Instagram reach can seem like magic. How is it that some creators have tons of views, while others see them rarely? And why does it seem like some quick, spontaneous posts have more views than others that you’ve spent hours creating?
How to increase followers on Instagram?
It’s not just smoke and mirrors. In this article, we’ll share with you 14 ways to get more views and increase the reach of your content on Instagram.
What does “Instagram followers” even mean?
Instagram reach is the number of unique people who view (and hopefully also interact with) your Instagram posts. You can track Instagram reach for a single post, your Instagram profile, or a social media campaign. Along with the number of unique visitors, you also get an overview of the demographics of people who saw your post or profile.
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This reach can be organic or paid. Organic is when the Instagram algorithm displays your posts to similar audiences. Paid reach is when you purchase an Instagram ad that sponsors your content – it has a “sponsored” label or other CTA attached to it.
Jade Beason, creator coach and digital marketing expert, says the biggest myth is the belief that paid reach is the same as organic reach.
“When you reach people organically, you’re much more likely to not only reach the right audience, but also hold their attention. This is because people tend to ignore paid ads more than organic content.”
In this article, we cover ways to increase organic reach on Instagram.
What is Instagram reach rate?
Instagram reach rate is the percentage of followers who see your Instagram post. Unlike Instagram reach, it is unique to your followers only and does not include non-followers who view your post.
Instagram reach rate is calculated as: (total reach / number of followers) * 100
For example, if your reach is 500 and you have 5,000 followers, your Instagram reach rate is: (500/5000)*100 = 10%.
What is good Instagram reach?
The right answer? It depends on your profile and the type of Instagram post you’re evaluating. Let’s look at some data.
A study from June 2022 categorized average reach based on the number of followers an Instagram creator has.
- Instagram creators with 500 to 2,000 followers reached 292 people through feed posts, 114 people through Instagram Stories, and 1,600 people through Instagram Reels.
- Instagram creators with 2,000 to 10,000 followers reached 964 people through feed posts, 244 people through Instagram Stories, and 3,400 people through Instagram Reels.
- Instagram creators with 10,000 to 50,000 followers reached 4,400 people through feed posts, 698 people through Instagram Stories, and 16,800 people through Instagram Reels.
Further analysis of 876 businesses found that brands with smaller followings (less than 501,000) should reach 34% of their audience through posts and 7.5% of their followers through Instagram Stories.
Remember: Don’t take these numbers as gospel. Reach can vary significantly depending on your industry, algorithm changes, campaign objectives, and location.
How is Instagram reach different from Instagram impressions?
Instagram reach and Instagram impressions are often used interchangeably, but they are different concepts.
Instagram impressions are the number of times your post is displayed. Unlike Instagram reach, “impressions” don’t consist of unique people. If the same person sees your Instagram post three times, it counts as three impressions, but one reach.
Now that we’ve covered the terminology, let’s discuss how to get more views on your Instagram Reels.
How to get more views on Instagram
Instagram Reels are known as the primary tool for increasing Instagram reach. Here’s how you can use them to skyrocket your followers:
Grab attention in the first 3 seconds
People are on an Instagram Reels marathon. You need to grab their attention in the first three seconds to get them to stop scrolling.
Ditch opening lines – like “hey everyone!” – and get straight to the point. Hint at what viewers will get if they watch your reel to spark curiosity – and follow through on that promise.
A few good hook ideas you can adapt for your Instagram Reels to increase video views:
- This tip/fact will blow your mind
- Struggling with [problem your target audience faces]? Follow these X tips
- These X things are stopping you from achieving [result your target audience wants to achieve].
- Did you know [surprising fact your audience would like to know, but might not].
- How to [something your audience wants to learn] for free / in X easy steps
- The secret to achieving [something your audience wants to achieve]
A good example is creator Erin McGoff – all of her Instagram Reels highlight a curiosity gap and start with a bang that captures people’s attention.
Inspiration is known for coming randomly – when you’re walking your dog, watching a series, or preparing dinner. Saving an idea will ensure that you never lose the thread.
2. Use a mix of speaking to the camera and trending audio.
Using trending sounds and topics on Instagram can significantly increase your reach on Instagram. How do you find these trends?
- After uploading a clip, tap the “Trending” button. You’ll see the 50 most popular songs that are currently available in the app. (Note that this new feature is still being rolled out, so you may not have access to it yet. Hang in there – it should land in your app soon!)
- Check your Reels feed (you can get there by tapping the video icon at the bottom of the Instagram app). Your Reels feed is unique to you and is the best place to find trending Reels from content creators you follow, as well as those you don’t.
- Follow the @creators account on Instagram. It’s a goldmine of inspiration and trends!
“Don’t consider yourself [doing a certain thing] as a Wes Anderson video” is a good example of what “trending” content is. Creators from all over the world add their own personality, humor, and niche to it and create Instagram Reels in a similar format.
In addition to trending content, you should also create original, evergreen content where you speak directly to the camera about a specific topic. This builds community, connection, and real value for your audience.
Ankita Chawla, a marketing consultant and content creator, follows a 60:40 ratio – focusing 60 percent of the time on creating original Instagram Reels spoken to camera.
“Original content must be more substantial compared to trending content. The speed at which your community gets to know you and starts trusting you will be much higher if you have more of your original content,” she says.
3. Create Instagram Reels that get people commenting, saving, and sharing.
Engagement on Instagram increases when it receives significant attention – in the form of comments, saves, and shares.
- More comments: Encourage your audience to take action by asking them what they think about a certain topic in your industry. Or ask them to comment on their favorite part/tip from your Instagram Reel. Another great way to increase comments on your Instagram Reels is through giveaways – ask your followers to comment on something specific and enter a contest. Don’t be afraid to be creative here! A good example of a comment-driven call-to-action is this Instagram Reel from Michaela.
- For future reference: Share Instagram Reels that share tips, resource lists, or tools that your followers can return to later. Think about it: What would my target audience not be able to remember just from the video, but would want to reference in the future? This Instagram Reel from Maeve is an excellent example of how to pack information into a video that your audience would love to save.
- For more shares: What video would your audience like to share with their friends? Funny and relatable content is the most shared of all – think about memes you can create in your industry. In addition to humor, you can also rely on aesthetic, informative, and educational Instagram Reels to increase your video shares. Tl;dv, an artificial intelligence company, often creates funny sets on their Instagram Reels that their viewers would DM to their friends.
4. Write well-thought-out captions on your Instagram Reels.
If a hook (hook = “something that captures attention”) captures the audience’s attention, the caption on Instagram will ensure you don’t lose it after the first three seconds.
It’s debatable whether your Instagram captions should be short or long.
- On one hand, it’s not easy to read text under Reels – this argues for shortening captions. People may also prefer not to read long captions because they come to the Reels tab for video content.
- On the other hand, captions – if well-formatted – provide more context to your Reel and can make your Reels more discoverable because Instagram’s search panel reads them. Moreover, if your followers discover your reel in their home feed rather than on the Reels tab, the caption is easy to read.
A 2023 study found that Instagram captions perform best when they are either very long (more than 2,000 characters) or very short (less than 20 characters).
The right answer is: It depends. If your Instagram Reel requires a long caption, don’t limit yourself. But if your video works well with a short and sweet caption, don’t overdraw it. Katie Gatti Tassin is a creator who gets caption length right (with a clear CTA) – neither too long nor too short.
The best thing to do is experiment and find out what your audience prefers. Are you seeing an increase in reach when you write longer captions? If yes, continue adding more details under your Instagram captions. If not, stick to shorter descriptions.
Pro tip: Don’t use calls-to-action in your caption like “offer available for a limited time” because your Instagram Reels might start losing traction after some time. Your caption on any post shouldn’t become irrelevant if you see an increase in reach on Instagram several weeks after posting. If you want to write a time-limited caption, update it once the offer ends.
5. Share Your Instagram Reel in Your Instagram Stories
An easy way to increase the number of views on your Instagram videos is to share them in your Instagram Stories. When people view your story, it will count as another view of your video.
Sharing your Instagram reel on Instagram Stories is also important because not all of your followers may have your new reel in their feed – and Stories are a great way to let them know that you’ve added something new to your feed.
How to Boost Your Reach for Instagram Carousel Posts
If you thought Instagram would be all about Reels, Adam Mosseri (head of Instagram) has news for you: Photos are still in the game for boosting your reach. Carousels are Instagram posts where you can add up to ten photos or videos in a single post. Your audience will swipe left to see the next slide.
After analyzing more than 5 million Instagram posts submitted through Buffer, which aimed to reveal the best time to post on Instagram, we also found that Carousels generate much higher engagement than single photo posts and Reels!
Here are three ways to increase the reach of your carousels on Instagram:
6. Create a Story, Tutorial, or Listicle That Keeps People Swiping
The biggest thing to be mindful of with Instagram carousels is that people are constantly swiping to the next slide. Tanishaa Bhansali, an Instagram coach, explains why:
“The beginning of a Carousel post must be a hook and the entire post must be like a story stitched together. People should feel that itch, that curiosity to keep reading until they reach the last slide. This will increase the time spent viewing the Carousel post and it will reach more of your followers.”
There are many engaging carousel post ideas you can experiment with, such as:
- Tutorials on how your target audience can do something using your product.
- Tell a story using graphics and/or text
- Before/after images
Cosmix Wellness’ Instagram account is a great place for carousel post inspiration. This wellness brand often shares before/after photos, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes stories of launching new products to market.
Right now, Gen Z is using TikTok as a search engine. It won’t be long before Instagram users start using this social media platform in the same way. Instagram is already using keywords in Carousel posts to understand the topic – so make sure your Carousel posts contain words that your target audience might search for.
7. Keep Your Design Clean
Brand design is excellent for announcing product launches, sharing satisfied testimonials, or drawing attention to something in your company. However, if you’re sharing educational and shareable carousels, we recommend keeping a clean and simple design.
Why? Instagram users have different opinions on what constitutes “good design,” and the notion of aesthetics is subjective. They may not want to share branded content or design that doesn’t seem attractive enough for them to identify with.
Your Carousels on a simple white or colored background with readable fonts are free from the risk of these personal preferences. Trivarna Hariharan is a good example of how implementing this approach can lead to wide reach – her account has no Instagram Reels, only Carousels. She has 191,000 followers and this number is growing rapidly.
That doesn’t mean you have to stick only to white color, especially if you want your grid to stand out. Enhance your social media images using your brand colors as backgrounds for Instagram carousels that are educational and shareable.
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Pro tip: Using pre-made templates can save a lot of time
8. Use a variety of content types in your Instagram Carousel posts
Who said Carousel posts have to remain limited to text? Mix images, videos and text together to create an engaging and interesting Instagram carousel.
Different types of content will capture people’s attention and “show” them things, which is a better experience than text alone. Morgan Starr-Riestis, a holistic wellness therapist, often uses carousels that start with an on-brand caption or tweet but transition into relevant memes and comics.
This doesn’t mean it’s forbidden to use text only for Instagram carousels. What you should include in your Carousel post often depends on your brand’s topic and voice. However, we definitely recommend experimenting with using emojis, interactive elements, images, and videos for your Instagram Carousels and monitoring whether these posts get more reach compared to text-only posts.
How to Get More Views on Your Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are an underrated type of content that increases your Instagram reach. They may not be as relevant as Instagram Reels or Carousel posts for reaching non-followers – because they don’t appear on the Explore page – but they still play a crucial role in reaching your existing followers.
Here’s how to increase the views on your Instagram Stories:
9. Use Interactive Elements in Your Instagram Stories
The best thing about Instagram Stories is that they contain many interactive elements to engage your followers – question stickers, polls, music, links, GIFs, and Instagram keeps coming up with more.
This exponentially expands the possibilities for using Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories can be useful for:
- Asking your audience questions about a specific topic.
- Surveying your followers on what they’d like to see from you
- Sharing behind-the-scenes information about your business with your audience
- Running fun quizzes that help you share knowledge about your industry topic.
- Notifying your audience about new posts on your channel by resharing them in Instagram Stories.
- Alerting them to an upcoming Carousel feed post, Instagram Reel, or product launch using a countdown timer.
- Building a personal relationship with your audience by sharing snippets of your personal life (if you feel comfortable doing so).
Here are examples of three stories by Loe Haley, Katie Gatti Tassin, and Sarah Yudkin that use different Instagram Stories features to communicate with their audience.
The more people interact with your Stories (reply in DM, respond to a poll, ask questions, tap a sticker), the more likely the Instagram algorithm is to push your Stories to the top of your followers’ feeds.
Remember: People watch Instagram Stories to get to know the creators they follow. Share snippets of your life and encourage your audience to interact with you by appearing regularly in Instagram Stories.
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10. Add Text to Your Instagram Stories
This metric is most suitable for speaking to the camera in Instagram Stories or displaying something via the rear camera.
Instagram users often browse Instagram Stories during lunch breaks, while waiting in line in public places, or when they’re bored. They may not be able to hear your video, but they can read the text. Instagram allows you to add live captions to all your Instagram Stories – which you should take advantage of to make your Stories more accessible.
Add the topic of your Instagram story as text at the top as well, so your followers immediately understand what topic you’re talking about. Use text to engage them, add a call to action, and add nuances that you might leave out when speaking in a video.
These Instagram Stories from Shreyi Pattar and Carleigh Bodrug are a great example of adding topics and summarizing what you’re talking about in your Stories.
11. Let your Instagram Stories expire
Instagram Stories are active for only 24 hours. If you upload a Story every two hours from morning to evening, there will always be at least one Story on your channel.
The problem is that after the first story of the day, the number of Instagram Story views can drop – especially if the first story wasn’t engaging enough to make your followers click on the next story. You may notice a sharp drop in Instagram Story views on the first story of the day compared to the tenth.
To reset the Instagram algorithm, let your Stories fully expire before uploading another batch or even a single Instagram Story. Before you upload another Instagram Story after you’ve noticed a drop in Instagram Story views, take a break for at least a few hours (or 24 hours if you want).
You can also try performing this reset regardless of a drop in Instagram Story views. Observe whether a few hours break between individual actions increases the number of views of your Story. If so, practice letting your Instagram Stories expire every day.
How to increase the reach of your Instagram profile
We’ve covered many tips on how to increase the reach of specific types of content on Instagram. However, these are not the only ways to multiply your reach on Instagram. Here are three tips on how to increase the reach of your Instagram profile as a whole:
12. Optimize your name or username to be clear and search-friendly.
It’s one of the simplest Instagram growth and reach strategies: Add keywords to your Instagram username and name.
(Then in your Instagram bio, clearly state what you do and who you serve.)
You may not be able to add relevant keywords to both. You might want your username to be consistent across social media platforms, or for it to be your name rather than your company’s name. Even so, you can use keywords alongside your name that show what your Instagram profile is about.
Look, for example, at the names of Emily Durham, Nisha Vora, and Sam Bently on Instagram. Next to their names, they’ve added what they do and what they publish about.
You can add your profession, what you write about, or what you stand for to your Instagram name or username. Your profile will appear when people search for keywords added to your name or username, so make sure you use something that your audience frequently searches for.
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Warning: In case you’ve managed to get information about your profile on the internet, you can contact the so-called: Keep the promise you made in your Instagram name or username. If you’ve added the keyword “healthy recipes” to your Instagram profile, make sure that the majority of content you create on Instagram is about or around healthy recipes.
13: Collaborate with other creators with matching values
Collaborating with other creators in the same field who share your values is the easiest way to reach a new audience. You can create a new reel together, go live at the same time, perform account takeovers, and much more. The ideas and creative potential are endless.
For example, Emily Durham and Blake Johnston collaborated on creating a funny Instagram reel about a conversation with a financial brother.
Both creators were well-matched because their audiences, who enjoy both entertainment and information, overlapped. Their voices and tones are also similar – which only adds to the fun.
However, partnerships are not limited to collaboration between one creator and another. If you are a small business, you can collaborate with influencers on product reviews or sharing user-generated content.
14. Post when your audience is online
There is no single best time to publish a post on Instagram to achieve greater reach. Your audience may be online at a different time than you expect. The only reliable way to get the timing of your posts right is to check your Instagram insights and find out the “peak activity times” of your audience and schedule your posts – whether they are carousels or reels – only during this time.
Beyond these practical tips, there are many other questions and debates about best practices to follow to increase your reach on Instagram. Here are the answers to them:
How often should you post on Instagram to increase reach?
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, in a question and answer session on the @creator account on Instagram, stated that the ideal frequency for posting is “a few posts a week and several Instagram Stories a day”.
Does posting more content on Instagram lead to increased reach? Yes. However, if you don’t post quality content, your reach will eventually decline.
There are no hacks here. Focus on a number that is realistic for you – whether it’s one post a week to start. The key is to be consistent and avoid creator burnout.
Shannon McKinstrie, a social media trainer, emphasizes that you should always focus on creating high-quality content rather than shooting for quantity.
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“Instagram’s algorithm favors accounts with engaged audiences, and when you focus on quantity, the quality of your content often suffers a blow, and then you just know that your engagement rate drops sharply, and when that happens, Instagram won’t help you. That’s why it’s best to focus on quality content that resonates with your audience and post roughly four times a week. Static posts last in the newsfeed for about three days and Reels can last several months if they perform well. So believe me… quality always beats quantity.”
Some things that can help speed up content creation:
- Batch create content and plan it in advance
- Repurpose your existing content into Instagram posts
- Repost your old high-performing content (yes, do it shamelessly!).
- Find the “Use template” option, which is available in some Reels, so you can easily jump on trends
- Create episodic content (for example, “Social Media Fridays”) so you can consistently talk about one topic
A good social media strategy is to batch-create part of your monthly or weekly content and follow trends for the rest of the time. Give yourself space for spontaneity.
Recurring series – such as Carleigh Bodrug’s Scrappy Cooking episodes – are an excellent way to build community, consistently generate content ideas, and create evergreen content.
Dominik, a social entrepreneur, creative, and owner of an SMM agency, agrees:
“Having some kind of recurring series that naturally compels people to replay your content is something we’re seeing blow up for people over and over again. Any type of content where people feel like they’re part of something, in the middle of something, or anything that follows some kind of storyline is what’s definitely working pretty well right now. Of course, such content takes much longer to create than your average seven-second trending audio Reel, but things like that have longevity.”
Which content type should you prioritize on Instagram?
Instagram Carousels or Reels – which should you focus on more? It depends on what your audience wants.
There’s no one right answer. Instagram’s algorithm tracks your followers’ activity and displays content that has engaged them. If your audience loves Carousel posts, Instagram will show them more such posts in their feed. If they like videos, Instagram will show them Reels.
When we asked Meagen Harriman, an Instagram strategist and content creator, whether Carousel posts are essential for growth on Instagram, she answered:
“I wouldn’t say it’s vital, but it’s a smart type of content you should include in your strategy if you want a better chance at success. Everyone should try using them and track your insights to see how they perform. If you try them and find they’re not working well and you don’t enjoy creating them – don’t use them anymore!”
We also asked her about the ideal ratio of Reels to Carousels.
“As for the Reels vs. Carousel ratio, that will vary depending on individual accounts and creators, but if I had to choose an “ideal” ratio, I’d say share one carousel for every two to three Reels,” she said.
Should you have an Instagram business account or creator account?
An Instagram business profile is designed for brands that want to run ads. It’s meant to help businesses connect with potential customers. Creator accounts are designed for public figures, artists, and influencers. They’re suitable for collaborating with brands and building community.
Does it matter whether you have an Instagram business account or an Instagram creator account for gaining new followers and increasing your reach? Instagram says no.
Your reach should not be affected by what type of account you have, so set it up according to your needs.
Does purchasing the blue checkmark affect your reach on Instagram?
Getting verified on Instagram is now easy. You can purchase the blue checkmark using the app. (Note: Only individuals can do this, not brands, as it requires verification of your identity.)
But does getting verified impact your reach?
Instagram’s head said yes, faced backlash for it, and adjusted his words based on the feedback received. The short answer: Getting verified should have no impact on your reach.
Lia Haberman tested this as well and said nothing about whether she witnessed (or didn’t witness) an increase in reach – although she mentioned that it’s easier to stand out in notifications with a blue checkmark. However, this advantage would only be available until purchasing a blue checkmark becomes second nature and every other account has one.
Still, there’s no shame in buying an Instagram-verified blue checkmark. Benefits like monitoring impersonation and live chat support are compelling enough reasons to buy the badge if you’re interested.
What role do Instagram hashtags play in amplifying Instagram reach?
The relationship between reach and Instagram hashtags remains very complex. Creator coach Jade says that hashtags can still help with reach, but it is not their primary purpose. The only purpose of hashtags is to help you gain visibility when Instagram users actively search for the hashtags you have used.
An Instagram creator account contains many tips regarding hashtags. They recommend using three to five relevant hashtags – any additional ones will not bring you any increase in distribution.
To obtain target hashtags, use a combination of popular and specialized hashtag categories. Free hashtag generators will help you search for these hashtags, and Buffer’s hashtag manager will help you categorize and group hashtags.
Should you use hashtags? Yes. But no more than five. And don’t spend a lot of time on hashtag strategy, because they’re not the main thing that will ensure your reach.
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Does posting with a TikTok watermark decrease your reach on Instagram?
It could. Instagram encourages creators not to post Instagram Reels with a watermark. This doesn’t mean you can’t cross-post your videos from TikTok or other video content. However, first export them in raw form and write the same text using Instagram’s Reel editor.
It’s normal for your Instagram reach to fluctuate up and down.
Remember that it’s normal for your Instagram reach to fluctuate a little up and down. It’s not always about your content: Sometimes algorithm changes can affect your reach. Other times it may be seasonal influences (for example, people spend less time on social media during holidays).
Don’t set “increasing reach” as the only focus of your social media marketing strategy. Increasing reach is an output of listening to your audience, creating content that resonates with them, and adapting to Instagram’s algorithm.
The tips mentioned in this article can definitely help you – but their prerequisite is creating quality content and building a community.
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Michal Záruba je specialista na digitální marketing a konzultant v oblasti sociálních médií a SEO. Více než 8 let pomáhá značkám růst online prostřednictvím strategického obsahu, optimalizace pro vyhledávače a efektivní komunikace na platformách jako LinkedIn, Instagram a YouTube.
Na svém blogu sdílí praktické tipy o tom, jak propojit SEO, sociální sítě a brand building do jedné funkční strategie. Zaměřuje se na to, jak firmy mohou využít moderní nástroje a algoritmy k tomu, aby jejich značka nezískala jen dosah, ale i důvěru.
Když zrovna netvoří obsah, přednáší o digitálním marketingu, školí týmy a sleduje nové trendy v AI a vyhledávání.