Why YOUR Videos Went Viral (#3)
Another in-depth look at my subscribers' online posts.
Hello, and welcome to the 7 new subscribers since my last email, What if You Could Build Your Own Patreon? Today, I’m continuing a segment where I break down and analyze recent videos from all of YOU! It’s deeply fulfilling to see some of my best practices put to use in the wild, and a relief to know I’m not completely full of shit over here.
In this edition, we’ll go under the hood of Instagram Reels from comedians Jimmy Tingle, Josh Glanc, Tamir Bryant, and Paige Smith-Hogan, identifying what features contributed to their online reception, and exploring ways to increase total viewership.
Missed the first two editions? Read them, here:
If you’d like to submit something for next time, feel free to reply in this thread with a link, or drop it in the comments below. The first section will be free, while the remainder will be available for paid subscribers only.
Jimmy Tingle – “Thank You Firefighters”
Quick Stats (at time of writing):
Date Posted: 1/16/25
2.4M Views, 151.8K Likes, 782 Comments, 74.8K Shares
Like PCT: 6.3% | Comment PCT: 0.03% | Share PCT: 3.1%
Video Length: 59 seconds
Text Hook: THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS
Hashtags: #standup #standupcomedy #fire #losangeles
Comedians reading this, this is all a post ever needs to be:
High quality footage of you being funny on stage, presented as a Reel.
That’s it.
No front-facing camera videos.
No half-baked podcast clips.
Just repurposing your best jokes from old specials or well-filmed sets collecting dust on external hard drives.
If you’re new here, a good target Like PCT and Share PCT on IG are 4-5% and 1-2%, respectively, two metrics that this Reel comfortably blows both out of the water.
Jimmy has been posting clips of previous sets and specials on his Instagram lately, and many of them have popped off. Since pivoting to this strategy, he’s grown his Instagram following from 1K to 15,000 followers over the past three months:
Everything else is what I call “dressing” the clip properly.
Timely post. Vertically cropped. Compelling text hook. Airtight hashtags.
Clear to a stranger what they’re watching.
This is a gold standard Instagram Reel in my book, bravo to Jimmy and team.
Hang this one in the rafters!
Tamir Bryant – “Special Olympics”
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