How to Go Viral on X (Even If You Have 0 Followers)
The ultimate guide to going viral on X (Even With 0 Followers)
Weekly Snippets 🤓
McDonald’s First AI Ad: As AI keeps sinking its teeth into every aspect of our lives, McDonald’s Japan has jumped on the bandwagon, serving up its first-ever AI-generated commercial ad campaign.
YouTube Wins: A study by Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights shows that when it comes to podcasts, 31% of Americans are hitting up YouTube, 21% are chilling with Spotify, and Apple Podcasts?
LinkedIn Launches In-Feed Video: The professional social network is making a new push on video content through in-feed carousels of video clips.
TL;DR 👓
The X algorithm has evolved in 2025, leveling the playing field for small accounts. Viral potential is now about engaging content, not follower count. X’s AI scans posts for relevancy, emotion, and visuals, with a boost for quality interactions and diverse content. From new engagement features to viral hacks, the platform offers massive growth opportunities—if you play by its rules. Ready to crack the code and grow your X presence? Let’s dive in.
How to Go Viral on X (Even If You Have 0 Followers)
Think X (Twitter) is just a mess of trolls and chaos? Think again.
The game is changing, and you might want to pay attention.
Yes, it's had its drama. But get ready because X is transforming.
Creators are flocking back. Why?
Elon Musk recently highlighted a crucial change:
Small accounts now have the power to go viral. Even if you have fewer than 100 followers, your content could reach millions. (Crazy, right?)
Skeptical? Just ask Elon.
Why does this matter? Because the playing field is level now.
It’s about having something interesting to say, not just a big follower count. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a thought leader, or just someone with a keyboard and a dream, this is your moment.
It's like Netflix letting your grandma's home videos compete with "Stranger Things."
That’s why I’m betting on X.
My goal?
Build a community of startup founders and marketers over the next year. To do that, I need to crack X’s algorithm.
Luckily, X has made its algorithm more transparent.
In this post, I'll explore:
The New Face of X in 2025
How X Decides What You See
How it Works in Practice
How a Post Goes Viral on X
The Hidden Features and Quirks of X
How to Grow Your X Account: A Tactical Action Plan
My Final Thoughts
The New Face of X in 2025 😲
X has transformed from a simple microblogging platform into a multimedia powerhouse, offering text, images, videos, and live streams.
This isn’t your 2010 Twitter (I know some of you still miss it).
What’s new?
More ways for creators to earn (who doesn’t love more cash?)
Smarter content discovery
Long-form content with X Articles
A big push for video
Improved spam and bot detection (finally!)
But the real game-changer?
X’s move toward algorithmic transparency.
In late 2023, X took a bold step by open-sourcing parts of its recommendation algorithm. (Finally, a peek behind the curtain!)
How X Decides What You See
This part is wild.
X chews through 500 million posts daily but only picks about 1,500 for your feed. That’s a 0.0003% chance of your post making the cut. Yeah, good luck with that.
All this is thanks to X’s machine learning algorithms, which decide what’s worth your attention.
X, like every other social platform, rakes in cash from ads. But those ads only pay if X can promise eyeballs. So, the algorithm’s primary job is to keep you glued to your screen.
Here’s the quick breakdown:
Text Understanding Model (XLM-R): This brainy AI breaks down the text of your posts, picking up on mood (happy, angry, sarcastic), topics (tech, politics, cat memes), and even X-specific slang like “stonks” and “hodling.”
Image Analysis Model (XVision): Think of this as X’s visual gatekeeper. It scans pics for objects, scenes, and text, and it even understands memes. Because let’s be real—memes are life.
Engagement Prediction Model (XEngage): Predicts if your post is likely to blow up or flop based on past engagement patterns, current trends, and optimal posting times.
User Interest Graph (XGraph): A mind map of users, topics, and content, ensuring you see posts that actually interest you. Like a personalised content concierge.
Fairness and Bias Mitigation Module (XFair): Keeps things fair by minimising bias, so smaller voices don’t get crushed. Think of it as the referee ensuring a fair game.
How it Works in Practice
Content Ingestion: Post goes live. XLM-R and XVision analyse text and visuals.
Initial Scoring: XEngage scores the post based on quality and creator’s history.
User Matching: XGraph finds users likely to care.
Fairness Check: XFair ensures underrepresented voices aren't buried.
Feed Insertion: Post is placed in feeds based on score and engagement predictions.
Real-time Learning: The algorithm updates instantly based on user interaction.
This all happens in milliseconds, making X feel like it's reading your mind.
How a Post Goes Viral on X
Shout-out to Tibo for breaking it down:
Test Phase: X shows your post to a small group first. If they engage, more people see it.
Account Score: Higher engagement increases your score, meaning future posts start with a larger audience. My sporadic posting has kept my score low.
Reach Expands in Circles: Like ripples in a pond—if Circle A engages, it spreads to Circle B, then C, and so on until engagement fades or you've hit everyone who cares.
Hidden Features and Quirks of the X Algorithm
The “Golden Hour” Effect: First-hour engagement can make or break your post’s chances. Use analytics to find out when your followers are online.
The “Diversity Boost”: X occasionally shows posts outside a user’s usual interests to keep things fresh. If your content is universally appealing, you might get a free boost.
Evergreen Content Resurfacing: Old posts can come back to life if they start gaining new engagement. Don’t be afraid to reshare your hits.
Local Boost Feature: X gives temporary boosts to content trending in specific geographic areas. Local relevance can be your ticket to more visibility.
How to Grow Your X Account: A Tactical Action Plan
Use Engaging Content: Use engaging content: Mix threads, images, memes, and videos. Throw in some trending hashtags to extend reach. (But don’t overdo it, nobody likes a hashtag spammer.)
Post 2-3 Times Daily: Stay consistent to maintain engagement and build your “consistency score.”
Reply Strategically: Engage early with 8-10 replies daily. Interact with big accounts, peers, and smaller ones.
Create Conversations: Posts that spark debate get more visibility. End with questions or provocative statements.
Avoid Engagement Pods: They can hurt your reach. Focus on organic interactions.
Try Long-form and Video Content: Use X’s long-form posts and videos to stand out.
Get the Blue Tick: Consider X Pro for credibility and a increase in impressions.
Optimise for Engagement: Use images, GIFs, and videos. Engage beyond your echo chamber to reach new audiences.
Success on X is about consistency, smart engagement, and authentic content—my focus for the coming months.
My Final Thoughts 💭
X in 2025 is a whole different beast from its early days of 140-character rants.
It’s like that friend who went to find themselves in India and came back with a man bun and a juice cleanse obsession. It's different, a bit pretentious, but potentially life-changing if you buy into it.
Yes, many advertisers and users have left, and X is still a work in progress (but hey, aren’t we all?) If X rolls out its planned algorithm changes, it could become the top platform for creators.
By understanding the algorithm and implementing these strategies, you can dramatically increase your reach and impact – even if you're starting from zero.
In the attention economy, there’s no prize for participation. (Harsh, but true.)
P.S. If you’ve read this far, congrats! You’re one of the most informed X users out there.
Ready to take the next step? Connect with me on X and say hello—let’s test these tactics together!
The Rabbit Hole - For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
Check out these hand-picked resources:
X Recommendation EngineSource Code: Want to see what makes the X recommendation engine tick? Here’s the GitHub source code. Knock yourself out.
X Algorithm Deep Dive: Craving a more technical rabbit hole? Dive into this post from Tweet Hunter for all the nerdy details on the X algorithm.
Elon Musk: How X Algorithm Works
I highly recommend you watch this video.
Elon Musk explains that X is shifting from short tweets to longer content, like full episodes of shows, which doesn't fit the original idea of tweets. The challenge now is refining AI algorithms to better recommend this diverse content, enhancing user engagement.
X's Engineering Director Daniel O’Shea, talks Neville Medhora
They discuss X’s Algorithm and AI's impact on writing/content.
Nice breakdown of X & the way their algorithm work. I’d suggest they have what I call a velocity based algorithm - the quicker the engagement the more accounts that are unlocked to that tweet and dominos the more engagement it receives.
Very similar to how LinkedIn used to work.
The more we are engineered not to engage and are served more non follower content the smaller less active accounts will surface and grow
This was actually very insightful. Thank you for breaking it down and sharing the details!