Can a ‘normal’ person get 5,000 likes on a single Tweet?

Firstly, I work in social media. So you might consider me not ‘normal’, and you’d be right! Anyone that spends their days wading through this online cesspool is certainly not normal… But I don’t have a blue tick, I’m not an ‘influencer’, and I don’t have millions of followers. So in all respects I am an average Tweeter.

With this in mind, is it possible for me to get 5,000 likes on one of my Tweets?

“But why would I want to get that many likes on a Tweet?” you ask. What could be so important as to warrant such an endeavour?

For nearly two years now, I have been trying to convince Selk’Bag (makers of wearable sleeping bags) that an Apollo Spacesuit themed version of their product would be an excellent idea. Ever since I first saw one of their products in white I just knew it HAD to happen. I decided to mock up some concept images and begin my campaign.

Things went rather well. I was managing to get some interest on Twitter amongst space geeks and support from a number of well known individuals such as Duncan Jones (Director of ‘MOON’), Mark Kermode and the mighty Adam Savage (Mythbusters) himself.

But, whilst receiving an acknowledgement of my idea from the Twitter account of Selk’Bag, there was no contact to suggest that this might be something they would consider making for real.

First contact…

I was beginning to lose heart, I started to sense that my dream of owning an Apollo Selk’Bag was never going to happen.

Then a few days later I received an email from Cristobal (CEO, Selk’Bag). He mentioned how everyone at Selk’Bag had been following the campaign and thought the idea was awesome! But he also made it clear that these sort of things take a lot of time and investment. Clearly there would need to be conversations about the licensing and manufacturing process. Cristobal said that he would put it to the marketing and development team and see what they thought.

He ended by saying that if the project went ahead I would be the first person to have one and that he would love to collaborate on the design process.

I felt, at the time, that I had done all I could. I had shown that there was tremendous interest in the project and an eager group of buyers just waiting to part with their cash. I thanked Cristobal for taking the time to get in touch and decided to put the campaign to bed.

We choose to go to the Moon!

A couple of years passed by. Life moved on. My house was gutted by fire! (But that’s another story).

I’d always thought that if I could take the concept images I had mocked up and make a prototype, it would make for a much more compelling story. Selk’Bag no longer produced white versions of their sleeping bags, so I had to trawl through that hive of scum and villainy that is eBay. Eventually I found one for sale in my size. I bid, and I won.

The campaign was back on!

Give me a Go, No Go for launch!

Weirdly I had spoken to Cristobal through LinkedIn a few months prior, so I figured I would relaunch the campaign there –> Apollo Selk’Bag Challenge

To my surprise, Cristobal replied to my post with a challenge… Get 1,000 likes on LinkedIn and we’ll make it happen!

A gauntlet had been thrown down, and I was only too happy to pick it up. I immediately began pushing the message out across all of my channels and to everyone in my network. This seemed like an achievable goal. 1,000 likes!? Surely I could make that happen?

Perhaps not.

After a few days of relentless posting I had only managed around 100 likes. Support from the likes of Duncan Jones (Director of ‘MOON’) and Dallas Campbell had helped, but this was not going to be as simple as I had thought. But then, something wonderful happened (with thanks to Gia 🙏).

Surely it was a dead cert that I would now reach my target?

As I watched my Twitter mentions go berzerk, the likes on the LinkedIn post started to climb. Within a couple of hours ‘Coxy’ had helped add over 250 to the total. But things were starting to slow down. My Twitter returned to normal, albeit a little raw from all the action, and the counter stopped.

Failure is not an option

Seeing the flurry of engagement from Brian’s Tweet slow down and stop before I had reached my goal was devastating. I had been convinced his support was going to seal the deal. I spoke to Cristobal and lamented that engagement through LinkedIn was notoriously difficult. He offered an alternative, “Let’s make it 5,000 likes on Twitter“.

Now this was more like it. I knew Twitter. I have been on Twitter since the beginning. This was going to be a no-brainer!

It was a shame I had played my Cox card so early. If Twitter had been the goal when he Tweeted it would have been all over, I’m sure of it. Asking for another mention seemed too much, so I targeted someone else.

I set my sights on the Captain… William Shatner!

To Boldly Go…

After a couple of days of what can only be described as ‘harassment’, I was shocked to receive a communique from the ‘Shat’…

My hero from those five-year missions had replied. I was as light as a feather, I was as giddy as a schoolboy. Would Selk’Bag respond to his request?

They did! They actually offered to donate TEN to his charity auction. We were on!

LIFT OFF!

It was in the bag, so to speak. Bill had called upon his army to show their support and 5,000 likes was merely a formality. I wondered how many we would eventually get… 10,000? 50,000? 200,000? My dream of owning an Apollo Selk’Bag was finally going to come true. It truly was a Merry Christmas.

But wait…

Is there something wrong with Twitter?

Perhaps the counter is ticking up so fast that the software can’t keep up?

😳

It would seem not.

Bill’s Army didn’t show up. A couple of hundred at most.

Splash Down.

I was deflated.

I had been so sure that a mention from the Captain would end the campaign and see the Apollo Selk’Bag put into production. Two and a half million followers and I couldn’t even get 5,000 likes. In one way, Bill’s mention has ended the campaign; it has ended it for me. I feel I have done everything I possibly could to get the message out there. I have called in favours. I have badgered my friends. Hassled my networks, and most likely pissed off every single person who follows me with my endless Tweets and ReTweets of me in my Selk’Bag.

Personally, I feel I have proven that an Apollo Selk’Bag is a great idea. I have seen an incredible out-pouring of support and engagement. Numerous positive comments and a long line of guaranteed customers just waiting to hand over their money.

As I write this it’s almost Christmas 2020. It’s been quite a year. A year we will be reading about in history books for some time to come. I won’t mention the C word, but its presence has been felt through everything that has happened over the past 12 months and is still looming over all of us in the first months of the year to come.

I’m still hopeful that Cristobal will grant my 2020 Christmas wish and put the Apollo Selk’Bag into production, but for now I will leave you with this…

Have a Merry Virus Free Christmas and a Happy Vaccinated New Year!

Epilogue.

At the beginning I asked “Can a ‘normal’ person get 5,000 likes on a single Tweet?”.

It would appear, in this instance, the answer to that is… No!

I wish it could have been different. I wish we could all now be looking forward to owning our very own Apollo Selk’Bag. I wish that, next time you are stargazing in the winter chill, you could wrap up warm in your very own spacesuit. I wish all of that. But currently those wishes remain unfulfilled.

If, like me, you still want to own an Apollo Selk’Bag. Tell your friends, share the Tweet, but most of all… LIKE IT

UPDATE…

An actual REAL-LIFE ASTRONAUT has thrown his support behind the campaign…