The Inside Story of My 700K+ View LinkedIn Post (And How You Can Create Your Own)

Imagine this scenario: You've been diligently posting on LinkedIn for years, sharing your most valuable business lessons, insider tips, and hard-won wisdom. Most of your posts get a respectable amount of engagement - a few dozen likes, a couple of comments, maybe a share or two. Not bad, but hardly the stuff of LinkedIn legend.

But then, one unassuming day, you hit "publish" on a post that ends up stopping the scrolling masses in their tracks. The notifications start flooding in - hundreds of likes pouring in by the minute, dozens of comments blowing up your inbox, connection requests from intrigued professionals eager to learn more from you.

That's the dream, right? Well, it's exactly what happened to me with one particular post. And today, I'm going to pull back the curtain on what made this post such a runaway success, and how you can apply the same principles to create your own LinkedIn blockbusters that catch the attention of your ideal clients and customers. Let's dive in!

Flashback: The Post That Started It All

To truly appreciate the impact of my most viral post, we need to rewind a bit. The year was 2018, and I had just wrapped up a transformative four-and-a-half-year stint at Uber. As I prepared to embark on my next chapter, I did what most professionals do during a major career transition: I wrote a reflective LinkedIn post.

In the post, I shared some of the most impactful lessons I'd learned during my time at Uber, and gave shoutouts to a few colleagues and mentors who had been instrumental in my growth. I hit "publish," and honestly didn't give it much more thought.

Fast forward a few days, and I nearly spat out my coffee when I checked the post's performance. It had garnered over 40,000 impressions - an astronomical number compared to my usual posts. Keep in mind, this was long before I'd built up any kind of significant following or reputation on the platform.

That single post was my first glimpse into the true potential of LinkedIn. I realized that by sharing genuine, insightful content drawn from my own experiences, I could reach an enormous audience of professionals who were hungry to learn and grow.

And that was only the beginning. As I continued to share stories, lessons, and insights from my career, I noticed an interesting trend: Potential clients and customers were starting to emerge from the woodwork, reaching out to express interest in my consulting services and pick my brain on challenges they were facing.

Almost by accident, I had tapped into a powerful new channel for growing my business and establishing my authority. And I was determined to keep refining my approach to harness the full potential of LinkedIn.

The Post That Broke the Internet (Well, Almost)

Now, fast forward to the crown jewel of my LinkedIn posting career (so far). Here's the hook that kicked off the post:

"Uber and Lyft launched UberX in Raleigh on the same day. Fast forward six months. Uber had 90% market share in the area. Here's how we won."

Intriguing, right? But even I was blown away by just how much this post resonated. When all was said and done, it had racked up:

• 700,000+ impressions
• 4,000+ likes
• 156 comments
• 101 reposts

To put that in perspective, it outperformed my average posts by several orders of magnitude. I had struck LinkedIn gold.But why? What was it about this particular post that made it catch fire and spread like wildfire? Let's break it down, piece by piece.The Anatomy of a Viral Post

1. A behind-the-scenes look at a household name. Part of what made this post so irresistible was the fact that it offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Uber - a brand that practically everyone is familiar with. People are inherently curious about what goes on behind closed doors at the companies that shape our world.
2. A clear, compelling value proposition. From the very first sentence, the post promises readers something of real value: an inside look at how Uber managed to dominate a new market, despite launching on the same day as its biggest rival. It positions the post as a treasure trove of go-to-market secrets straight from the front lines.
3. Specific, actionable insights. The post delivers on the promise of its hook, walking readers through four key strategic decisions that set Uber apart from Lyft:

• Establishing a crystal-clear primary KPI
• Taking a disciplined, data-driven approach to expansion
• Prioritizing rider experience over growth-at-all-costs
• Embedding teams on the ground in each market

By the end of the post, readers walk away with a virtual playbook for market domination that they can start applying in their own businesses.

4. Storytelling > self-promotion. Perhaps most importantly, at no point does the post devolve into a thinly-veiled sales pitch. There's no mention of my consulting services, no heavy-handed calls-to-action, no attempts to steer readers to a lead magnet or discovery call.

Instead, the post is 100% focused on telling a genuinely interesting story and extracting valuable lessons that readers can implement themselves. By prioritizing authentic value over self-promotion, the post was able to make a much deeper impact - and ultimately, attract far more interest in my expertise.

‍Reverse-Engineering Virality (No Big Brand Required)

‍At this point, you might be thinking: "Of course the post took off - it name-dropped one of the most talked-about companies of the decade. But I don't have Uber on my resume. How is this relevant to me?"Here's the secret: You don't need experience at a household-name company to create LinkedIn posts that stop the scroll and make your ideal clients sit up and take notice.The real key is understanding your audience on a deep level - their goals, their challenges, the obstacles standing in the way of their success. Pair that with the unique insights and lessons you've accumulated over the course of your career, and you have the raw ingredients for posts that hit home and spark meaningful conversations.For example, imagine you're a fractional CFO who specializes in helping tech startups navigate the treacherous waters of fundraising. You could share a story with a hook like:"The biggest fundraising mistake I see founders make (that cost one of my clients a $10M round)"In the post itself, you could walk through:

• The specifics of the mistake (with names changed to protect client confidentiality, of course)
• The painful ripple effects it had on the rest of the raise
• The step-by-step approach you used to get the round back on track
• Key lessons and best practices for avoiding similar pitfalls

By the end of the post, readers would walk away with an insider's perspective on a critical challenge they themselves are likely grappling with, along with battle-tested strategies they can implement in their own fundraising processes. That kind of insight is worth its weight in gold (or at least Series A term sheets).Do this consistently, and you'll start to develop a reputation as the person tech founders need to have in their corner when it's time to chase down those big checks. All without a single sales-y call-to-action.

‍Bringing It All Together

‍Let's zoom out and look at the bigger picture here. Creating LinkedIn posts that cut through the noise and make a real impact on your ideal audience really comes down to three core principles:

1. Drawing on your unique blend of experiences and hard-won lessons to tell authentic, relatable stories
2. Demonstrating a deep understanding of your audience's most pressing goals and challenges
3. Prioritizing genuine value and education over overt self-promotion

Notice that none of these require a big brand pedigree or a massive pre-existing audience. They're entirely based on your own expertise, empathy, and commitment to showing up and giving your best day after day, post after post. Play the long game, and the authority and audience will follow.Now, if you're reading this and feeling a twinge of uncertainty or imposter syndrome around putting your ideas out there so publicly and consistently, believe me - I've been there. It can feel daunting to commit to regularly publishing content, especially when you're already juggling a full plate with your day-to-day work.That's exactly why we created Mylance - to help consultants and fractional leaders just like you unlock the full potential of LinkedIn to grow your authority and your business. We'll work with you to extract your most compelling stories and insights, and transform them into audience-grabbing posts that position you as the go-to expert in your space.Curious to learn more? Shoot me a DM on LinkedIn - I'd love to hear more about your goals and explore how we can help you achieve them.But even if you decide to go it alone, I want to leave you with this: Your experiences, your insights, your unique perspective - they're all immensely valuable. Don't let them gather dust in the back of your mind. Share them with the world, and watch as the world starts to take notice.Your next viral post is waiting to be written. What story will you tell?

‍Mylance

‍This value-added article was written by Mylance. Mylance takes your marketing completely off your hands. We build the marketing machine that your Fractional Business needs, but you don't have time to run. So it operates daily, growing your brand, completely done for you.Instead of dangling numbers in front of you, our approach focuses on precise and thoughtful input: targeted outreach to the right decision makers, compelling messaging that resonates, and content creation that establishes trust and legitimacy.To apply for access, submit an application and we'll evaluate your fit for the service. If you’re not ready for lead generation, we also have a free, vetted community for top fractional talent that includes workshops, a rates database, networking, and a lot of free resources to support your fractional business.