Have you ever dreamed of opening your Instagram account, and then… surprise, one of your posts has gone so viral that you don’t know what to do with all the attention you are receiving?
Probably a lot of people thought about it at least once, but the harsh truth is that Instagram, or really any social media app algorithm, is unpredictable.
Does that mean that there’s absolutely nothing you can do to go viral on Instagram? Well, no. There are some things that can help you increase the viralability of your posts and Reels, and we’ll talk about them below.
Table of Contents
What Does It Mean to Go Viral?
The thing with viral posts is that there’s not an “official” threshold that would qualify your post as viral – when it comes to working with influencers, companies might have their idea of what a viral post is, and it will most likely differ depending on who you talk to.
For some, a viral post has to have at least 100,000 likes, while for others, just 10,000 likes is enough to gain the title of a viral post.
So, how can you know if your post has gone viral? If a certain post generates significantly more engagement than others on your profile, you could consider it a viral post. That’s why the meaning of viral will differ depending on your account’s statistics.
If a post generates 50,000 likes on an account that usually receives about 40,000 likes per post, then that wouldn’t really be considered viral, as while the number is higher than typical, it’s not that much of a significant increase.
On the other hand, if your account typically generates about 10,000 or less likes each time you post, then the one with 50,000 could definitely be considered viral.
What makes a post viral?
Here are a few questions if you’re wondering if your post has gone viral:
- Has your post received a significantly higher number of likes and comments than usual?
- Has your post been shared more than usual (whether in direct messages, stories, or other social media)?
- Have you noticed an increase in followers? (A viral post will more than likely attract a noticeable number of new followers.)
Has your post been noticed by celebrities, influencers, or media outlet accounts?
How to Go Viral on Instagram?
Unfortunately, it’s not a simple case of “follow the checklist, and your post will go viral”. The social media algorithm, especially the one on Instagram, is unpredictable.
This means that you can put your all into a post, and it still won’t go viral, but a post that you put almost no thought into simply appeals to the algorithm enough for it to show it to other users.
Still, there are some things that you can do that can increase the viralability of your posts – while it’s not a guarantee, it definitely won’t hurt to try and add them to your post routine.
#1 Know Your Audience
It’s no secret that to succeed in any niche, you have to know exactly who you’re catering to, and social media is no different. Knowing your audience can help you tailor your posts to appeal to them the most.
Thankfully, Instagram is pretty advanced in terms of audience research and you can find all the information you need within the app itself.
How to find it? Go to your Instagram settings, where you’ll find a position called Insights.
There, you can find data about your current followers
- Where are they based?
- What are their ages?
- What is their gender?
- When are they the most active on the app?
All this can help you understand not only what they would like to see on your profile but also when the best time to post is so that they see it.
Here’s how this page would look:
#2 Be Authentic
People these days crave authenticity. Have you ever wondered why so many people who go viral on Instagram, TikTok, or other social media platforms seem so… normal? That’s because they are, which speaks to the masses more than a carefully created and unattainable image.
So, if you want to go viral on Instagram, just be yourself. Show your audience your personality, and share private stories.
This post by Bindi Irwin, daughter of Steve Irwin, announcing the arrival of her daughter, got almost 1.4 million likes, and while her posts usually get anywhere between 50,000 to 200,000 likes, this post can definitely be considered viral, even for an account of her caliber.
Taken from https://www.instagram.com/bindisueirwin/?hl=en
The most viewed Reel on Instagram, with almost half a billion views, is also pretty simple. It’s just the creator doing what his whole account is about – having fun with a football. Nothing extravagant, nothing fancy.
However, something in the Reel must have appealed to the algorithm enough for it to give this post traction.
Taken from https://www.instagram.com/riswan_freestyle/reels/?hl=en
#3 Prepare Great Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are a bit different from Instagram posts, which is why it would be helpful to know what to do to improve their viralability specifically.
So, how do you increase the viral potential of your Reels?
- Make sure that your Reel grabs the viewers attention right away, as otherwise they are more likely to scroll. Using captivating visuals or music can help you with that.
- Ensure that the content you provide in the Reel is valuable, informative, and entertaining. You can decide to share with your audience helpful tips or skills or the opposite, and focus on providing humor.
- Don’t make your videos too long. People’s attention spans are shortening, so if you want the viewers to watch the video in full, it is best to keep it under 30 seconds.
- Use trends to your advantage. Sounds and certain types of videos are becoming trends for a reason – there’s something in them that intrigues the audience enough to want to replicate it, so embrace them.
- Try to engage your viewers. Views are one thing, but overall engagement, which also includes comments and other interactions with your post is important too. Provide a question and encourage the users to answer it, or create a pool. Don’t let the interactions be one-sided though – if someone posts a comment, reply to it, provoking further discussion.
- Pay special attention to the caption. Although it might seem insignificant, the right, SEO-optimized caption can influence how many people your Reel reaches, as well as whether people will interact with it.
#4 Put Some Thought Into Your Post
We’ve covered Reels, so now it’s time for regular posts and photos. How can you improve the chances of them going viral?
Here are some helpful tips:
- Make sure that the photo you’re about to post is unique—is there anything in it that will make a person want to stop scrolling further?
- Use more specific hashtags – while you can also use generic hashtags, those are typically by millions upon millions of posts, which can cause your post to get lost among the masses.
- Consider collaborating with other creators. That way you can increase your reach from the start, as not only your audience will be tuned in, but also theirs.
- Share your post on your Stories so that people who follow you but might be up to date with your content can see it without having to go to your profile.
- Post when your audience is most active on Instagram. This is where the Insights we talked about before come in handy. On the app, you can see precisely when your followers are active. You can use it to spot patterns and come up with the best time to post for maximum reach.
You can also try humor to go viral. In 2019, a user called @world_record_egg posted… a picture of an egg. Just that – nothing more. A simple egg, and yet it took over the platform by storm, becoming one of the biggest internet phenomena. Today, it has over 61 million likes, and remains as one of the most liked Instagram photos in history.
Taken from https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOGulcndj-/
#5 Post Consistently
For many, getting that one viral post or Reel can take months, so even if you don’t see results right away, don’t give up and continue posting regularly. Consistency is key not only for going viral on Instagram, but also for building your audience and increasing your engagement.
On the bright side, Instagram actually helps you with it, as there is an option to schedule posts to go live directly in the app. You can schedule them as far as 75 days in advance.
The Bottom Line
All in all, the actual answer to the question of how to go viral on Instagram is that there isn’t one foolproof way to do it. There are some things that you can do to help you improve the viralability of your posts, but in the end, it is up to the algorithm.
You just have to focus on doing your own thing and building your audience, as the bigger the audience, the more chance you have of going viral – it’s simple, really. More people who follow you means more people to share your content with their own followers, and there it goes like a domino effect.
At SimplyGram, we can help you build your audience organically. We don’t use bots or fake accounts – all of the engagement you get from us is authentic and can help you grow your account more easily than if you were to do it on your own.
Get in touch with us and accelerate your growth journey with SimplyGram!
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