The Exact Formula Charlie Hills Uses to Go Viral on Any Platform | LinkedIn, Instagram and AI Content Strategy

How Charlie Hills Scaled LinkedIn to 210K+ Followers with Claude, Viral Systems and a Branded Infographic SaaS

In this episode, Charlie Hills breaks down the systems and AI workflows that grew his audience from 22,000 to over 210,000 in just over a year. He explains the tactical content frameworks, posting cadence experiments, and the tools he combines—Claude, Claude Code, Appify and Gemini—to reverse engineer viral posts across LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

The conversation covers practical processes for scripting, infographics, carousels and the early steps toward AI-assisted video editing. Charlie also discusses launching Vislo, a branded infographic SaaS built from his Claude Code workflows, and reflects on the transition from a nine-to-five job to full-time creator work.

Key Topics Covered:

• Pre-validated content strategy that drove 11 million views on an Instagram reel
• The CHEF framework for human-sounding, high-engagement content
• Using Appify, Claude Code and Gemini to research and structure viral posts
• Why organic reach on LinkedIn is changing and how to adapt
• Claude Code applications for infographics, carousels and terminal-driven video editing
• Vislo: a branded infographic SaaS launched in public beta from creator workflows
• Pattern interrupts, B-roll clarity and what actually stops the scroll
• Practical posting cadence lessons and the creator career transition

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 Intro and follower count update
01:03 How Charlie goes viral on any platform
04:01 Steal Like an Artist and pre-validated content
04:53 What structure works on Instagram reels
07:36 Speaking coach, scripting and sounding human
09:06 The full LinkedIn content creation process
10:03 Posting cadence and why twice a day backfired
12:19 The CHEF framework explained
15:07 Appify, Claude Code and scraping for content research
17:04 Claude Co-Work scheduled tasks and workflows
20:22 Going deep into Claude Code for infographics
22:06 How Claude Code memory and the MD file works
24:41 Combining Gemini API inside Claude Code for Instagram scripts
26:53 Where AI ends and humans begin in the content process
30:36 Remotion and the future of AI video editing
33:33 Over-engineering with AI and why it is addictive
35:02 The story behind Vislo, the branded infographic SaaS
40:22 Beta feedback and pricing
42:01 Done For You vs SaaS customers
43:57 Expanding beyond LinkedIn to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
47:12 What the ideal future of work looks like for Charlie
49:12 The Mexico LinkedIn creator house with Mischa and Corey
53:03 University, failed business and the nine month grind
01:00:01 Did not leave the nine to five to earn more, but to live more
01:00:55 Why do you do what you do?

About the Guest:

Charlie Hills is a creator and product builder who scaled his social audience rapidly by reverse-engineering viral content and automating workflows with advanced AI tools. He uses Claude, Claude Code, Appify and Gemini to research, script and produce content and recently moved from full-time employment to full-time content creation in nine months.

About the Company:

Vislo is a branded infographic SaaS launched in public beta that originated from Charlie's Claude Code workflows. The product focuses on transforming creator systems into repeatable, branded assets for social formats like carousels and infographics.