Shaikh Mohammad's LinkedIn post goes viral in 48 hours

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has set a new bar for community engagement through interesting and relevant content on LinkedIn’s Influencer publishing platform.

According to LinkedIn data, his recent Influencer post, in the form of an open letter and titled ‘Why Ministers for Happiness, Tolerance, Youth and the Future?’ is on the top 3 most engaging posts globally from a political figure on LinkedIn’s Influencer platform. In addition, it is currently one of the 10 fastest-growing influencer blog posts globally in terms of engagement on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Influencer is an exclusive programme that offers a platform for selected achievers from across disciplines to share their experiences, learning and advice for the benefit of the more than 414 million members on LinkedIn. In addition to His Highness, other LinkedIn top influencers are; Barack Obama, Richard Branson, Hillary Clinton, David Cameron, Bill Gates, Narendra Modi and Oprah Winfrey.

The most recent post by His Highness presented to readers the UAE leadership rationale for introducing four new ministries. Given the position of the UAE as an oasis of tolerance, modernity and progress in the Arab world, these new ministerial berths represent the government’s initiative to build channels of communication and engagement with the strongest force in the UAE – the youth.

“In just the first 48 hours of publishing, His Highness' post garnered more than 300,000 views and is currently fast approaching half a million," says Ali Matar, Head of Talent Solutions, LinkedIn South Europe and Middle East and North Africa. "Its success demonstrates the respect that he generates across geographies, and this recent piece has engaged with LinkedIn members far more than the most followed political influencers from different parts of the world.”

The post has managed to attract and engage members from beyond the region. Among the top 5 countries that have viewed and engaged with the post are the US, UK and Canada.

Virality

A post going viral is typically attributed to a number of uncontrollable factors, but in this case, there are some clear indicators.

Success has been achieved through the winning combination of a strong message, a fresh format, written by a respected and inspiring leader, and published on a platform that provides the best channel to address professional and relevant audience.