60: Viral by Design — The Strategy Behind My 1.3M-View Reel (Part 4)
Welcome to Part 4 of the Viral Videos for Business Series!
Today, I’m walking you through an original piece of content that exploded to over 1.3 million views on Instagram. No remix. No trending audio. Just strategic content that worked.
I’m breaking down:
- How this viral video combined emotion, entertainment, and education
- The on-screen text strategy that kept people watching to the end
- How to prompt engagement in your videos to spark shares and comments
- What business owners often miss when their Reels blow up—and how to avoid it
You don’t need to be in the wedding industry to apply this strategy. This episode is for entrepreneurs ready to create content that connects and converts.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[01:18] The Backstory: My Wedding Dance Coach Business and This Viral Reel
[03:45] Why This Video Surprised and Delighted Millions
[04:13] The 3 E’s of Viral Content: Entertaining, Educational, Emotional
[07:28] The Hook Strategy That Stops the Scroll
[09:24] How I Prompted Engagement and Boosted Comments
[10:51] How I Taught and Sold Without Sounding Salesy
[11:49] The Importance of Optimization and Niche Alignment
[12:48] How to Repurpose Winning Ideas Instead of Starting From Scratch
Key Takeaways:
Viral content doesn’t need remixes, trends, or even you on camera. It needs a strategy.
Use on-screen hooks and curiosity-building text in the first 3 seconds.
Invite your viewers into conversation. Ask questions in your Reels to boost engagement.
Optimize your Instagram profile before your video goes viral, or you’ll miss out on conversions.
When something works, recreate and repurpose it. You don’t need a brand new idea every week.
Links Mentioned in This Episode:
A Truth You Need to Hear:
“You don’t need a new idea every time you post. You need a smart strategy—and the confidence to reuse what works.”
S3 Ep60 Transcript: Viral by Design — The Strategy Behind My 1.3M-View Reel (Part 4)
00:00
Today we're closing out this four part series on what actually makes content go viral. I've been pulling back the curtain on some of my most recent viral videos so you can reverse engineer them for your business. In this episode, I'm breaking down an original piece of content that racked up over 1.3 million views. No remix, no trend, just a strategic intentional video that worked. And I'm walking you through exactly why it took off.
00:29
so you can apply these tips to your own content and start creating videos that truly connect. Are you ready? Let's go.
00:40
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.
01:09
Let's dive in.
01:18
Welcome back to the show. I hope you've been enjoying this series on how to create viral content for your business. Today we're talking about an original reel from my wedding dance coach business, which is my brick and mortar dance studio in Denver, Colorado, that absolutely blew up with over 1.3 million views, 11,000 likes, over 3000 shares, and almost 700 new followers from this one video.
01:48
And this one is different. In this series, I have taught you how to use remixes on Instagram. That is a powerful strategic tool you need to be using right now to grow your business. I also talked last week about direct to camera videos or talking head videos where you can really build that trust with your ideal client and establish yourself as an expert in your space. This week's video is a totally different approach and I'm gonna break it all down for you. And I wanna highlight that
02:17
Well, this video went viral in the wedding industry for my wedding dance coach studio business. You don't need to be in the wedding industry or in the dance industry to learn from it. If you're new here, a quick backstory. So I run two businesses. My first business is this one that you're listening to where I am an Instagram marketing strategist and coach where I help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow on Instagram with bold strategic content.
02:47
Of course you know that you've been listening to this podcast or you just found me. Hello, I'm so happy you're here. And my second business is my OG. I launched this dance studio business 15 years ago. It's called Wedding Dance Coach. And it's where we help nervous non-dancing, madly in love couples rock their first dance with total confidence. We also choreograph unforgettable reception moments like wedding party, flash mob routines.
03:16
and what this viral reel featured, which was an epic father-daughter dance. Now this video that hit over 1 million views starts off slow and sweet, totally expected, Like kind of like a boring father-daughter dance, nice and slow. And then boom, the music shifts. There's like an air horn. The dad rips his jacket off. It's hysterical. And suddenly they're in like a full blown mashup where they're dancing to a bunch of different songs.
03:45
Their guests are going wild. It's surprising. It's hilarious. It's joyful. And by the end, the whole dance floor is flooded with the guests. As you hear me describe this video, and by the way, we will be sure to link the video in the show notes so you can check it out yourself. That alone makes it entertaining. But let's break down why this particular video worked, why it went viral, and how you can recreate this vibe for your business. No dancing required.
04:13
I've covered this before on the podcast, but I wanted to give you a refresher or if you're new here, teach you this concept. And that is the three E's of viral content. So when you look at content that goes massively viral, it almost always falls into one or more of these buckets. Number one, it's entertaining. This is make me laugh, make me smile, surprise me, delight me. It's fun, it's light, it's easy to watch.
04:42
And this father-daughter dance reel crushed it here, right? The surprise moment, the mashup, the audience, the guests, surprise and delight, the dad dancing full out. It was wildly entertaining. The second E is educational. This is that teach me something content. Give me a tip, a hack, a mindset shift, a strategy, anything I can learn or apply.
05:08
And while this wasn't a tutorial, I did bake in educational storytelling by pointing out why this kind of dance works. So throughout the video, I have text bubbles popping up on the screen that essentially are not only showing how transformative a really fun father daughter dance can be in terms of transforming the energetics of your reception and entertaining your guests, but
05:38
With the text on the screen, I'm essentially educating my ideal client, which is engaged couples planning their wedding. Obviously they're planning their wedding dances, but they're also really valuing the guest experience. So with the text on the screen, I was teaching them about how this kind of a dance, if you have a really fun, playful dance, it sets the tone for an unforgettable dance party.
06:05
So if you wanna have your wedding dance floor packed the whole night, if that's a value of yours, I'm teaching you and showing you in this video how that works, how it literally works. You can see it happening and I'm using the text on the screen to educate you about that. It gets your guests hyped and connected. And I said that clearly in the video. So people watching weren't just entertained, they were learning too. The third E of viral content is emotional.
06:35
This makes me feel something. So motivate me, inspire me, energize me, help me feel seen and heard. Joy, nostalgia, hope, motivation, tears, connection. It's all fair game, right? This video totally hit on emotional energy too. Everyone loves this sweet dad who is willing to be playful and not take himself too seriously with his daughter. Like what an unforgettable moment for the two of them.
07:06
And it's emotional too because everyone loves a great surprise. Like the guests never saw it coming. And of course in the wedding industry, wedding content in general can stir up lot of emotions because if you've planned a wedding, if you're currently planning a wedding, if you've been married, you know that it's a pretty intense time of life. So this tapped into that perfectly.
07:28
So let's break down what made this reel go the distance and how you can take this strategy and run with it for your business. Number one, onscreen hook and pattern interrupt. So right at the top, I used onscreen text within those first three seconds that said, epic surprise father daughter dance, okay? Now the video itself in those first three seconds, they're not doing the surprise dance, they're just doing like a boring sway.
07:58
but the hook gives you that curiosity of wait, this is a surprise father daughter dance, what's coming. And then after a few seconds, and this is a pro tip, you can totally use another text box popped up and said, wait for it. Okay, wait for it is so good if you have a video where there's just like those few couple seconds where you don't want people to scroll away, you want them to wait for it. You don't wanna overuse it, but done effectively, it can really work.
08:28
So this told people, stick around, something's coming, right? So that early hook and suspense is critical. You lose people in the first three seconds if you don't signal what's in it for them. Too often, I see business owners when they're creating content, they're trying to write their hooks, their hooks are just boring and they're not really inciting any sort of curiosity from the viewer. Like, if you can't get me,
08:54
engaged with your video within those first three seconds, I'm gonna keep scrolling away. That's just how this works. So number one, really spending time and effort on your hook on those first three to four seconds. And I did that well in this video. Number two, storytelling and engagement prompts throughout. So this wasn't just a montage throughout this video, which by the way, I think was like at least 40 seconds. Like it was a longer video. I would ask,
09:24
So I would have different text boxes pop up and I said, would you do this with your dad? Right there, that question, now it's not just look at this cool father daughter dance. I am inviting people into conversation and the comments exploded, right? People are tagging their dad or they're tagging a bride to be they know, or they're commenting and saying, oh my gosh, my dad would never do this, but I love it. Or I wish I could have done this with my dad. That one question alone of,
09:53
would you do this with your dad, invited people into conversation. And that's where the magic happens, right? That's when people start tagging and commenting and sharing. I also highlighted the guest reaction with on screen text, like sound on for guest reaction, because a lot of people consume these videos with the sound off. So I had text on the screen that said sound on for guest reaction, because that's a huge part of what our ideal clients care about.
10:22
our engaged couples care about their guest experience. So it's one thing for me to say, oh my gosh, your guests are gonna love this. It's another for them to actually hear the sound and having that text on the screen to tell people to turn on the sound was really important. So really using the text with storytelling and engaging prompts throughout your videos. Number three, teachable moments. This wasn't a just for fun post. I taught people.
10:51
how a surprise dance like this, whether you do it for your first dance, a parent-child dance, a wedding party dance, can completely shift the vibe of the reception and pack the dance floor. So while it was fun to watch, it also showcased what we do, why it matters, and how it helps. When you're creating your content, you always have to think about how can I take this piece of content that is about my product or service and why are people gonna care about it? How is it gonna help them?
11:20
How are you gonna take them on a journey? What's in it for them? Why are they gonna watch it? And finally, number four, high reach and strategic optimization. So this video, I already mentioned, reached over one million accounts. 99 % of those people were non-followers. When you have a reel that blows up and you get in front of so many non-followers, that's how, if your profile is optimized to a
11:49
work like a magnet to attract your ideal clients, those views will convert to followers. So this video brought us almost 700 new followers from this one reel alone because the video perfectly aligned with my niche, with my business, with my target audience, and our profile was optimized. So it was very clear what we do, who we help, all of that. The top line of the caption also had a hook to keep people
12:18
engaged in wanting to read the caption and the hashtags were specific. So think hashtag father-daughter dance, not just hashtag wedding. You can hear how much more specific that hashtag is in describing the video. So here's one more pro tip I wanna leave you with and that is this isn't our first viral father-daughter mashup. We have had other reels just like this in a similar format take off. So what did we do?
12:48
We kept going and we recreated and repurposed a proven content idea. You don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you post. And that's why if you can get through those first six months of struggle and posting consistently and showing up and figuring out what works, it really does start to get easier because then you have so much more data points you can pull from and you can see what is your best performing content.
13:15
Is there a theme? Is there a style? Is there a format that works? And then you can double down on that, refine it, reuse it, repurpose it. Because viral content isn't about chasing random ideas. It's about noticing what works and doing more of it. That wraps up our four part series on creating viral content for your business. If you love this, will you send me a message on Instagram? I actually respond to each and every message. It makes my
13:44
day when I get a DM from a listener and they're like, Elizabeth, I've been binging your podcast. I'm learning so much. Thank you so much. It really truly makes my day. My DMs are open on Instagram. I love voice messages. I love text messages in the DMs. Whatever you want to send, please send me a DM. Please give me a follow over on Instagram so we can connect over there. My handle is Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y. I can't wait to connect with you.
14:10
And if you're listening to this and you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed, you're like, whoa, I have a lot to do and I'm not sure what to do first. Or you're just feeling like you're throwing spaghetti at the wall. Every time you go to post your content, you're like, wait, what do I do? What do I say? How does this work? Oh my gosh, I'm so stressed. If you want to take the guesswork out of content and start creating consistently engaging videos that actually grow your visibility,
14:38
and drive more hot prospects to your business, you have to join the wait list for Hot Reels. This is your last chance to join that wait list. Hot Reels is our 12 month Instagram content lab. It's an intimate strategy packed mentorship for established business owners, ready to create killer content that you better believe stops the scroll and grows your following and attracts more of your dreamboat clients, even if
15:08
Right now you have no idea what to post and you feel like you're always throwing spaghetti at the wall. You definitely wanna get on the wait list because wait-listers get early access and the best bonuses. Oh my gosh, you definitely wanna grab these bonuses. So you can join our wait list for hot reels by going to Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash hot Elizabeth Marberry.com backslash.
15:37
or of course you've already followed me on Instagram, you can DM me the keyword hot, H-O-T, and my gorgeous robot assistant will send you over the link, darling. You can join the wait list and you will be in my inner circle. You'll be the first to know when doors open. And I do keep this intimate, okay? This is a high touch group mentorship. This is live coaching with me. This is not a course that you're gonna buy and forget about.
16:04
You have me as your marketing mentor for a full year. It's incredible. I am bringing on one of my students in an upcoming podcast. name's Asla. She came into the program. She's an Etsy shop owner. She does custom personalized gifts for people. She started at 2,500 followers. She's at over 40,000 followers. She has been implementing everything I'm teaching and she's having insane results. I can help you.
16:32
turn Instagram into a client attracting machine and it's bold, it's fun, it's strategic and it works. So go to ElizabethMarbury.com slash hot. And depending on when you're listening to this, the wait list might have been closed and the doors may be open. Either way that website URL will get you the latest and greatest information. I would absolutely love to support you and as always send me that message on Instagram, connect with me over there, give me your thoughts.
17:02
Make sure you're following the show because every week I'm dropping zero gatekeeping advice, tips and strategies on what's working on Instagram right now. Thank you so much for being here. Let's keep creating that viral content, those viral moments that feel aligned, intentional and fun. And I cannot wait to start it with you next week. Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business,
17:30
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. You can grab your guide at ElizabethMarbury.com slash freebies. That's ElizabethMarberry.com slash freebies to get my Monetize Your IG Guide.
17:54
If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.