my LinkedIn posts getting engagement anymore?
LinkedIn has changed, and it's not just you. I've been posting consistently for 15+ years and still had months of impressions in the hundreds. The fix isn't a hack — it's having a clear Personality Brand and point of view. Without that, even good posts fizzle. With it, you have a shot at actual traction (and occasionally, 20,000 impressions out of nowhere).
What makes a LinkedIn post go viral?
Honestly? Nobody fully cracks the code. But looking at my three biggest hits — a fake Jesus LinkedIn bio, a no-makeup birthday photo, and a Taylor Swift Eras Tour recap — the pattern is: creativity that teaches, rawness that connects, and timing that hits a cultural moment. No magic bullet. Just a real brand and a real take.
Do photos of yourself perform better on LinkedIn?
Yes, and it's not close. Photos of actual humans outperform graphics and text-only posts across every platform, LinkedIn included. My most authentic shot — baseball hat, overalls, zero makeup — did better than almost every post I've made in 15 years. It's still a social platform. Nothing connects like a face (especially one that isn't a stiff professional headshot).
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