Lessons from the most retweeted tweet ever

There’s no exact equation to make a tweet go viral, but brand managers can divine insights from a teen’s request—and Wendy’s answer.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

What started as teenager Carter Wilkerson’s quest for free nuggets has turned into the newest viral sensation.

“Step Aside, Ellen DeGeneres: The New Retweet Champion Is a Nugget-Hungry Teenager,” reads the headline of a recent article in The New York Times.

In just over a month, Wilkerson grabbed more than 3.5 million retweets on his plea for a supply of Wendy’s chicken nuggets—beating out Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie, which has more than 3.4 million retweets:

HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3

— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017

Wendy’s quickly changed its tune when Wilkerson’s tweet started to go viral, shifting its focus from 18 million to breaking DeGeneres’ record.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.