A Del Ray eatery’s Instagram post promising free milkshakes has collected more than 4 million views.
In the March 17 post from Holy Cow Del Ray (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue), customers were told they could get free milkshakes by dancing. What followed is a compilation of adults and children dancing their ways through the burger joint’s front door to the counter. The post also got 388,000 likes, and the restaurant’s Instagram followers have since climbed from just over 4,000 to more than 10,000.
Restaurant owner Bill Blackburn told ALXnow it’s the most popular Instagram post the business has ever had.
“I figured we have enough stupid videos that eventually one of them would trick the algorithm into going viral,” Blackburn said. “Our overarching philosophy for our social media reels and posts, especially on Instagram, are one-third serious content to showcase our food offerings, one-third fun and lighthearted stuff, and one-third community-based, highlighting people in the community for what they do.”
Last fall, Blackburn and his business partner “Mango” Mike Anderson of the Homegrown Restaurant Group hired Emily Compton to handle social media for their five businesses — Holy Cow, Pork Barrel BBQ, Sweet Fire Donna’s, Tequila & Taco, and the Del Ray Pop-Up Bar (currently the Del Ray Dive). Every other week, Compton meets with Blackburn and HRG staff to determine just what to post.
“Yeah, that post really took off,” Compton said. “It was amazing to watch.”
Compton also runs the DMVBite Instagram account, which she and her friend Selam Belay launched in 2020 to document food experiences. Last February, Compton posted a video on DMVBite that’s so far gotten 80 million views.
“Really, it’s just been years and years of creating content every day,” she said. “I am so grateful to have connected with Bill. He’s so involved in Alexandria and Del Ray and he really understands what resonates with out audiences. His ability to pull people together to be involved has been game-changing, and we can see firsthand the impact.”
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