How to Go Viral: Insights from a Most Liked Facebook Status

Have you ever seen a Facebook status with more Likes, Comments, and Shares than this photo posted by Earthian on Oct 11, 2011?

Aside from the huge number of interactions, two extra remarkable things stand out about this Facebook photo:

1. The Earthian Facebook Page only has 35,000 page Likes, and this photo has more than FOUR TIMES that many Likes, Comments, and Shares.
2. None of the usual popular topics—such as a famous person, world news event, or funny Internet meme—are depicted here.

What does this teach social media marketers about how to make a Facebook post go viral?

• Post images or video instead of plain text
• Design your caption into the image (also write it into the Facebook photo description)
• Post about a topic that affects lots of people in all classes, all over the world
• Don’t include your opinion, allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions
• Show something new and surprising
• Share ideas that can lead to a positive change
• Focus on a timeless message

And for good karma and less questions to answer, be sure to give location and photo credit like they did in the bottom right corner.

If you know of other Facebook posts with lots of Likes, Comments, and Shares, please let us know in the comments and share the link if possible.