The Tactic That Will Make Your LinkedIn Posts Go Viral

Forget about choppy videos with constant cuts. Forget about perfectly staged selfies.

And definitely forget about posing next to luxury cars or influential figures.

If you want to go viral on LinkedIn, there’s a much more reliable strategy: lead magnets.

You’ve probably seen them on your LinkedIn feed: posts offering exclusive access to valuable content—whether it’s a video, PDF, report, or spreadsheet—in exchange for engagement.

The formula is simple yet powerful: offer something valuable, and ask for a small action in return, typically a like or comment.

Let me share some concrete examples of this strategy in action:

Daniel Bustamante’s first viral LinkedIn giveaway centered around a ChatGPT mega-prompt created for his digital product, Subject Line Mastery.

The results were impressive:

• 1,194 new followers gained

• 83 new email subscribers acquired

Dickie Bush recently demonstrated the enduring power of this approach.

By offering a valuable reflection guide, his post generated an impressive 644 comments, showing how the right asset can drive massive engagement.

This strategy isn’t new.

Back in 2017, I created the first Singapore HR Tech Market Map. Initially planning to share it openly, I was inspired by a successful post from an acquaintance who had offered a startup valuation spreadsheet.

Following their approach, my market map giveaway achieved viral status.

The beauty of this approach lies partly in its barrier to entry.

Creating truly valuable assets takes real effort, which means many of your lazy competitors won’t bother.

This creates an opportunity for those willing to put in the work.

For example, my HR Tech Market Map required:

• Two months of dedicated effort

• Starting with just 17 companies and expanding to 71

• Personal outreach via WhatsApp to verify information

• Professional design work (pre-Canva era)

Ready to create your own viral giveaway? Here’s a ChatGPT prompt to help you generate ideas:

I want to create a viral LinkedIn post using the 'Comment x, Give y' format to boost engagement and provide value. Please generate ideas for lead magnets or giveaways that will:1. Align with my target audience, which includes [describe audience]2. Solve a specific pain point or provide a quick win3. Be easy to deliver digitally or scale4. Feel exclusive and valuable enough to encourage commentsPlease provide 5-10 ideas that balance practicality, perceived value, and my niche expertise in [your field]. Make sure the suggestions are highly relevant to LinkedIn's professional audience.

Whether you’re a creator, coach, or solopreneur, viral giveaways represent one of the most effective ways to drive rapid traffic growth on LinkedIn.

Yes, it requires effort to create valuable assets worth sharing.

But that’s precisely why it works—while your competitors are taking shortcuts, you’ll be building assets that genuinely help your audience and drive real engagement.

If this strategy sounds like too much work, you might be the “lazy competition” I mentioned earlier.

You can continue with business as usual, or you can invest the time to create something truly valuable that will help you stand out on LinkedIn.

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