How to Go Viral on Instagram (Viral IG Posts)
We all know that advanced search on Instagram is an essential part of companies’ social media strategies. With more than 500 million active users daily (or one billion monthly), which brand doesn’t dream of going viral on this platform?
When you have a post that goes viral, it’s essentially an opportunity to become “famous on Instagram”. Your content circulates across the platform (plus across other platforms, because it’s usually copied and shared) and suddenly everyone knows who you are. Plus, you’ll have a better chance of turning visitors and followers of your page into customers. Then you’ve really hit the jackpot.
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Given that more than 1.8 billion photos are uploaded daily (not counting videos and IGTV posts), it can be challenging for your posts to be talked about as the most interesting, because the competition is really huge. So how can you increase your chances of going viral on ‘gram’?
To be clear, we’re not claiming that you can control whether you go viral, or that we can guarantee you’ll become trendy. No one can force you to do that, and if any marketer promises to make you go viral, run. However, it’s very valuable to learn how to gain followers on IG the right way!
However, you can create truly addictive and juicy content that can potentially catch people’s attention. It’s like stacking the odds in your favor, because viral content really does have a somewhat unique formula.
Here are six ways to do it.
How to Go Viral on Instagram Through Great Content
1. Jump on Challenges as Early as Possible
Social media is constantly changing and evolving. That’s why it’s important to keep up with new challenges that emerge. Challenges must be part of your Instagram content strategy!
When we say “challenges”, we mean things like the Mannequin Challenge. Even Hillary Clinton and her staff took part in it!
As a brand, you need to keep your finger on the pulse and leverage these events at the moment they start going viral. This will help you get lots of traffic by showing people that you know what’s happening and exposing yourself to an audience that’s about to grow rapidly.
But here’s the thing we really want to emphasize: You have to jump in early. Really early. You need to see viral content before it becomes fully viral. Jump on the train at that moment and you can ride its tail all the way to the top. Brands that caught on to the Mannequin Challenge early, before it really took off, undoubtedly reaped the benefits of such massive visibility. You can also use dark ads to avoid showing too much promotional content. If you wait until it’s too late in the game, there’s nothing fresh and exciting about the challenge anymore. Everyone’s already done it.
One way to find trends is to regularly check the Explore grid. This card with more than 200 million visitors daily will help you discover what your followers are passionate about. You can further look into the IGTV and Shop grids or explore various categories such as DIY, Food, Lifestyle, Tech, and Travel. Keep in mind that this card focuses directly on your activity, so make sure you’re focusing on the right audience that appears on your customers’ Explore page.
Similarly, pay attention to hashtags used by your competitors, community members, and industry leaders, and those that are relevant to your target audience. From there, you can get ideas about what is current and what has the potential to make customers talk.
Timing is everything here. Carefully monitor challenges that seem worthy of viral spread, and you will increase your own chances of going viral.
2. Create Your Own Challenge
Online challenges effectively attract user interest because they want to participate in them. Instead of participating in trending challenges (or as a complement to them), you can try launching your own campaign that includes elements of your business.
Here are some ideas to help you get started:
- If you want your challenge to be very engaging and draw attention to your cause or upcoming activities, consider something like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Do you have a new recipe you want your followers to try? Launch a food or drink-focused campaign, such as the Dalgona Coffee Challenge.
- DIY brands can highlight various creative uses of your products by launching online trends, such as Bottle Flipping or Bottle Cap Challenge.
When tackling challenges, always remember to stay true to your brand voice. Keep in mind that in trying to be socially relevant, you shouldn’t go too far or try too hard.
Look at one woman who participated in L’Oreal’s #BusyMomMakeUpChallenge, which aims to empower busy mothers around the world.
3. Collaborate with an Influencer
An effective way to massively increase visibility of your posts is to collaborate with influencers who have a significant number of followers and high engagement with your target audience. Influencers can make people try your products and services. They can encourage their followers to engage with you through following, liking, sharing, and commenting. Essentially, they can increase brand awareness, boost consumer trust, and quickly create content.
Take time to research several influencers who have an audience that matches your business. You can also consider using nano-influencers for a more specific and targeted approach to your posts. Although they may have fewer followers, they can also have better relationships and stronger ties to their community, thereby generating higher conversions for your brand.
Rather than having to reinvent the wheel, you partner with influencers who can provide you access to an audience that is ready and eager to consume your content. However, don’t just collaborate with any influencer. Their brand, messaging, and aesthetics must align with your own. Take the time needed to build a solid relationship here as well. One perfect influencer is better than three who are just okay for your brand. Quality trumps quantity.
When you establish a partnership with the right person, you can see a massive increase in traffic and give your content a better chance of going viral.
4. More Strategic Hashtag Use
We don’t need to tell you that hashtags make it easier to search for content, expand reach, and promote audience engagement. They increase brand awareness and boost your opportunities for greater visibility. And more importantly, they provide insight into what your competition is doing and what people are saying about your brand.
Therefore, it is essential to research which hashtags are relevant to your customers and business before adding them to your posts. Include industry-specific or brand hashtags to better reach your market and those who are deliberately looking for your content.
Consider using branded hashtags that automatically plant the idea of you in people’s minds. These are useful when promoting your products, spreading information about launches, or simply inspiring your followers.
But wait – that’s not all.
You can take it one step further. When it comes to hashtags, do you pay attention to how often they are used? If a hashtag has been used tens of millions of times, yes, it is popular! But does that necessarily mean it will bring you the most traffic? No.
We’re not telling you not to use super-popular hashtags. Rather, experiment with a combination of those that are very popular and more targeted, specialized ones. The circle of people using them is not as large, but it increases your chances of visibility because the competition is far from as high. Take a look at the hashtags in this post by Sunny Lenarduzzi. Even given how well-known she is, she uses hashtags that don’t necessarily have to be so popular – and it works.
As an example, then, you could use a combination of hashtags that looks like this:
- 2 hashtags with 70,000-200,000 posts.
- 2 hashtags with 200,000-1 million posts.
- 1 or 2 topic hashtags
These numbers are not a hard and fast rule. Rather, we’re trying to get you to think about using different types of hashtags. Test, test, test! You can never really know what works until you try it.
5. Maximizing User-Generated Content
To gain greater reach and engagement, encourage your followers and customers to create content that features your products or reviews your services. Using user-generated content – by reposting tagged content or sharing it in your stories – provides your target audience with authentic recommendations and helps them make purchasing decisions. Most importantly, though, you give your followers a sense that they are part of your community. Also read our post on how to plan Instagram posts to improve your posting frequency!
Oreo loves to post recipe content from their followers. (Psst! See how they also jumped on the whipped coffee trend? Nice!).
Social media is not a one-way relationship! Invite your audience to join the discussion. Make them active community members, not just spectators.
6. Get a Personal Approach
Social media users are used to being sold to. So don’t try to sell to them.
Instead, try a different approach and add a personal touch to your posts to get something different, engaging, and unique.
By showing your fun and adventurous side – and spending some time not talking about business – you can increase your chances of viral spread. In addition to your products and services, consider sharing photos from everyday life at your workplace, photos from your events and activities, or inspiring images. Find out if some of your current customers would be willing to upload testimonials that highlight their personal experience with your brand.
Feelings and emotions are what help all of us connect. If you show a bit more of the personal side of your brand, people are more likely to identify with you. This is the kind of content that truly resonates.
On the technical side, to reach a wider audience and increase engagement, remember to post quality photos with striking and upbeat captions. Mix photos with engaging videos and don’t forget to supplement your posts with Instagram Stories, Live, and IGTV services.
Remember to find the right balance between promotion, sales, and genuine connection with your audience. People appreciate authenticity and relatability, so they will be more likely to engage with brands that uphold these values.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many views do you need to go viral on Instagram?
Generally speaking, you need at least 100,000 likes to go viral on Instagram. However, there are a few exceptions. For example, if you have a large number of engaged followers, you can go viral with fewer than 100,000 likes. In most cases, however, you will need at least 100,000 likes to reach a significant number of people.
What causes a post to go viral?
You need to create content based on trending topics that your audience wants to see. For starters, posts with strong emotional resonance (positive or negative) tend to perform better than those that are more neutral. Posts with bright colors or engaging visuals also tend to get more shares than those without them.
What hashtags go viral on Instagram?
It depends on what is currently popular. Hashtags that have gone viral in the past include #ThrowbackThursday, #SelfieSunday, and #FoodPorn. Generally speaking, hashtags that are funny, inspirational, or sexy tend to do well on Instagram.
Do hashtags attract followers?
Yes, hashtags can attract followers organically. When used correctly, hashtags can help people interested in a particular topic find your post and follow you.
Start Creating Viral Posts Today
Coming up with potentially trending posts can be challenging for brands, but also truly rewarding. Remember, no one can guarantee that you’ll go viral. The goal is to create content that is much more likely to catch people’s attention. It’s a specific goal that requires a specific approach.
Keep in mind that these six steps will only work if you truly understand your business goals, target audience, and competition. Also, make sure to track metrics for each post so you can determine what works and what doesn’t. And when you do all these things effectively, your efforts will certainly help increase brand awareness, improve customer engagement, and bring business success.
What other tips do you have for creating posts worthy of viral spread? We’d love to hear them. Share them with us in the comments below!
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Michal Záruba is a digital marketing specialist and a consultant in social media and SEO. For more than 8 years, Michal has been helping brands grow online through strategic content, search engine optimisation and effective communication on platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
On the blog, Michal shares practical tips on how to combine SEO, social media and brand building into one working strategy, focusing on how companies can use modern tools and algorithms so that their brand gains not only reach but also trust.
Alongside creating content, Michal lectures on digital marketing, trains teams and follows new trends in AI and search.