How a simple LinkedIn post accidentally launched a start up and filled the order book for 6 months

In mid-December  2015 Danny Gallienne created a series of logos for a new design agency he was planning to launch in March 2016. His partner James Sherman suggested posting the designs on LinkedIn to get some feedback from their business connections.

On January 13th I noticed Danny’s post on my home page. It consisted of 5 numbered logos and asked viewers to help by stating their preference.  What really blew me away was when I saw the number of comments, more than 33,000! 

This number of comments on a simple update was in my experience unprecedented. I decided to contact Danny to find out more.

After connecting and exchanging several messages I learned that not only had Danny’s post received a huge number of comments he had received over 12,000 profile views as a result of the post and web traffic at his other business “Senses Candles” had significantly increased.

The virality of the post had taken Danny and James completely by surprise. The design business wasn’t due to launch until March; it has a LinkedIn company page but no website yet.

Understandably Danny was keen to take advantage of the unexpected bonanza of attention and wondered how in the absence of a website he could persuade people to follow the business’s LinkedIn company page. I suggested that getting people to connect or join a mailing list was a better strategy as this created a stronger more direct relationship.

The problem in the short term was that the sheer volume of comments which were still coming in at the rate of more than 1 a minute.  Danny had several times tried to announce that the design had now been chosen and thanked people for their feedback but his posts were  immediately buried by the new ones.

I suggested he wait until the comments died down and arranged to speak again in few days time. When we spoke again the a week later there were almost 48,000 comments and things showed no sign of slowing down.

A week later....

As I write the number of comments is now 52,275 and growing at the rate of one per minute.

Over the previous few days I had experimented with adding a comment and seeing what happened. I received notifications for several hours but then they stopped, if I commented again the notifications would reappear but then stop again. It seems like the number of notifications is prompting LinkedIn’s algorithm to switch them off. The most I received was 394 without re-commenting.

Copycat post 

At least one person duplicated the original post to generate exposure for themselves. In the example I saw below this had also independently generated 2546 comments.  Danny complained and this post was removed.

A viral formula?

Has Danny unwittingly stumbled upon a formula for viral LinkedIn posts. It certainly seems like a simple post with multiple choice answers can attract a high level of engagement. However, whilst this may work once or even twice repeating this is unlikely to lead to any sustained and authentic engagement.  Quantity not quality.  I think one of the reasons this post was so successful was because it was obviously authentic and not another click bait post. 

The Result

The post is still generating views and comments after 5 weeks. There is absolutely no sign of the engagement falling off. It may continue to generate engagement for several weeks or months to come.

Could this become the most successful LinkedIn update ever?

 But exposure per se doesn't necessarily convert to money in the bank. 

I am pleased to report therefore that the Danny and James have won a number of pieces of business as a direct result of the post.  Many of the new commissions have come from start-ups - a key market for the new design company - but others from more established businesses.

New clients include a major local tourist attraction and a pet grooming business on the South Coast but there are also international commissions from the Far East, Middle East, and the US – in fact the order book is looking pretty healthy for the next six months. One new client is a Nobel Prize Winner.

Some of the new business came from direct enquiries but also as a result of diligent follow up of the comments and profile views by James who handles the commercial relationships for Gallienné Design. With the continuing success of the post the challenge has been deciding which opportunities to prioritise. Sensibly James is categorising the opportunities into gold, silver and bronze and reaching out selectively to people by phone, email and LinkedIn InMail.  The partners are also actively expanding their design network to cope with the influx of work. 

What was the secret to the success of Danny’s post? What could he have done and could he still do to maximise the exposure? Please add your thoughts in the comments below.

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 You can read my other LinkedIn posts here: 

For more information about Gallienné Design please contact Danny or James  at [email protected] you can also visit the Gallienné Design LinkedIn company page.  A website is under construction and will be ready very soon.

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Greg Cooper is an independent LinkedIn consultant and trainer based in Bristol, UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing. For over twenty years Greg ran an award winning direct marketing agency working with leading technology companies like IBM, SAP, and Siemens. 

Today he works with SMEs and Business Units of larger companies. He runs public and in-house courses for business owners, managers and sales people including courses on social selling and employee advocacy. 

For an individual discussion of your business's needs call +44 (0)7917 360222. or email [email protected]  You can also follow Greg on Twitter