What a Record-Breaking 'Egg' and Its Title of Most-Liked Instagram Post Ever Can Teach Us Move over, Kylie. Step aside, Beyoncé. Someone else is egging you on, on social media.
By Luis Garcia Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Embellished with a touch of humor and a bit of a competitive edge, a photo of a gold-colored egg, posted Jan. 4, has attracted 50.5 million likes, to become the most-liked post on Instagram… ever.
Related: An Egg Beats Kylie Jenner for Most Liked Instagram Photo
Kylie Jenner's birth announcement of her daughter, Stormi -- employing a photo of Stormi's fingers wrapped around Mom's thumb, and dating back to February 2018 -- had previously held this "most-liked" status (18.7 million likes to date).
And, before that, it was Beyoncé's February 2017 pregnancy announcement (11.3 million likes to date) getting all the buzz.
Flash-forward to the new winningest entry: a picture of an unremarkable egg which has garnered remarkable results. The account responsible, @world_record_egg, posted the simple photo with a caption reading, "Let's set the world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this. #LikeTheEgg #EggSoldiers #EggGang."
As of Jan. 14, the picture had reached over 36 million likes and nearly 1.5 million comments, with the account at 4.8 million followers. Jenner responded to the post with a video of herself cracking a similar egg onto a pavement. The young billionaire captioned it, "Take that little egg," creating even more buzz around the topic.
So how did an egg named Eugene de-throne Kylie, the social media queen? In an age filled with memes, challenges and YouTubers, Eugene's factor of humor certainly had to have helped. In fact, the "Egg Gang" used viral humor, along with the power of celebrity and the use of a oopular media channel, to unite Instagramers together to support its goal.
After only over a week after putting its post online, the Egg Gang achieved almost two times its desired total for likes. So, what can entrepreneurs learn here? Three things.
Related: 4 Ways to Grow an Authentic Instagram Following in 2019
1. Communities are just as powerful as brands:
In 2019 more than ever, building online communities will bring results, both in growth and revenue, for businesses. There are so many communities in so many different industries, whether those communities be organized around fitness, cooking, dating, entrepreneurialism, etc.: They're all taking off and becoming a source for strong income and quick results.
That's why building a community that supports a specific common goal or mission is what many (smart) entrepreneurs are starting to do, and it's something you can start doing in your category as well.
2. Influencer marketing is a fast way to grow.
By having a strong network, the egg account was able to utilize shoutouts and shares to get its page recognized by millions very quickly. If you're looking to grow your page quickly, make sure that you have informative content on it and then connect with individuals who have similar markets and can offer a shoutout.
Of course, you might have to shout them out in return, but this is a great way to grow quickly. When a new audience sees your image and clicks on your social media, its members will find the informative content and want to follow you.
3. Meme marketing is on the rise.
This isn't the first simple meme or image to go viral! Just a few weeks ago, the Bird Box meme (referring to blind-folded Sandra Bullock's character -- which you have probably seen on social media) was able to take a Netflix movie and make it go viral, regardless of its moderate ratings.
This was previously unheard of, but it will definitely be happening much more frequently after its large success.
As for the egg phenomenon, my marketing agency, Red Wolf Entertainment, called it "the perfect example of modern day marketing; bringing people together for a common goal... building communities.
"This isn't the first time something like this has happened!" Red Wolf wrote. "If you look at a story from 2017, a boy named Carter Wilkerson asked Wendy's how many retweets he needed to get free nuggets for a year, and after answering the man, he received 3.5M retweets and won the free nuggets! A humorous and humble approach to asking for people's support to accomplish a goal that would leave us all shocked... what's more entertaining than that?"
On the post of the egg, various online influencers were tagged: pewdiepie (YouTuber), CNN (news), theellenshow (tv show), jimmyfallon (comedian), buzzfeed (viral news) and more. The Ellen Show posted a photo of the egg on Jan. 14, with Kylie Jenner's face on it, and the caption, "According to my calculations, this will be the most liked Instagram post ever! The egg + @KylieJenner = 51,000,000 likes minimum." Celebrities and fans alike commented and shared the post, further extending the reach of the egg.
Marketing in 2019 is already proving the importance of social media in brand recognition and global awareness. By integrating interactive features, you too can engage your users and promote their unified action toward a common goal, increasing the overall buzz.
Related: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Businesses Make on Instagram
The publicity this Instagram egg post has created, for both its own account and those of the people who got involved, seems close to astounding. And yet it's not. Indeed, we're all waiting, some more patiently than others, to see what else Eugene has in store, as he or -- or they -- try again to "crack" the Internet.
