Going Viral: What I learned from the response to "Why I Left Google"

I posted my "Why I Left Google" article on LinkedIn exactly one month ago today.


To be honest, I wrote the piece for selfish reasons. It was an easy way for me to let my family and friends know about this unexpected (for them) and important (for me) change in my professional circumstances without having to repeat my story over and over again.

But I didn't expect what happened next.

As a marketer, you always want your work to "go viral", not only because it makes your paid media dollars go further, but also because it's a good sign your efforts resonated with the people that mattered most to you. (You create the content for your audience, and if they like it enough to share it with their networks, well, that's a good thing!) And yet, "going viral" isn't something you can ever guarantee, because there are too many factors involved that can't be controlled. So you produce the best content you can, buy some paid media to get those important initial views, reach out to prominent influencers in the hopes they'll share your work with their fans, and hope some other piece of content that competes for your audience's attention doesn't get released on the same day.

But this wasn't "my work", and so I did absolutely none of that. I spent a bit of time getting my thoughts down in a digestable format, and then shared the link to my post on my social networks. That's it.

My family and closest friends began to graciously show their support by liking and sharing my article, not only on LinkedIn, but also on Facebook and Twitter. Some added some kind words on what they felt about my decision. These likes and shares exposed their entire networks to my post, which prompted additional likes and shares from their connections. And so on, and so forth. Momentum began to build, and this continued during the days and weeks that followed.

As of right now, the article has been viewed almost 250,000 times, from at least four different continents. It has more than 3,500 likes, over 350 comments, and almost 600 shares. And those are just the LinkedIn statistics.

So what happened? How did a regular guy writing about a personal decision get so much unanticipated attention? I think there were four factors at work:

1) Intrigue. 

The headline of my post was simply, "Why I Left Google". I titled it as such because that's the exact question I wanted to answer for my family and friends, not because I was attempting to bait people into reading my article. Yet bait people I did, however unintentionally; this title grabbed the attention of people who knew the company was a desirable place to work and couldn't imagine anyone ever leaving.

2) Content.
The most reoccurring piece of feedback I received on "Why I Left Google" was that it was "well-written". I'm not going to toot my own horn, but if people liked what I wrote and how I wrote it, it makes sense that they would share it.

3) Authenticity.
I'm a very candid person, and I intentionally wrote a very candid post. Most people would hesitate to admit they struggled in a role under any circumstances, especially in a public forum. But for me that was the truth, and I wasn't embarrassed or ashamed by it. Yet from the comments I received, it's clear that people respected the transparency, most likely because it's something that is unfortunately so rare in today's business world.

4) Relatability. 
What was most surprising about the reaction to my piece was the number of comments written (and InMails received) from people who were experiencing the exact same thing as I had experienced. (This group included half a dozen Googlers who were still working at the company, and were relieved that what they were feeling wasn't abnormal.) These people -- Googlers and non-Googlers alike -- found themselves in jobs they didn't like, but felt they couldn't do what I did and just leave. People took my story and turned it into their own with comments like, "I felt the exact same way when I left X" and, "I did something similar years ago and have never been happier."

Intrigue, Content, Authenticity, and Relatability. Is this the recipe for how to guarantee something will "go viral"? No, of course not, there's no such thing.

But I sure think it helps.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIN June 2, 2016.