The right message doesn’t just get likes. It grabs hearts.

Earlier this year, one of my best friends accidentally went viral. 

She’s not an influencer.

Not a writer.

Not a social media specialist. 

In fact, she’s not in the marketing/branding world at all. 

She is, however, the proud owner of a perfectly preserved 1970s ranch, who moved into the house with plans for a complete renovation. Naturally, she created an Instagram account so friends and family could follow along.

Over the first year, she made a few minor touch-ups here and there, posting occasionally and garnering a handful of likes. But her heart wasn’t in the posts, or the renovation. In fact, the more she and her family settled into their not-so-new home, the more they began to rethink their plans for it. 

Her Instagram account sat silent for two years.

Then, on February 18 of this year, she popped back up with a video of herself cleaning the home’s original honey oak cabinets. 

“Three years ago, when we moved into this 1977 ranch, we were ready to rip everything out,” the post began. “But living here changed us. The longer we’ve been in this home, the more we’ve realized it already has a story.” 

She went on to explain that, instead of gutting the house, they would be leaning into it and keeping as much of its original charm as possible.

“This house doesn’t need to be erased,” she wrote. “It needs to be understood… We’re fixing what we can. Loving what we have.”  

The lighting isn’t magical. She’s in leggings and slippers. You never even see her face. But something about the slightly rebellious, raw honesty of her message struck a chord in people. The next day, she woke up to hundreds of likes. 

Within a week, she had more than 2,000 new followers from that single post, and the momentum kept building. The more openly she spoke, the more people responded.  

“I just kept sharing the message that it’s okay to keep your home the way it is,” she told me. “You don’t have to change it. You don’t need white cabinets just because everyone says so. Apparently that resonated with a lot of people.” 

Indeed it did.

Today, just eight months later, @lovingthisranch has more than 28,000 followers and often receives hundreds of comments on posts. Not just any comments, either. These are passionate replies from a fully engaged community. 

“What do you wish you hadn’t changed about your home?” a recent post asked. Hundreds of people replied, pouring out entire stories, childhood memories and deep feelings about the homes they grew up in and the homes they live in today. 

Just now, when I went back to fact-check my numbers, I realized the account had gained 100 followers, literally overnight. 

How does an account that sat silent for two years get 2,000 followers with a single post of someone cleaning cabinets? 

Genuine human connection. 

It’s that simple, and that complicated. 

It’s what we all want. 

What your audience wants. 

What your customer wants. 

What your follower wants. 

(It’s also what draws so many of us to Franklin Creative Club, but I’ll save that conversation for another time.)

In a world full of marketing speak, algorithms and AI-generated content, often the voice that works best is the one that doesn’t appear to “work” at all. 

Content doesn’t gain followers. 

Connection does.

Sure, clever writing is fun, but on its own it isn’t enough. Even the best writer is useless if the words they create don’t resonate with the right people. 

Whether you’re a freelance writer crafting copy for a mega-brand or a small business owner just trying to get your message out, every word you share must mean something to someone on a deeper level.

How do you make that happen?

By spending more time speaking with people, and less time talking at them. 

I’ve mentored a handful of younger writers over the years, and the one message I always come back to is this: 

The last thing you should do is write. 

Before you put words to paper or screen, you have to spend time thinking, digging, getting to know your client and their audience. Or, as I like to think of it, putting yourself and your client through some intense brand therapy together.

Who are you trying to reach? What do they care about? What do they not care about? What keeps them up at night? What do they celebrate? How does what you offer fit with their need, fear or want? Why do you care about what you do? Why should they care? The questions go on and on. 

Then, and only then, comes the best part: Sitting down and distilling all those insights into a clear message that can be passed along genuinely, from one human to another. 

Simple? Yes. 

Easy? Not at all. 

But so very worth it. 

The next time you or your writer create messaging for your brand, make sure what’s being shared comes from the heart, not just the keyboard. 

Otherwise, you’ll simply be another voice in a sea of white cabinets.