The Secret Sauce to Viral Content: My 9-Step Plan for 1 Billion Social Media Views

I'm going to let you in on a little secret...

In December 2022, I sat down and wrote out my Success Plan — like I every do every year — namely my:

• Purpose
• Values, and
• Everything I want to achieve in a 90-day, 1-year, 3-year, and end of horizon period.

[Note: If you want the template I used to complete that, click here .]

And there's one thing I wrote down that felt weird but necessary:

Attract 1 billion social media views.

Only this wasn't an end of horizon goal, it was a 3-year goal.

If you've been paying attention, in July 2022, I shared a post that mentioned how I was able to generate 1M+ views on social media through the right content plan. A lot of you implemented that plan to big results, and I'm getting asked more and more about my content process, so I thought it was about time for an update...

No, this post was not written by ChatGPT, like most other people seem to write these days. It's all me. And I'll even go as far as saying that what you'll read in this post is more valuable than what you'd find in most marketing and social media textbooks.

Here goes...

Today, the Win the Day podcast is getting 2M+ views per month on social media. Here's a recent screenshot of the analytics from TikTok alone:

Keep in mind, that snapshot is from a time when everyone is saying how TikTok content is greatly under-performing due to its increase of both ads in the feed and number of creators on the platform.

But my content continued to perform strongly . Not all of it, obviously — and there's no exact formula for making content go viral (believe me, I've explored that in depth).

As stated in the original post from last year, 95% of those results have been created from?content that?already exists (i.e. clips from podcasts episodes I've released)...

Because I'd much rather have content ready to be deployed, instead of having to wake up each day, plead for divine assistance in mustering enough energy (after a tough night with an infant and a toddler), wondering what to wear, squeezing out some eye whitening drops, thinking about what to say, and pressing record on a selfie video.

I have neither the patience nor the desire to do that. Ever.

But I'll happily sit down for a conversation with the most successful people I can find, and film that conversation so others can benefit...

That all got me thinking, "If my views have gone from nothing to 1 million total; then to 2 million per month, how hard can it be to get to a 1 billion total? And what would need to be true for that to manifest?" ??

In the interests of being a team player, and also to measure progress over time, I'm going to share the nine steps that I believe will get to 1 billion views by the end of 2025 — and how you can implement them in your own business to do the same...

9 Steps to 1 Billion Social Media Views

1. Interview the right people.

Sadly, only a small percentage of guests have what it takes to go truly viral on social media. I've interviewed some people with the most amazing stories that never caught widespread attention, for various reasons.

However, that shouldn't deter you from interviewing the people who are the perfect fit for you and your audience; after all, the primary goal is to expand your own mind and help educate, entertain, and evolve your audience.

Aside from that, when it comes to identifying the right guests, you should aim for:

• An industry expert. Someone who can fill a knowledge gap that you don't have so you can better serve your audience. For example, Dr. Michael Breus is the world's leading sleep doctor and has provided immeasurable value to me, my loyal podcast listeners, and my social media followers. (Here's a clip from our conversation that amassed 1.2M views on TikTok alone. )
• A unique and interesting story. We're in a noisy world and in a constant battle for attention, so a unique and interesting story is a good way to stand out from the crowd. People also remember stories, too, so if they're mentioning your podcast to a friend, they'll likely cite the one they remember most, i.e. the one with the best story. (Here's an example of a great story from my conversation with drummer Kenny Aronoff .)
• A good communicator. It kills me to write this but, unfortunately, your guests' voice, body language, clarity, and ability to be concise — but not too concise — are all significant indicators of how well the interview (and clips from the interview) will be received. They might have the most incredible value to share, but the way they communicate it can dilute its effectiveness by >90%.
• A decent online following. The more people your guests' have in their audience, the greater the opportunity for you to capture some of them to being fans of yours, too. [This means nothing if you don't establish rapport with your guests, so we'll just assume you've been following my newsletter and have been managing the relationship with them correctly ??]
• Willingness to share. This can be hard to gauge, and I've written about this extensively before, so for now I just want to remind you that if your guest isn't sharing the content from your interview, it's 100% YOUR fault, not theirs. In a nutshell, you want: an intro through a mutual friend; an in-person interview, a quality conversation (i.e. not asking them the same generic questions like "What inspired you to..."); a specific way of providing them value afterward (e.g. an intro to someone they want to meet); professional video edits; and to, respectfully, remain front of mind with them.
• Someone topical and potentially controversial. The real views come when you can talk about an urgent, known, and high priority problem, while people who disagree with your guest battle it out in the comments. More comments = More engagement = Greater chance of going viral. This clip with John Gray — author of Men are from Mars, Women from Venus, who has sold 50M+ books and is regarded as one of the leading experts on relationships — has generated 850K views on TikTok alone for that very reason.

2. Publish the right content.

This comes when you're clear on: your purpose, who you want to help, and what impact you want to have. Otherwise you'll end up posting the same generic crap as 90% of other content creators who post consistently but have nothing to show for it. (And we all know what the definition of insanity is...)

If you're stuck, think about an urgent problem that your audience is facing and what 'how to' videos you can create to alleviate those painpoints. If you have an interview-style podcast, this is the perfect platform to ask really specific 'how to' style questions that you know will resonate.

3. Trim the fat.

In all-time classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie noted that, when shown a photo, most people immediately look for themselves. It's human nature.

Social media is the same. Most of us are inclined to put too much of ourselves in there. But what if you could reduce the post in duration by removing everything that isn't absolutely essential to giving your audience value, a win, or a solution? In most posts, if you're using clips from your podcast, it might rarely feature you at all. If your engagement goes up, that's a win.

Does your guest ramble? Trim the clip as needed so it's only good stuff when your social media audience views it. In an instant gratification world, you've got 1-2 seconds before they keep scrolling.

Make no mistake, the goal can be summarized in three simple words: stop the scroll. You want your audience to be quickly engaged so they stop scrolling and, instead, engage with your content.

4. Collaborate.

Provide your guest (and other relevant parties) with video content that they can share on their own channels, ideally referencing you in there.

Also, Instagram came up with a huge and much-needed win with its 'Collaborate' feature. Simply upload your video, invite collaborator, and if they review it your post will appear on both your feeds, multiplying your visibility.

Plus, it's a great way of staying front of mind with your previous guests' too.

5. Repost high performing (and high potential) content.

Many creators have noted that their best performing videos were in fact posted 2-3 times before they uploaded it a third or fourth time and the clip finally went viral. Personally, I haven't noticed that as much, but I have reposted high performing videos, and they almost always do well enough to justify the repost.

This should give you the confidence to keep posting content that deep down you know could go viral but hasn't yet; keep tweaking it (e.g. trying different music), trim the fat, use a different title, and post at a different time. The most viral song I've noticed over the long-term is 'Synthwave goose - Blade Runner 2049'.

I've also noticed almost zero correlation to the posts that go viral on TikTok, Shorts, and Reels. A video could crush on one platform and get 2M views, but do next to nothing on another platform. Keep testing and publishing because it's very difficult to predict the results.

I can, however, predict your view growth if you don't post at all...

6. Throw in a pinch of controversy.

Some of my best performing videos have been with John Gray, who I mentioned as one of the leading experts on relationships.

Relationships are a bit like the nutrition industry — everyone has an opinion and tensions are high, particularly those who have been scorned through a bad experience which, let's face it, we all have. But that's your opportunity. Post your content and relax, knowing that any healthy conversation in the comments is promoting your engagement.

(I will, however, immediately and permanently block someone who is a troll or blatantly disrespectful because I am protective of my guests and I'm not willing to absorb the negative energy of haters.)

For example, this video is closing in on 3M views, and you can see what I mean about the contrasting opinions in the comments.

7. Hire the right people.

I have people on my team who are great at what they do, which frees me up to focus on being great at what I do. We hired a new full-time social media manager this week so we can 5-10x the frequency of content we're putting out there.

In addition to a legendary video editor (shout out Eb), we also have access to unlimited graphic design through my long-time subscription to Design Pickle .

If you're trying to do it all yourself, you'll never stay consistent or get the right level of growth. Let people in so they can help you.

For full transparency, I post every single video to my own personal TikTok account because I love the challenge and excitement of figuring out what content will resonate. The team will then use tools like Snaptik to publish the video to other platforms and Canva to quickly create thumbnails.

[This week I created a process that leverages ChatGPT for YouTube speed and growth. If you'd like a copy of that process, let me know in the comments.]

8. Concentrate your effort.

While I own some important social media handles, I'm appreciating more and more the value of concentrated effort on a smaller number of profiles and platforms, rather than spreading too thin. When you've mastered the fundamentals, have the right foundation in place (including a capable team), and can see value in more, then you can expand. For most, that time will never — and should never — come.

9. Learn, learn, learn.

With everything you publish, look at what you can do to:

• Increase the speed at which you post
• Upgrade the quality of what you're creating
• Deepen the emotion of what is published (music is a magical elixir for this), and
• Expand the value of what you're providing.

In addition, look at other content creators who are gaining traction and see what they're doing that you're not.

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Like anything, it can be frustrating to begin, especially when it takes time to see results. However, if you follow this 9-step plan, and commit to enjoying the process (and seeing it through to the end), we can toast to 1 billion views together.

If you found this post useful, or have any questions, let me know in the comments — and feel free to share this post with whoever could benefit from it.

Get out there and #WinTheDay ...

Onward and upward always,

James Whittaker

PS — Shortly, I'll be announcing a brand new accelerator course in collaboration with Success Magazine to help you bridge the gap between your daily performance and your potential. If you'd like more info when the time comes, click here to join the waitlist .