Maps app: 📈300+ videos, 2.2M total likes, 10M+ views

There are really two key ingredients you need to create a viral short-form video. The first is a scalable format with an engaging hook. This format can take many shapes, but the question to ask yourself is, "Can I see myself creating this format for the next few months?" The second ingredient is an embedded viral interaction within your app. Think of Tinder's swiping interaction or BeReal's front & back image capture feature. This is the case study of Superlocal and how its founder kept iterating until he found the answer to these two missing pieces.

Background 📓

Imagine Perplexity meets Google Maps, but with results personalized to you. This is what Alex Kehr is building with Superlocal. He quickly realized that there was a bigger opportunity here—one that the tech giants were missing. What if your maps could work for you, helping you discover new parts of your city? What if they could learn your habits and automatically recommend new places to check out? He had the viral embedded interaction; now he just needed to figure out his scalable format.

Here are some of his most successful videos and how he did it 👇:

🎬 Percent of the world explored: 4.1M Views, 106K Likes, 14K Saved

Hook: “POV: you use Superlocal to see the percent of the world you’ve explored”

Format: 2x speed + product shot + Woman AI voice

Why this video worked:.

• Trending sound

• Hook with fast pace movement

• Red highlights of key analytics

🎬 Why did I make an app…: 1.5M Views, 46.9K Likes, 10K Saves

Hook: “why did I make an app that shows you the percent of the world you’ve been to?”

Format: 2x speed + product shot + Woman AI voice

Why this video worked:.

• popular hook: “why did I make an app that…”

• Video length = 15s

• Explains apps value prop within 5s with numbered list

🎬 Insane question by senator: 3.4M Views, 106K Likes, 8.8K Shares

Hook: “The CEO of snapchat got asked an insane question by a US Senator”

Format: Clips of senate hearing + caption overlay

Why this video worked:

• Trending event among target audience

• Meme worthy content with gen z

• Video caption creates enough intrigue to keep watching

Key takeaways from Superlocal 💡

• Reposting the same content is ok

  If you look at their TikTok account, you'll notice that most of their videos follow the same format. It's okay to repeat the basic concept—just make sure to make small tweaks each time.

• Embedded viral interactions are a must

  Having this from the gecko will make creating content a whole lot easier. Use this as your main focus.

• Creating sharable content that relates to your target audience

  It’s ok to mix up your content with videos that won’t directly convert to start. Build an audience first, then convert.

• Finding a scalable format is important to avoid burnout

  They found a format that requires little effort and could repeat for multiple months.

What you can replicate from this format 💰

• 2x the speed of your videos

  This approach will automatically create a more engaging video by showcasing more of your app within a shorter time frame.

• Highlight core features

  Draw a rectangle over key features you want to highlight in your product demo. The more flashy elements the more hooks you create.

• Use TikTok embedded voice over features

  The female AI voice is one of the most popular. It's been proven to hook and engage the audience.

• Figure out what’s trending within your target demo

  You can literally just screen record the clips and add a basic caption. Good question to ask yourself “is this meme worthy?”
  

Know a founder that could use some help creating content? Feel free to share!

That’s all I got for this one. If you have any other viral consumer products you want me to break down my DM’s are always open.

Cheers!

Nick 🤝