57. How to Go Viral on Instagram Reels: Setting the Foundation for Success (part 1)
Welcome to part one of my Viral Videos for Business series! Over the past two weeks, I’ve had three different videos blow up. Each with a unique strategy. One reel alone has nearly 8 million views and has brought in over 7,000 new followers (!!!).
In this episode, we’re setting the foundation for this series by unpacking:
What does “going viral” actually mean?
Should virality even be your goal?
The upsides of going viral—plus the dark side no one talks about
The #1 mistake people make when chasing virality
If you’re ready to reverse-engineer viral content for your brand, this episode is your starting point.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] Welcome to the Viral Videos for Business Series!
[03:20] What Does "Going Viral" Actually Mean? (Hint: It’s relative!)
[06:12] Virality vs. Reach – Why You Should Focus on "Viral for Me"
[08:53] The Upsides of Virality: Followers, Visibility & Sales Growth
[09:49] The Dark Side of Going Viral: Haters, Trolls & Burnout
[13:07] The #1 Mistake People Make When Trying to Go Viral
[15:58] How to Create Viral-Worthy Content Without Burning Out
Key Takeaways:
Viral videos can bring huge visibility—but only if your content is aligned with your niche.
Virality is relative. Your goal should be “viral for me,” not chasing million-view videos.
Avoid the biggest mistake: Make virality the goal instead of content that converts.
The best-performing content is strategic, not random. The viral moments will come when you focus on the right things.
Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Hot Reels Waitlist – Sign up here
Next week: I’m breaking down my 8 million-view viral video and exactly why it worked so you can apply the same strategies to your brand. Don’t miss it!
A Truth You Need to Hear:
"Virality is not a strategy. It’s a byproduct of great content."
S3 Ep57 Transcript: How to Go Viral on Instagram Reels: Setting the Foundation for Success (part 1)
00:00
You've landed on part one of a four part series on how to create viral content for your business. In this series, I'm gonna break down the myths, the numbers and the exact strategies behind viral content. So you can reverse engineer them for your business and create content that actually converts. I cannot wait to share this with you. Let's go.
00:27
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
00:56
Let's dive in.
01:05
Welcome back to the show. I'm super happy that you are taking this time to tune in today because I have a super special series in store for you. And I'm gonna give you a little framework as to where the series came from. Before I do, I wanna highlight that I am dealing with this chronic sinus problem right now. It's really frustrating. I don't know about you. If you're one of those people who deals with sinus stuff, I have dealt with chronic sinus infections since I was a kid.
01:35
I've had sinus surgeries, I've done allergy shots, I've done pretty much everything under the sun you can imagine to try to fix my sinus problem, but it has flared up today. So if I sound a little bit nasally, please forgive me. Hopefully this will clear soon and I will be back to normal. So I wanted to create this viral videos for business series for you, my beloved listener, because in the last...
02:04
two weeks alone, I have had not one, not two, three massively viral videos for both of my brands. And all three of these pieces of content are totally different strategies. And I thought, wow, this is a perfect podcast series because I can break down the elements of each of these viral reels.
02:31
So you, my beloved, can reverse engineer these ideas and strategies and implement them into your brand. Does that sound awesome? If you're excited about this viral video series, hit me up on Instagram. Make sure you're following me over there at Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y. And I wanna know that you're excited. I'm excited, as you can tell, even with this sinus infection. I'm ready to go, all right.
02:58
So let me give you a framework for what we are gonna do here in these four episodes. So today we are gonna talk about what does going viral mean, why virality is relative, and I'm gonna share with you the upsides of going viral, like all the good things about it, and then the dark side of going viral.
03:20
Plus we're gonna get into the number one mistake I see people make. And then in the next three episodes, I'm gonna break down each of my recent viral videos. We're gonna explore why they worked, the psychology behind them, and how you can use the same approach for your brand. I can't guarantee that you'll go viral, but if you implement these strategies that I'm gonna teach you during this series, I can bet that you'll see an increase in your reach and engagement.
03:49
Okay, so we've all heard the phrase going viral, but what does that actually mean? Is there a magic number that makes something viral? And more importantly, should going viral even be your goal? So as I mentioned in the last two weeks, I've had three videos explode past one million views each. In fact, I have to share that one of these videos
04:17
is approaching eight million views and I've already received over 7,000 followers from this one reel alone. I can't wait to break it down for you next week. Okay, so what does going viral mean? There is no single universal metric that defines when content is officially viral. A lot of times when clients come to work with me in Hot Reels or private mentorship, they're asking like, how would I?
04:45
know if a real one viral? Is it a specific number? Is it 10,000 views? Is it 100,000 views? Is it 1 million views? And I want to say that across the board, there is no single universal metric that defines virality. Okay? And different platforms and contexts also have their own benchmarks. So virality is really more about relative performance.
05:13
rather than hitting a fixed number like 1 million views, okay? So when you think about virality, again, it's not a strict number. It really is all about how quickly a piece of content spreads beyond your typical audience. For some of you, if you posted a video with 10K views, that could be considered viral for you. So in Hot Reels, we have a saying where we say,
05:42
viral for me. And really how I define that with my group is if it's like 10x what you normally would get. So let's say you post a reel and you normally get views around 100, okay? And then you post a video and you get a thousand views, that could feel viral for you because wow, you're reaching 900 more people than you normally reach, right? You 10x your growth.
06:12
For me, a viral video is really when it reaches well beyond my audience and starts getting engagement from unexpected places. So when we say, oh, a video is going viral, it means that it is getting a super high level of engagement. And on Instagram, that means a high level of shares, of likes, of comments, of saves.
06:39
a high level of engagement within a very short window of time. And that's how you know that a video is going viral. So long story short, virality is totally relative and there's no one number that defines if your content is going viral or not. And one thing to note is how the Instagram algorithm works is it's all about the amount of engagement, meaning
07:06
user interaction with your video or with your content. And the more people are interacting with your content, meaning they're liking it, they're commenting on it, they're sharing it with their friends, they're saving it. The more people are engaging with your content, that tells the algorithm, this is a really compelling piece of content. I'm gonna show it to more people, more people that don't already follow this account.
07:33
And so that's why going viral can be huge for a business or a brand is it can get your business and your brand in front of a whole new audience. Which leads me perfectly into what are the upsides of going viral? Of course, there's a huge spike in visibility and engagement, meaning more eyes are on your brand. That's great. If your Instagram profile is
08:00
totally optimized to work like a magnet to attract your ideal clients and you are strategic about the content that you are producing and that video that is super directly correlated with your niche goes viral, there's a high likelihood that you will receive a high volume of followers from that video.
08:25
So the video I mentioned earlier that is at almost eight million views right now, it's still growing, that I've received over 7,000 followers from that one video, it's because that video was very targeted at our ideal client in our niche. And if they went from that video over to our feed, over to our profile, because of course that's what people will do, they flip over to look at your profile, they decide within five seconds if they're gonna follow you or not.
08:53
our profiles optimized to attract our ideal clients. So that's why we're getting the conversions of the follows. Now I've had videos in the past before I knew what the heck I was doing. I had some videos that got, you know, 30,000 views and I didn't get any followers from those videos. And that's because I didn't know how to connect all these different pieces on Instagram. So an upside of going viral can absolutely be new followers coming in.
09:22
And along those lines, if your Instagram is strategically optimized, of course, going viral can bring in leads, email signups, and an increase in sales. When you have a video that blows up, it also helps to establish your authority and credibility, of course, within your niche. Let's get into the dark side of going viral. So this has happened to me multiple times.
09:49
It has also actually just in this last week, one of my Hot Reels clients has a video going viral right now with over 2 million views. And there's been a lot of success and fantastic results from that video. But it's also brought out the dark side of going viral, which is when you have a video go viral, oftentimes the haters will come out. Why? Because your video is being shown.
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to a much bigger audience, which will include people outside your target audience. So haters, trolls, negative comments often show up. Many times I kind of make a joke about this when people are getting hateful comments on their videos. I'm like, congratulations, you've gone viral. That means that your brand has major visibility. That's definitely can be a downside of going viral. But I will tell you from...
10:47
going viral many times myself and watching my clients do it, the plus side is much bigger than the downside. Now you may be listening to this and kind of freaking out like, my gosh, Elizabeth, I don't think I can handle a hater right now, okay? And I feel you, I feel you on that. Let me just tell you how I handle haters. And honestly, you guys, I don't really have that many. Have I had some over the years? Absolutely.
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but 99 % of people are so kind. So first of all, don't ever let a hater or an internet troll stop you from sharing your light with the world. Remember, your product or service is here to help and serve another person, right? You have created a solution for your ideal client. So if you're scared of the negative comments and you're hiding your brilliance, that's actually
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hurting people, right? You're not serving your people. So don't stress about haters. It's just part of the game. And again, I want you to get in the mindset right now of, my gosh, Elizabeth, I got my first hater. I'm so excited. That means my content is actually being pushed out by the algorithm and seen by so many people. Can we please celebrate that? Okay. Now, if you do get any hateful comments, I recommend that you just ignore them and don't interact.
12:12
I used to do this where I would reply to a hater comment and say, thank you so much for your engagement on my post. That really helps me to reach more people. That's a bad idea because then you're essentially getting them into conversation. Don't do that. So I suggest either ignore the haters or if it's really triggering or if it's like hate speech or anything like that, of course.
12:38
full permission to delete, block the person, whatever you need to do to protect your mental health. One more dark side of going viral is the temptation to chase virality rather than consistency and audience connection, which really leads me into this next portion of this episode, which is the number one mistake people make, and that is making virality the goal.
13:07
So listen to me, sweet beloved business owner, if you are creating content every day and you're looking at those analytics and you're seeing other people go viral and you're kind of jealous and I feel you and virality is not a strategy. It's a byproduct of great content. Okay, so if you are going into content creation for your business with this mindset of like,
13:37
to be successful, have to go viral, you are gonna be so miserable. Can I please tell you that I have created hundreds and hundreds of videos before this 8 million view video that brought in 7,000 followers. If I was trying to hit that crazy viral video mark in my content, I would have burned out and given up so long ago, okay? So your focus is on creating the absolute best content.
14:06
that will serve your target audience. Okay? So trying to force virality or chase virality will absolutely burn you out. It will make you feel resentful. You will feel like nothing I'm doing is working when the real goal is creating content that works like a magnet to attract the right audience. Okay? So instead of chasing virality, I want you to simply focus on consistency and ref-
14:35
defining your content strategy. I had a private client come in to work with me this month and part of my private mentorships is you're sending me your content and we're going back and forth in audio coaching and I'm really looking at your content. I'm giving you feedback on what you're doing. And I was noticing that she kept reusing a lot of the same videos that weren't working and I said,
15:00
If you want new results, you have to take new action. And I noticed that you've already been using these videos a lot in your past content, but it's not driving conversions for you. So let's change it up. Let's change up the angle. Let's change up the alpha. Let's change up the actual components of the video. And I share this with you because that's what I mean about like refining your content, making it better, studying it. That's why a lot of times I teach you guys don't get...
15:28
overly attached to the numbers because when you do it'll just kind of shut down your creativity. And I'm telling you the best videos I've ever done just kind of came to me and I didn't overthink them. I wasn't like stewing over them for like days and days, but I'm always refining my content strategy because when you do that, the viral moments will happen organically. That's what I want to tell you. And that's what I've been able to witness.
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in Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab. And that's why I love that I get to work with you for a full year on your content. The focus of that whole year is to teach you how to create that good content that is gonna really work to build and attract your audience, to build your following. And that's what's happening inside of Hot Reels. I have these incredibly ambitious.
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brilliant entrepreneurs and business owners in there. And the ones who are creating content consistently, they're starting to have viral videos pop off. One of my Hot Reels clients, Adla, I'm gonna bring her on the podcast soon to share a little bit more of her story with you. But when she came into Hot Reels, she had 2,500 followers. I just looked today, she's at over 34,000 followers. She's had so many videos go viral. And so,
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really part of the viral moments happening. I promise they will happen for you. Well, I guess I can't promise, I can't guarantee. But if you played the long game here, if you really dedicate yourself to creating the best content that drives actual connections with your ideal clients that actually serves your ideal clients, you will eventually get a viral video. It will totally happen organically. And when it does, it's really, really fun.
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And if everything is optimized, it can totally move the needle in your business. And that's why in the next three episodes, I'm super excited to break down the specifics of each of my recent viral videos, why they worked, the psychology behind them, and how you can use the same approach for your brand. If you know that 2025 is your year of really understanding how Instagram works and how you can
17:47
become a better content creator for your business, for your brand, I want to invite you to join the Hot Reels wait list. Hot Reels is my 12 month Instagram content lab. It's an intimate strategy packed group mentorship for established business owners ready to create killer content that stops the scroll, grows your following and attracts dreamboat clients.
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even if you have no idea what to post or feel like you're always throwing spaghetti at the wall. I've designed this high touch group mentorship. That's right, it's not an online course. This is live coaching with me to be extremely simple, actionable and fun so you can actually implement what you're learning in real time and never feel stuck on the content creation hamster wheel again. Doors are opening soon, but only to wait-listers.
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And when you're on the wait list, get early access plus the best bonuses before it opens to the public. So I want you to head on over to ElizabethMarberry.com slash hot. That's Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash hot to get the program details and join the wait list. If you're connecting with me on Instagram, you can send me a direct message hot.
19:11
H o t and my sexy robot assistant will send you over the link to join the wait list. You definitely want to be on there when the doors open. Thank you so much for joining me today for part one of this four part series. Next week I'm going to break down that 8 million view real and how you can implement the same strategy for your business. Don't forget to follow the show so you don't miss when the next episode drops. And if you love today's episode, you got so much value from it.
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Please share it with a business bestie or colleague that will help us to continue to serve you through this platform. I'm sending you love and I cannot wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to strut it. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free monetize your IG guide where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram.
20:08
You can grab your guide at ElizabethMarberry.com slash freebies. That's ElizabethMarberry.com slash freebies to get my monetize your IG guide. If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platforms. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.