5 Ways to Increase your Views on Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels is the hottest Instagram feature that has users SWOONING. I personally am super excited about this TikTok look-alike because as a business owner, I'm always looking for ways to grow my brand and meet new people, and Instagram Reels is the newest way to do that!

Since I started creating reels a few weeks ago, I have noticed a huge increase in not only my reach, but also my following. I'm averaging about 1000-2000 views per reel, and compared to my feed posts, this is HUGE! My feed posts typically have about a 500 account reach, which is minimum HALF the reach of my reels. Although it is not the most important success metric, I've gained over 1000 followers since I started doing Instagram reels.

So, let's jump right in to HOW you can increase your reach using Instagram Reels!

1. Use Hashtags:

Yes mama, you can use hashtags on reels and YOU SHOULD! You can use up to 30, just like a standard feed post, so do your hashtag research and get them in your caption!

2. Create Branded Covers:

This is a nice touch that makes your reels match your business branding. It makes your reels recognizable as YOU, which is super important when creating content and growing a following.

3. Post to Feed:

So, you can post directly to the Explore page for reels, OR you can post to your feed. Some may argue that posting to Explore would be ideal because it is going to show your post to more people - HOWEVER, the explore tab for reels has been super saturated already... In other words, your content is likely to get lost in there. You can definitely test it out, because every account is different, however I would recommend posting to your feed!

Posting to your feed makes your reels more accessible with just the click of a button, and shows your reels on the front page of your profile (not just under a separate tab).

4. Use Popular Sounds:

I recently discovered which of my reels performed the best - and realized that they were the ones with the most popular sounds. What does that mean? Pick a sound that was used on a viral video (anything above 50k views). BUT the trick is, make sure there are less than 100 other videos using that sound. The reason this works, is because people will see the viral video, click the sound, and YOU will show up. See below for some examples of my reels showing up in the top videos for the sound...

5. Post to Story (But Hide It)

This is a HUGE way I bring people to my reels... specifically, my followers. I share my reel to my story, but instead of just leaving it as is and clicking "post", I cover it up. The way I do this is by posting a photo over the reel, then adding my cover photo for the reel on top of THAT. Then I add a "tap here" gif on top. Instagram allows users to do this, and your reel (or post) underneath the photos are still linked, and are therefore clickable. Keep the sound on, because it intrigues the viewer - and when paired with your cover and title, they are going to be more likely to click on it.

Views don't count on your story - so you want them to go to the actual reel to view it. Also, add hashtags and location on these stories for an added boost!

That's it for now! Check out our shop for DIY brand solutions + shop our Black Friday sale (50% off all digital products)