How an egg photo got 54M+ likes

And how your brand can too

Fun fact: the most-liked Instagram post is a picture. Not of a celebrity, or a politician, or even solid bars of gold. It’s an egg.

A freaking chickens’ egg.

That anonymous chicken is probably the most famous parent ever, but she’s not the subject of this story. The egg, on the other hand, starting out from nothing in January 2019, has, as of this writing, 54,688,843 likes (not to mention 6.1M followers).

First, a little preamble.

Instagram is the new it in social media marketing. It has shown a high engagement rate over the years, and as such, it is popular among advertisers wanting to get into the minds of young Internet users. People and businesses alike are cashing in on the platform, with micro and nano-influencers multiplying.

But, for an aspiring influencer, or a brand new in the space, it is notoriously difficult to rack up the likes. At best, one spends a fortune on content promotion, without appreciable gains. At worst, one becomes embroiled in the fake follower scandals, which reduce brand trust. Becoming popular on social media is like pushing a boulder up a hill.