Unlocking Viral Gold: How Firsty's 'Raise for Likes' TikTok Hack Drove Explosive Growth for a New eSIM App

Viral content thrives on immediate curiosity, and Firsty's breakout TikTok exemplifies this with a two-photo carousel that skips the hard sell entirely. The opening image captures a raw, phone-shot moment: an employee grinning beside their boss (the chef), overlaid with the text 'Asking my boss how many likes it would take to give me a raise.' This taps into universal fantasies of easy money and workplace rebellion, triggering schadenfreude and aspiration in viewers. It's not polished marketing—it's eavesdropped drama, making audiences feel like insiders to a real negotiation. Psychologically, this mirrors the 'forbidden fruit' effect: people pause scrolls to witness potential chaos, boosting dwell time and algorithmic favor.

The second photo escalates with a screenshot of the boss's reply: 'How about 100k likes and Strava has to comment.' This transforms passive viewing into active participation. Challenges like this work because they lower the barrier to engagement—liking feels like voting for the underdog's raise, while tagging friends amplifies spread. The genius lies in specificity: 100K is ambitious yet believable, creating tension. Tagging Strava, a fitness app with overlapping traveler demographics, invited organic crossover. When Strava actually commented ('Vince! Give her her raise!'), it validated the stunt, exploding credibility and shares. This created a self-fulfilling prophecy, where audience 'help' drove the metric, fostering community ownership.

Firsty avoids app pitches, focusing on humor and humanity. With only one TikTok account since 2024, their strategy prioritizes saves (1,433) and shares over comments (1,511), as relatable skits travel via DMs and stories. This 'soft entry' builds top-of-mind awareness for an eSIM service in 200+ countries—viewers associate free data abroad with fun team vibes, priming future downloads. Data shows these posts spike profile visits without fatigue, proving entertainment-first content scales niche apps by humanizing B2C tech.

Capitalizing on momentum, Firsty dropped a 38.5K-view video blending trends and opportunity. Two employees dance to a viral sound, hooked with 'Firstly, we’re looking for creators! Do you love traveling and making content?' followed by 'Then follow + comment.' This succeeds on dual levers: FOMO from job offers (1,107 comments) and algorithm love from trends. It targets UGC creators who embody the travel niche, turning engagement into a talent pipeline. Actionable takeaway: pair incentives with formats for 5x engagement rates.

Firsty's pivot from direct promo to banter challenges reveals a blueprint for late entrants. Prioritize employee-led authenticity to bypass ad blindness, engineer shareable stakes with measurable goals, and cross-pollinate audiences via peer brands. Track saves/bookmarks as leading indicators of virality. While views dazzle, the real win is sustained profile growth—question is, did this convert to installs? For apps like eSIMs, where trust drives adoption, this human approach likely funnels traffic to downloads organically.