5 Ways to Boost Your Video Views on Instagram

We all know “video” has taken over social media and so it’s very likely you have added this to your strategy (and if you haven’t, you should). But creating tons of videos isn’t easy, right? It takes a lot of time - so you definitely want to make sure if you take the time to create a video, it’s going to perform well for you. With that in mind, today I want to give you a few tips on how to boost your video views on Instagram, let’s do it!

Keep the basics in mind

Let’s be honest, we have all done this - we have an idea or hear a piece of advice and just start running full speed ahead, instead of taking out time and keeping all of the basic, fundamental steps in mind. When it comes to videos on Instagram, mainly Reels, one thing I see all of the time are creators busting out daily Reels, but them lacking in quality. And by quality, I mean both the quality of the video (lighting, editing, etc.) and the quality of the information provided. We all know the phrase “quality over quantity” and there is a reason why this phrase is so popular, and that’s because it’s true. Sure, posting lots of Reels can provide you with more opportunity for reach and growth, but if the quality of your videos are… well, crappy - people are not going to enjoy them and Instagram won’t show them to people anyway.

This is actually a shift I took in my Instagram strategy a few months ago. I made my focus on getting out content and doing my best to provide quality. I took the pressure off of myself to post 5 days a week and instead I am more focused on posting a few engaging, high-quality posts each week. And honestly, my overall stats were the same or higher posting less often, just because of the quality.

Always know your hook

If you really want to set your video up for success, you have to go into already know your “hook” - which if you’re unfamiliar, a hook just something interesting that happens at the very beginning of your video that draws in viewers.

Brendan Kane, the author of Hook Point says - “These days, if you want to get your message out to the world, you often have as little as three seconds to do so.” And with most Reels being under 60 seconds, you really need to optimize those first seconds to grab your audience and encourage them to keep watching until the end.

The essence of a perfect hook is giving your audience a reason to stay - and there are many ways you can do that. Maybe it’s telling them that you’re about to share a solution to a problem you know they have, or it could be that there is a “surprise” at the end of the video that helps lure them to keep watching. Do you remember the book, “The Monster at the End of This Book” with Elmo and Grover? Lovable, furry old Grover is distressed to learn that there's a monster at the end of this book! He begs readers not to turn the pages, but of course, kids feel they just have to see this monster for themselves. Grover is astonished to find that HE is the monster at the end of the book. Okay, the point is - the book grabs the reader's attention, even just seconds because the reader just HAS to know what the monster is at the end of the book.

You need to create the same experience for your viewers on Instagram. Give them a reason to keep watching.

Don’t give them a reason to click away

Now that you created a high-quality Reel and hooked your audience, now it’s time to keep them there, right? Don’t give your audience a reason to click away. My favorite ways of creating an engaging Reel (and videos in general) is to tell two stories and keep things moving.

When I say “two stories”, here is what I mean - recently I posted a YouTube video called “Why everyone is doing their makeup in their Reels all of the sudden?” and this video explains this really well. The idea is by telling a parallel story with your Reels (or any video), it gives your viewer a second reason to stick around to the end - because they want to see how both journeys end. Because even if the talking part of the video is lagging a bit, the viewer is intrigued and wants to see the end results of the makeup or the result of whatever secondary story you’re telling. This could be you taking an adventure to a new coffee shop, and telling your first story while on your way there - keeping the video lively with b-roll of the journey there and having your talking head parts in different locations each time.

This brings me to my second fave, which is “keep things moving”. Maybe you don’t want to tell a second story, that’s fine - but you can still keep things interesting and engaging by moving around. Sitting your phone down in front of your and filming the entire Reel in that one position gives your audience zero reasons to watch - they might as well just listen to an audio clip at that point. But, if you move around, even in your home, so that backgrounds and angles change, it provides so much more engagement and visual stimulation. For example, you can start the video on your couch, then do a green screen recording, then a clip of you talking standing with a wall behind you, then a final clip of you sitting at your desk. This jumping around will give you audience a reason to actually watch the Reel. And trust me, even if you live in a small apartment, you can do this - I have a 500 sq ft apartment, and I make it work!

Cut the fluff

One of the easiest ways to lose the interest of your audience is by going on and on about something irrelevant to the end goal of the video - so really evaluate your videos and cut out any “fluff” or unnecessary content that isn’t truly beneficial to the story. You want to make sure that every word you speak is providing value. But, I know from experience that it’s hard to make those types of decisions on your own - which is why last week I talked about the importance of creating a content creator network. It’s so nice having a fresh set of eyes to look at something you created - you can send them your Reel and have them watch it and provide you honest feedback if there is an area that lost their attention or was lacking in some way.

Tell your audience what to do

You have to tell your audience what to do. It might sound bossy, but giving your audience instructions increases the likelihood of them taking some sort of action. This could be as simple as asking that they like, comment, share, save or follow. But how does that boost views?

First, because you are encouraging engagement and to Instagram, engagement is a sign that the viewer is enjoying the video, which means Instagram is more likely to show it to more people.

Second, because you can keep people on the platform longer. Like most social media platforms, Instagram's main goal is to keep people on Instagram. If you lead folks to another Reel or encourage them to write a thoughtful comment - Instagram will see that the viewer is spending more time on the platform as a result of watching your video and again, you will be rewarded by Instagram showing this video (and others) to more people.

—-

Now, test out some of these tips and let me know if you see an increase in views, and if you found this helpful - you would really benefit from Module 3 of my new, signature course - The Instagram Road Map, where I dive deep into how to craft content that will help you grow. The link will be available in the show notes.