Agent Marketing

How to Make a Video Go Viral? You Start a Fight. With 2.9M Views, the Hate on This Reel Was Unreal

Learn how Luke Acree's Instagram Reel about Chick-Fil-A racked up 2.9M views by sparking controversy and engagement. Uncover actionable tips to create your own viral content and provide value to build a loyal audience.

August 20, 2024
Luke Acree

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When my team posted this Instagram Reel featuring a story about Chick-fil-A, we knew it was good, but we didn’t have any idea how explosive it would be. We studied it to figure out why it went viral, and in this blog, I’m sharing what we learned so you can apply it to your next video.

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Here’s what happened

What’s crazy is that while I talked about Chick-fil-A, the video wasn’t about Chick-fil-A…not really.

The Reel shows me on a conference stage where I was talking about how to create raving fans for your business. I used the restaurant as an example of a company that provides an unexpected level of customer service, which has resulted in impressive profits and a loyal customer base. It’s a good-quality video, but there’s nothing flashy about it. Still, it’s gotten more than 1.3M views on Instagram and another 1.6M on TikTok.

As it turns out, it’s in the comments where we found the secret to the Reel’s unexpected popularity.

Luke Acree — Clearly, a lot of people either missed or chose to ignore the point I was making—that to create customers who act as advocates for your business, you need to perform above and beyond what’s expected. Some viewers congratulated me on getting paid to state the obvious. (I actually get paid to make the obvious actionable.)

Regardless, my social media team and I read all 507 of these gems, and we figured out why this Reel performed as well as it did.

How to create your own viral video

We decided that there are three reasons why my Chick-fil-A Reel went viral, and I’ve turned them into tips you can use when you go to make your next Instagram video.

1. Use controversy to hook your audience

People have opinions, and they like to express them. Give them a forum to state their mind, and they’re going to use it. Let others react to those opinions, and you’ve got the recipe for viral levels of engagement.

Call me naive, but it didn’t occur to me that those who viewed my video would seize upon it as an opportunity to revisit former CEO Dan Cathy’s controversial statements in 2012 about same-sex marriage and donations to anti-LGBT organizations. (Chick-fil-A, the company, has since redirected its charitable contributions, but there are report that Dan Cathy continues to support organizations that align with his position.)

Another sore point with many is the ingredients used in its chicken sandwiches. People weren’t shy about decrying the double-digit number of artificial additives used. From claims that the sandwiches were deliberately made to be addictive to an observation that their promise to never use antibiotics resulted in the processing of ill chickens, you’d think their sandwiches glowed in the dark.

And while it wasn’t a point of controversy, there were a lot of people who challenged the notion that Chick-fil-A did, in fact, provide great service and clean restaurants. Many seemed a bit too enthusiastic to share their experiences with sullen employees, wrong orders, slow service, and lack of cleanliness.

In all of this, comments begat comments, which drove up our engagement rate. This pleased the algorithm, and the Reel was pushed to appear on an increasing number of users’ feeds.

2. Make a stand, and then stand firm

Accept the fact that not everyone is going to agree with you. In fact, if you aren’t causing some ruffled feathers, you’re content is probably . . . well, boring.

The Reel generated a ton of strong opinions, and there were some genuine haters in the crowd. In your own posts to social media, you’ve got several options for how you might respond to negative comments and feedback, but what you don’t want to do is back away from your position.

There will always be people who disagree with you, and that’s fine. But it’s the people who line up behind you who will become your tribe—and these are the people you want as your clients. They will naturally share your content with other like-minded people and your following will grow.

3. Always provide value

The reason any business invests in posting to social media should be to develop a loyal audience of potential clients.

It’s true that the original point I made at the end of this Reel was largely overshadowed by comments that took the conversation in other directions. While some found value in simply disagreeing with me, arguing with others, or reading the comments and replies, others appreciated the actionable advice I gave that they could use to grow their businesses.

As a business, posting to social media isn’t simply about going viral. By providing your target audience—your tribe—with information they can use, you position yourself as a credible authority they can turn to when they need your services.

Take action

Make your next Reel about something you believe in, and take a stand. Don’t be afraid to represent yourself authentically; if you have something to say, say it.

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About the Author

Luke Acree

Luke Acree is an authority on leadership, a lead generation specialist, and a referral expert who passionately believes that businesses run on relationships. By teaching the principles of relationship marketing, he’s helped more than 100,000 entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their companies. He has grown his company, ReminderMedia, to over $300 million in sales and earned it a place on Inc. 5000’s list of the Fasting Growing Companies in America four years in a row. In addition, Luke co-hosts a podcast called Stay Paid, which routinely appears in the Top 30 Marketing Podcasts on Apple Podcasts.

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