HOW TO INCREASE YOUR VIEW METRICS ON INSTAGRAM

Instagram has been playing around with its view metric lately and it's thrown a lot of creators into a spin. Previously, if your content appeared in the explore grid or your profile without a tap, this counted as a view.

It meant your content could rack up lots of views, even if it got just a cursory glance among a bunch of other content. So Instagram decided to change this. Now, someone has to see the content in full-screen or tap into it to count as a view.

View counts went down, but they became more intentional. If you want better viewing metrics from your content.

 

Why are views important?

A high view count on a story, video or reel is valuable to you in a number of ways:

• It signals to the algorithm that your content is popular, so it's more widely distributed. This means it'll be pushed to Explore and Reels more frequently.
• People see high view counts as a sign of good quality content, which can inspire them to keep watching.
• It can signal that non-followers are looking at your content, expanding your potential reach
• It can open you up to monetization opportunities with brands. More views means higher rates for sponsored content.

How important views are to you depends on your overall goals. If you want to build a loyal following, views are probably not the most important metric to look at. But if visibility and increasing your reach is your goal, then views become crucial to your content strategy.

 

Strategies to increase views

When you've put time and effort into creating your content, you want to give it the best possible chance at reaching new and existing audiences. So, here are 4 ways to maximize your view count.

1. Focus your attention on Reels

Post more heavily here, as Reels are afforded more reach than static posts. Your content will also be pushed to non-followers through Explore and Reels, if it aligns with their content preferences.

Create collabs for Reels with other creators to tap into their audience. Your audience and content type should be complementary for it to work naturally, authentically and successfully.

2. Create quick engagement content for Explore

Spot trends and act fast. Create content relevant to the trend to capitalise on the hype and drive up engagement with relevant content.

Trends are big talking points and relevant content is highly shareable to those who want to indulge in and extend the conversation.

This content strategy should be a quick-win. If you're not seeing high engagement levels shortly after posting, your content might not be closely or valuably aligned with the trending topic.

3.Share and tag your Stories

Make the most of your Reels by posting them as Stories to drive more views. You can also tag other Instagram accounts in your Stories, as long as it's a considered move. Ask yourself what your content offers to these profiles. A random tag with no value-add will seem spammy.

4. Optimize your profile for visibility

You can increase the chances of your content being viewed by having a more visible Instagram account. Do this by optimizing it with relevant keywords and hashtags so that your profile appears in searches and creating content relevant to those themes.

 

Can music choice increase views?

Music is your secret weapon when it comes to increasing views on Instagram.

This is because Instagram's algorithm boosts Reels that use trending audio. It also increases the chances of your content appearing on the Explore page when it's associated with specific audio that people are searching for.

Just make sure you jump on trends as early as possible. Hitting them before they peak ensures maximum reach for your content.

You can discover what music is trending by going to the Reels tab and looking for the icon that's an upwards arrow. It'll be featured next to the track information that runs along the bottom of a post as the track plays.

 

Where to find your view metrics

You can analyse your views and see what content performs best for this metric within Instagram Insights in the app. You'll need a business or creator account for this.

You'll be able to see views for individual posts, Reels and Stories, as well as where those views are coming from (followers versus non-followers).

Find the right music to boost your views

Head over to Universal Music for Creators to find a huge selection of pre-approved audio you can use freely across your social media content. You can browse Viral Hits & Trends for music that's currently trending on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube. Who knows, it could even boost your views.