Going viral on X, how the algorithm picks up a post
Verified likes give the algorithm its first push.
- Answers
- How do you make a post go viral on X?
- Topics
- creating · creativity · howto · people · work
- Full article on willem.com
- https://willem.com/en/2024-11-10_go-viral-on-x/
Summary
In 2024 I got a post to thousands of views on X in hours: one glanceable image, specific keywords, and a follow-up mentioning a few authors active on the topic. Once verified accounts engaged, the algorithm scaled it by itself.
Full text
The post combined two Apple subjects into one image: the Vision Pro and the new Mac Mini, stitched together with Pixelmator on my iPhone so I could act the moment the idea struck. Posting is not enough; the algorithm scales a post when real, verified people like it. To get that first push I searched X for the most popular Vision Pro posts, noted the authors' handles, and published a second post wrapping the first one, mentioning them. They got an alert, the first reactions came within minutes, and after a few verified interactions the algorithm pushed the post to more and more timelines. My takeaways: post quickly when an idea strikes, make the image glanceable, choose specific words so the algorithm knows the subject, mention 5 to 10 genuinely interested authors without annoying anyone, and ride existing trends.