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Weeding Out The Legit From The $h!t: The Truth About Social Media Virality
Episode 28319th January 2026 • Freedom Entrepreneur Podcast | Online Business Tips, Business System Strategy, Marketing Training, Entrepreneur Mindset • Lindsay Sutherland
00:00:00 00:14:55

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"I know the secret to going viral on TikTok!"

"I make all my money on Instagram!"

"Buy my course and I'll teach you the algorithm hack!"

Stop. Just stop.

Lindsay's reading a book called Virality and guess what? There's no hidden secret. No insider algorithm hack. No magic formula that gurus are hiding from you.

This is Part 2 of "Weeding Out the Legit from the Shit"—and today we're calling out the false narratives about social media that keep you on a hamster wheel buying courses that promise instant results.

The False Narrative (The Shit): Chasing virality. Believing that if you just get famous on some platform, it'll solve all your problems. Thinking you're missing some secret about the algorithm that's keeping you from success.

The Truth (The Legit): Feed the algorithm what it wants—and align it with what you do.

Here's What Actually Works:

1. The algorithm isn't controlled by Meta or TikTok—it's controlled by PEOPLE. The viewers. The content consumers. They ARE your market. Give them what they want.

2. Say the same thing over and over and over. This is the part most people struggle with (Lindsay included). It feels boring. But look at any large account—go to their page, open their latest post, scroll backwards. They're saying the SAME STUFF. It's like Mexican food: same ingredients, just put together differently.

3. One pillar of content. Not three. ONE. People follow you for YOU and your MESSAGE. That's the recipe for loyal, engaged followers. Yes, you can tie in personal stories. Yes, you can talk about transformations. But it's all the SAME THING.

4. Your relationship is with PEOPLE, not the algorithm. The #1 way Lindsay grows? Slow and steady relationship building. Podcast guests. DM conversations. Real connections. When those people show up in her feed, she recognizes them. She LIKES them. That's what social media should feel like.

The Virality Problem: Lindsay has a post with 12,000 clicks. It went viral. But those aren't her people. Virality doesn't equal followers who convert. It just means you entertained strangers.

What Happens When You Chase the Wrong Strategy: You grow a following of people who don't care about your offer. Then when you pivot to aligned content that actually converts, they bounce. And you're back to square one—but this time, you're frustrated and broke from buying all those courses.

The Algorithm's Real Goal: Keep people ON their platform. That's it. That's the secret.

Want links off-platform to work? They won't perform as well. Want to win on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook? Link OTHER content on the SAME platform. Keep people engaged there.

The Bottom Line: Stop chasing hacks. Build relationships. Say the same thing in different ways. Feed people what they want—and align it with what you offer.

Lindsay fact-checked this entire episode with Claude AI. Everything she said? True.

Key Takeaway: Social media isn't a lottery. It's not insider trading. It's simple: One message. One human. Lots of humans who relate to that one person. Build relationships, not follower counts.

Join the free Facebook Community! Connect, Learn, Grow, Build https://www.facebook.com/groups/freedomentrepreneurcommunity

Have a burning question? Leave a message for Lindsay and she will turn it into an episode with an answer. Use the link below to record.

https://www.speakpipe.com/FreedomEntrepreneur

Mentioned in this episode:

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