get more views on instagram

Did you know that Instagram is the fourth most popular social media platform, with nearly 1.5 billion users? One billion of these Instagram users are monthly active users (MAUs), while 500 million are daily active users (DAUs). Instagram Stories also reach 500 million people daily!

With access to so many people, if your business doesn’t yet have an Instagram account or isn’t using it to its full potential, it’s time to alter your digital marketing strategy to include Instagram marketing. Specifically, you should focus on the Reels feature. This is because the favorite content type for consumers is video.

Whether you’ve given Reels a shot or are starting from scratch, we’ll show you how to get more views on your Instagram Reels. More views will help grow your Instagram follower count and increase business sales. Check out our Instagram tips and secrets!

Why You Should Publish Instagram Reels

While posting to your Instagram Feed can be a great way to connect with your existing audience, this strategy will unlikely drive new followers to your page. Instead, you want to focus on posting to your Reels tab for the following reasons:

  • It appeals to the Instagram algorithm, which favors Reels over other content
  • Reels attract new followers from the Instagram Explore Page
  • Reels have the ability to generate money for your business

In 2022, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, said Reels would take precedence over other types of content on the platform. So if you want a better chance of appearing on the Explore Page, focus on creating Reels.

Not to mention, Reels Play is a feature that pays you based on how many views your Reels get. Even if you’re not a content creator, your content can earn your business another income stream.

If you’re unsure how to create Reels to drive engagement, follow this Instagram Reels tutorial to get all the necessary information.

Creative Ways to Increase Your Instagram Reels Views

There are a few simple ways to alter your content creation strategy to get more views on your Reels. Here are three tips for increasing views on Instagram Reels:

Create Original Content

Each video you create should be high-quality (and not just for Instagram). All video content in your social media strategy should be high-quality regardless of the social media platform you’re posting on to increase engagement.

Make your Instagram posts valuable and interesting to your target audience as well as original and creative.

While you can cross-post videos on various platforms, keep in mind that Instagram doesn’t like recycled TikTok content. Remove the TikTok watermark if you want to post Reels that were initially TikTok videos. You can do this by using an editing tool or creating content in a third-party app.

Be Engaging

All your Instagram content needs to be engaging – you want to ensure that your audience will want to interact with what you’re saying. Even better, it might inspire your audience to create its own user-generated content, which is powerful for making a Reel go viral.

Reels has a ton of features to help make your content more engaging, such as:

  • Polls
  • Stickers
  • Trending audio
  • Closed captions

The more engagement you get, the more the algorithm will want to boost your content.

Hop on Trending Topics, Formats, and Audio Tracks

When creating Instagram videos, you want to use the different trends content creators come up with, like audio tracks, formats, and trending topics. Trending sounds is a particularly great way to increase Reels views. Other trends for 2023 include how-to video tutorials and comedy sketches; many trends that go viral on Instagram originated from TikTok, so don’t hesitate to look to TikTok for inspiration.

Additionally, while staying up to date with new features and Instagram Reels trends can help your visibility on Instagram, you still want to find ways to put your own twist on the trends to differentiate your brand from the competition.

Instagram Reels Algorithm

When discussing how to get views on Instagram Reels, we must always keep the algorithm in mind. As mentioned, it prefers Reels to other Instagram content. However, your Reels must do the following to attract new followers:

  • Fit your brand
  • Have optimal Instagram captions
  • Incorporate best practices
  • Use trending sounds and relevant hashtags

The algorithm uses this information to promote your content to those most likely to interact with it, increasing views. But if your content is low-quality, blurry, or not interesting, the algorithm will decide not to promote it to other users.

Instagram Growth Hacks

The internet has abundant tips on growing and organically promoting your Instagram profile. And while we’ve already covered a few ideas, here are even more ways you can grow your account:

  • Apply fun filters and text
  • Do a giveaway
  • End with a compelling call to action (CTA)
  • Engage with your audience in real-time
  • Include a captivating hook
  • Make your content accessible to diverse audiences
  • Post consistently when your followers are the most active
  • Shoutout your community
  • Tell a complete story
  • Use creative tools, like Canva, to make unique transitions and custom thumbnails
  • Research and use popular hashtags
  • Use the Q&A feature
  • Write clever captions
  • Work with influencers

These tips all favor the algorithm, making it more likely that if you follow them, your content will appear in front of more users and thus experience increased views.

Don’t Forget to Utilize SEO

The last tip for how to increase Instagram Reels views is to utilize SEO. Your Instagram hashtags and captions help the algorithm understand your content and connect it with people looking for that type of content.

For instance, if you use the hashtag #floridatravel, Instagram knows your post is about Florida and will show it to those looking for information about traveling there.

Further, Instagram started using keyword searches in select countries, so the app is moving toward becoming a robust search engine. Thus, you must be intentional about the words and phrases in captions. People use hashtags to search for what they need, so make your Reels “findable” with popular hashtags!

Ready to Optimize Your Instagram Reels?

Use these tips and tricks to help your business create a more successful digital marketing strategy and increase your views on Instagram Reels.

If you need assistance with video content for your Reels, contact us at SLICE! Our team of video aficionados can help take your social media marketing to the next level by creating high-quality content for your Reels feed. Say goodbye to Reels templates and post engaging content that will attract more viewers!