Viral Videos Have Helped Me Grow My Business

Instagram—you heard of it? I've been on Instagram since 2015. It's the way I grew my garden consulting business from the very beginning. I was an always-on-the-go mom of four kids, so I would just post photos on Instagram (that's back in the day when a single photo was enough).

Instagram has changed a lot since then, but it's a super fun time to be on there. Last year, I challenged myself to post two to three short videos every single day, and I did it. In fact, I posted over 800 posts last year, and my account exploded. I started in January of 2023 with about 270,000 followers. I ended the year with 650,000 followers, and by February of 2024, I was up to 800,000! (If you're new to the Gardenary community, welcome and thanks for being here!)

Most of this growth comes down to reels going viral, so I thought it'd be fun to break down my 10 most viral videos and why I think they did well. Of course, there are a ton of videos that did not go viral, but we won't talk about those. Seriously though, it's been so interesting to learn more about what people love to watch.

Viral Garden Consulting Video

I posted this short video last fall to break down my business growth. It says in the beginning, "Year one in my garden consulting business: $138,000." Then it says, "Year six in my garden consulting business: $1,030,000." I borrowed the concept from another entrepreneur I saw do something similar. Basically "This is how I started, and this is what it grew to become." I thought it would be a great way to show people interested in becoming garden consultants what's possible.

This one went viral within minutes of being posted. I was actually on vacation with my family, and I remember sending a message to my Gardenary team saying, "Oh, this is really cool. People are inspired by my story."

I think one of the reasons this particular reel went viral is because I show my year one self toiling in the dirt (I'm literally working the soil with a hula-ho). And then I used videos of me standing in abundant kitchen gardens for my year six self. The idea was to show viewers that they could build a business from the dirt up. Only 9% of small businesses make $1 million in revenue a year, so it's pretty amazing that my gardening business accomplished this. I was hoping to show people that they can actually grow a successful business like mine.

Viral Herb Plant Propagation Video

This video shows how to turn one rosemary plant into 100 rosemary plants using my simple herb propagation system. I fill a large pot with sandy soil and place a Garden Oya in the middle. An oya is an ancient way of watering the garden; it's a clay pot that you fill up, and over time, water seeps through the clay to maintain the moisture level in the soil. It's a wonderful way to keep soil evenly saturated when you're rooting cuttings so that they can become new plants.

Why did this video go viral? I think it was the hook: Turn one rosemary plant into 100 rosemary plants. People love free stuff, you know? We gravitate toward the idea of taking a plant and turning it into many more plants for free. Plus, the video manages to give step-by-step instructions in about 5 seconds.

Viral Home Depot Video

This viral video is brought to you courtesy of my then-11-year-old daughter Elaine. It was a Saturday, and we went to Home Depot to turn in some plastic pots for recycling (a wonderful service they offer). We were leaving when I noticed people frantically buying up all these plants at Home Depot. I mean, people were in a craze, snapping up plants and throwing their credit cards at the cashier. I turned to my daughter and said, "Hey, would you do me a huge favor and film a video with me?"

I was wearing a Maui t-shirt and some Birkenstocks. In other words, I was not dressed to be on screen. Elaine held up my phone, and I said, "We're about to go into Home Depot, and I'm going to tell you the things you should not buy right now." She followed around the store as I pointed out plants that were not worth people's money. I'm talking about plants that were being grown in the wrong season and plants that could be grown from seed in a matter of days.

I ended with a huge pot containing four bush beans. For $20! And it had those little plastic hoops around it, as if bush beans even need a trellis. "What in the world?!" I said. "You're basically just paying for the pot." I feel bad for whoever spent $20 on four bean plants. I can pretty much guarantee those people will never garden again.

Anyway, I edited the video real quick that night and posted it, and within minutes, it took off.

The video elicited two very different responses. The first group got really mad. They did not like me talking bad about Home Depot or the plants. They said things like: "You shouldn't say bad things about plant growers" and "I'm calling Home Depot" and even "They should sue you for defaming Home Depot."

The second group said things like: "This woman is doing the Lord's work" and "You're saving me money" and "You just explained why I failed in the garden."

These polar-opposite responses are one of the best ways to ensure you'll go viral. People have to feel something, whether that's super positive or negative. If you can get both from one video, that's pretty powerful. In any case, this video was fun to make with my daughter.

Viral Fall Garden Reel

You know that Adele song that goes "I don't have to explain myself to you / I am a grown woman and I do what I want to do"? That song was trending on Instagram, so I filmed this "Them vs Me" video. The video starts with "Them: Why are you planting your garden in August? It'll never work." And then it transitions to me holding a ton of plants and says, "Me: still planting in October." I'm a grown gardener, and I do what I want to do, okay?

This video performed really well, which was awesome because it was right before we were doing a launch for our fall class. It reached 1.7 million people total, and 1.4 million new people. I think it went viral because people like when you take a stand and show how you can do something different from the societal norm (i.e., planting a garden in the fall).

If you want to stand out on social media, you have to say things that go against what other people are saying. Highlight how you're doing something different.

Viral Garden Goals Video

The next video was posted right before New Year's Eve and got 2.4 million views and 49,000 likes. It shows me in my garden in the spring and says, "If your 2024 goal is to: build a garden, eat good food, grow your own flowers, make garden-to-table recipes, let's be friends!"

It was crazy to see this one take off. You could tell people were ready for fresh ideas and inspiration for the New Year. I decided I'll be posting resolution videos from now on every December 20th! I think this video did well because people are always looking for a new goal to aspire to.

Viral Lettuce Video

This video is just me cutting a little head of lettuce while I say, "You can pay $5.99 for a bag of lettuce, or spend $500 on a garden, $5 on a packet of seeds, wait 2 months, and get this."

It's obviously satirical. I'm actually a huge fan of lettuce, but I like to poke fun at myself and the gardening world. Self-deprecating humor tends to play well. I think the video made most people laugh, but some were quick to defend gardening with comments like: "But it's worth every penny" and "You can't put a price on time in the garden." Of course, others piped up and said, "It's never necessary to spend $500 on a garden," blah blah blah.

It definitely got a discussion going. Overall, the video has racked up 1.8 million plays, 139,000 likes (that's a really high number of likes), 700 comments, 2,200 saves, and 6,700 shares. I'd say satire won the day. When you can make people laugh, they're more likely to share with others because we all love getting humorous reels from our friends.

#Aspirational Garden Video

In the "If you start now..." video, I show the process of building a garden the way we do for our clients. It starts with a blank slate, then shows the raised beds being brought in, then the trellises, and lastly the plants. It ends with the beautiful final product and says, "If you start now... Your 2024 could look like this."

This video works because it shows people the entire process from start to finish, which encourages them to take that first step for themselves. It was posted in December and took off, so once again, people were thinking about their aspirations for the New Year. It has 4 million views, 37,000 likes, 1,500 comments, 26,000 shares (what in the world?), and 30,000 saves.

Viral Garden Pest Control Video

I made this fun video as a colab with my friend LaTasha of Aneu Harvest. LaTasha worked for my first company, Rooted Garden, and now she has her own garden consulting company. I visited her and her gorgeous garden when I was in Houston back in November, and I made five or six videos of her giving garden tips. All of them did really well because she has a fantastic personality, but this one went big-time viral. It's my third most popular video of all time. It's enjoyed 6.4 million views, 416,000 likes, 853 comments, 60,000 shares, and 113,000 saves.

This video shows Latasha and her lettuce plants. She swings onto the screen with her beautiful hair and wearing this white dress that looked so pretty and fresh against her garden as a backdrop. She says, "Quick tip: If you want your lettuce to look as fabulous as this, plant it next to chives." The whole thing lasts less than 10 seconds.

I think viewers love LaTasha's personality. She's really close to the camera and touching the plants as she gives a tip to protect your lettuce plants from pests. Everybody's terrified of pests in the garden. Part of the magic of this video is the idea of delivering a really helpful trick for organic pest control in so little time.

Viral Herb Container Video

My second-most popular video of all time is from January of 2023, and it begins with another trip to Home Depot, this time with my videographer Molly. We bought a round galvanized steel container, brought it home, and turned it into an herb planter. The video is shot from overhead as I drill holes in the bottom of the container, fill it with soil, and pack it with herbs. It says, "Grow $400 worth of herbs in this $40 herb garden."

Here's the thing: I did something against the gardening "rules" in this video—I put mint in with all the other herbs. Cue every other gardener on the planet having a fit. They all had to come into the comments and tell me how wrong I am to plant mint in my herb garden.

This video went viral within a day and allowed me to reach a lot of people. I actually got to teach my herb garden system to many new faces. The initial video got 4.6 million views, 158,000 likes, 2,000 comments, 75,000 shares, and 128,000 saves. I reposted it several times throughout the year.

The video works because it shows the steps to get a clear result. Spend $40 on a container, soil, and plants, and get $400's worth of herbs in return. It also helps that I broke the rules and put so many different herbs together in one space. The gardening experts can't stand that.

Viral Herb Video

My most viral video to date is one of me talking about herbs once again. I start the video by saying, "This has got to stop!" as I pan over plastic-wrapped herbs at the grocery store. "This is how America currently gets its herbs... While every single one of us could be growing our own fresh herbs right outside our back door." Then I give a step by step to grow your own herbs at home.

I actually posted this video twice: once in October and again in December. It went viral both times. The last post had over 7 million plays!

This post speaks to people because we're all concerned about the planet and we're tired of all our food being wrapped in plastic. People are waking up and saying, "Yeah, I don't want to pay $5 for those little packages of herbs anymore!" The video offers a solution to this problem. It even gives away a free resource afterwards (access to our Herb Garden Course) that people could use to start growing their own herbs right away.

Of course, this video also created a rumble in the comments. Some people thought I was being rude by telling everyone they had to grow their own herbs. All those ifs, ands, and buts in the comment section just helps engagement and ensures people are having conversations. I mean, social media is about being social, right? When you can get a conversation going in the comments, you are doing something right.

Spreading Virality (the Good Kind)

I love using these popular videos to spread positive messages about the garden and to incentivize more people to take action in their own space. Figuring out how to get more people to watch and listen and learn has become my new obsession. In fact, I started teaching other people how to use Instagram to grow their business last year and created a new company called Wyldly.

Wyldly's mission is to help small business owners get wild organic growth for their business because that's what I've done. I almost doubled my business last year through organic growth on Instagram—no paid advertising, no other methods of marketing, just Instagram videos. Now I get to teach entrepreneurs in all industries (not just in the garden space) how they can replicate my growth.

If you're someone who found me on Instagram through one of these viral posts, I'm so thankful the algorithm found you! My mission is to make gardening ordinary, and to do that, I gotta keep making viral posts so I can get more people's attention. So thank you for growing with us and making gardening ordinary right alongside us.