Get Instagram Views on your Videos with the 7 Tactics That Work!

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Ever since Instagram introduced video, Instagrammers have been clamoring for more Instagram views. Techniques which work have shown themselves, and this article aims to give you these exact tactics. Remember that more views leads to more followers, so work on these tactics to improve your Instagram overall.

The algorithm wants your followers to be active

The Instagram algorithm isn’t something we can ever truly know 100%, as we’d then cheat like crazy, but one thing we’ve observed for sure is that immediate engagement matters. If you post something and your followers aren’t online, and your content sits without activity, it’s less likely to show up in your follower’s feeds when they do get online.

You need to post your content for when the largest section of your followers are online, and there are ways to do this:

  • Instagram Insights will show you data on your most successful posts, correlate that with the time you posted for best results. Note that this is only for those with a business profile, or the biggest influencers.
  • Owlmetrics has innovative calendar heat map which show the best time to post visually.
  • Crowdfire has detailed analytics which will allow you to see when your contest does its best, and schedule accordingly.

If you don’t have enough posts to get good data from yet, the best times in general to post are 11am – 1pm and 7pm – 9pm on weekdays. Start out with those times, take a look at which time zone your followers are in, and experiment.

Repeat past success for more Instagram views

One of the easiest ways to get more views on Instagram is to see what has worked in the past and continue to give content similar to it. Yes, you’re going to need to either use one of the analytics tools above, or simply scroll through your feed and take note of what is working and what isn’t.

View this post on Instagram

@demar_derozan takes it STRONG in Milwaukee!

A post shared by NBA (@nba) on

Nearly every single video that the NBA account posts is of a dunk. There are a few buzzer-beater shots here and there, but it’s most dunk, dunk, dunk, DUNK all day long. They found what worked, as it clearly does with many dunk videos going over 1.5 million views, and they running with it like a LeBron James fastbreak. You need to start looking for common themes as well:

  • Does your cooking account have better responses to dinner ideas, or dessert ideas?
  • Do you get more views on your travel vlog videos showing tourist spots, or hidden local secrets?
  • Does your DIY account have better responses to home renovations, or gardening and landscaping?

These are the types of questions you’ll need to ask and answer for your own account by looking at the data. When you find what works, keep working on it and watch your view numbers grow.

Use Instagram Stories to drive views

The content that you post in an Instagram Story is meant for quick contact with your followers, to get them on your account or at least thinking about you, with content that is of lower quality. It’s meant to be made and enjoyed in the moment, and then forgotten.

This tool is all about driving engagement consistently without having to work too hard for it. Ways that you can do this is with:

  • Stickers
  • Location stickers
  • Polls
  • Hashtags

Stories work best when they’re posted at the most active times for your followers, so your analytics will, yawn, I know, play a big role. Be sure to create Instagram Story Highlights of your best content in smart categories so they last longer:

get instagram views with story highlights

The NHL certainly has a lot of content they could share during the season, and they organize it pretty well based on interests.

To take this to the next level, and really drive views, use your Stories as teasers for your main content. Use calls to action saying “For more, watch my next/last video,” or something similar to actually get those views actively, rather than passively.

Buy safe views to get more views

Buying views to get views sounds pretty obvious, but hear me out. This is about playing to the Instagram algorithm. When it sees your video getting views right away that are high quality, such as those provider by the top Instagram view providers we’ve reviewed, it shows it to more of your followers.

Not only will the algorithm display it more often, but your high view count will push more people to think “Hey, what’s going on here? I better watch and find out!” This is no different than hearing about a TV show with great ratings and tuning in, or seeing a big lineup somewhere and asking someone what’s going on. Use this continually and watch your account grow and grow, or use it for when you want to go viral with your most important content.

Using Instagram Live Video properly

You can think of live videos on Instagram as similar to Instagram Stories, except that they stay permanently as regular posts. You want to be sure that your live videos are going to have staying power as they’ll be around until you delete them, unlike Stories which expire after 24 hours.

A few ideas for live videos include:

  • Answering questions you see in your comments section.
  • Better yet, do a live Q&A answering questions right from live comments.
  • Interview another Instagrammer in your niche.
  • Live stream events or conferences in your niche.
  • Prep scenes for the next video you’re filming, behind the scenes style with a call to action to ‘watch out for the video.’
  • Announce an upcoming promotion or giveaway, with some Stories or posts to hype it before you go live.

These are just a few live video ideas that you can use to drive engagement on your account, and lead to more Instagram views. When your live video starts, ask viewers to share it with friends. When it’s over, use calls to action to draw people to your other videos and content.

Be personable and social, not commercial and advertorial

No one goes on Instagram thinking “Man, I can’t wait for someone to try and sell me something!” Instagram is social media, not a big commercial. Yes, there are certainly ways to advertise, but you need to think less like a TV commercial and more like this:

View this post on Instagram

🌾🌾🌾

A post shared by flame (@travisscott) on

What’s Travis advertising here? His limited edition Nike Air Jordan 4 “Cactus Jack” colourway he’s wearing! Travis didn’t do a studio shot of the sneakers with a “BUY NOW” graphic, he took a photo of himself in his element as he was frequently posting outdoor images at this time.

Being overtly promotional can be a huge turnoff, and only the biggest influencers can get away with it. What do you think would happen if an average person posted this:

View this post on Instagram

Adding 2 new KKW BODY scents to the collection. Dropping Nov 2 at 12pm noon kkwfragrance.com

A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on

Only Kim K can get away with it as so many followers are just going to skip over this as they wait for that next shot of her…assets. Us mere mortals need to be a bit more subtle with our ads or we risk losing followers, and their views.

Hashtags can get you views on Instagram

Everyone uses hashtags on regular content, and using them on videos is equally important. The key thing to remember about hashtags is your desire to drive people to your account who don’t already follow you. They aren’t there for decoration or to look cool, you need to use them in ways that will attract people who are actually interested in your video content for that specific hashtag.

Do you know how I feel when I look for #Vancouver and I see some THOT with no connection to the city whatsoever?

View this post on Instagram

Mood 🤟 #Toronto #SanFrancisco #Vancouver #Calgary #Montreal #NewYork #LosAngeles #California #Canada #USA #Mexico #America #Miami #LasVegas #Chicago #SanDiego #Washington #Houston #Seattle #Cancun #Boston #Atlanta #Austin

A post shared by Y Λ E L S I N Λ Y (@yaelsinay) on

I make sure to mute her! I’m not watching her videos, ever, but she could have if I was looking for content she shared using the right hashtags. If I come across a photo like this:

View this post on Instagram

The #WestEnd #Vancouver

A post shared by Instagram Vancouver (@instagramvancouver) on

Hi, West End and North Shore Mountains! This account will get a follow, and I’ll gladly view their videos right then. Begone, THOT. I’m not looking for you when I’m searching #Vancouver! Not only will tactics like this annoy me, but they’re also spam that Instagram can take action against by lowering you in their algorithms.

Put your followers to work

Those lazy followers! All they do all day is sit and look at your photos, make a comment or two, and then go back to watching Rick & Morty… I think it’s time you put them to work with calls to action to tag their friends and followers.

This type of engagement has the benefit of generating comments, which is great for the algorithm, while getting more people to your videos and watching them. Even non-video content will help:

View this post on Instagram

🌴🙌🏼 Our coconut community hits 100,000 🙌🏼🌴This calls for our biggest giveaway to date! One lucky Kopari lover will win one of each of our products, plus the Kopari hat, towel & sweatshirt! To enter: 🥥Comment your favorite Kopari product below & tag your coconut loving bestie! That's it! Good luck & thank you all for your endless love and support! ✨🍾🥥 ••• Must be following @koparibeauty to win. USA Only. Winner will be randomly selected. Giveaway ends February 19th at 8pmPST. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram in any way.

A post shared by Kopari. Coconut Powered Beauty (@koparibeauty) on

Sure, tag your “coconut loving bestie” for a chance to win… As long as they’re following. Putting your followers to work in this context is so important. Not only does it help you, but it helps them find reasons to start conversations with their pals. It’s good for everyone, but you need to make the call to action which starts it.

Be careful using trending topics to get views

Everyone and their drunk aunt uses trending topics to try to get views on Instagram. As is the case with your drunk aunt, it’s not always appropriate for you to join in with every trend. Crumpet manufacturer Warburton’s saw #CrumpetCreations trending and jumped right in…without realizing that this hashtag was started by the furry community:

instagram hashtag mistakes

…Whoops.

Not only do you have to actually understand what the trend is about, you have to be sensitive to how you use it. Don’t be the account which takes a hashtag about a serious issue and makes a joke of it, you don’t need the DMs which come with that. Political or social issues should be well off your radar.

You need to find fun memes you can play with, as well as recurring hashtags. Here is someone using #WednesdayWisdom properly:

View this post on Instagram

#wednesdaywisdom ✨ • One of the greatest phrases I heard as a child is, “This too shall pass.” • We know that nothing stays the same so the next time you're feeling anxious, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and say to yourself. "This too shall pass, nothing lasts forever." • Know this truth deeply my loves, All is Change. 🙏 . . #bebrave #breathe #bethechange #peacefulmindpeacefullife #wecandohardthings #livefullyalive #befree #liveonpurpose #loveyourlife #meditation #mindfulness #inspirationoftheday #selfcare #selflove #spiritjunkie #wordsofwisdom #wordstoliveby #michellemaros #calm

A post shared by Barb Schmidt (@peaceful_barb) on

Good job! Now, here’s a random restaurant using it improperly:

View this post on Instagram

You should be rollin' with me 🐙🌊♥️♥️ this deconstructed seafood roll is our new favorite way to enjoy octopus while we work on a six pack that doesn’t need to be recycled! 🏋🏻‍♀️💥🙌🏼 . . . #girlholdsthings #octopus #polpo #dinner #wednesday #wednesdaywisdom #pescatarian #salad #postworkout #latergram #wbw #wayback #waybackwednesday #food #foodie #foodporn #foodphotography #foodblog #eatingfortheinsta #foodie #foodgoals #foodporn #foodgasm #foodstagram #instagood #flashesofdelight #eeeeeats #foodfam

A post shared by Meredythe Goethe (@thesaltypiece) on

How would you like a mute, salty face? That’s what you’re getting from me…

Instagram views that will get your videos viral

If you use all of the tactics above, and do it consistently on many videos, you will see your videos really catch on. They may not go viral right away, it could take months, but they will catch on if you:

  • Use the algorithm to your advantage and give your followers what they want, when they want it.
  • Create Stories which hype your main video content.
  • Buy safe views to drive more people to become curious and watch your videos.
  • Live videos are another opportunity to push your regular video content.
  • Social media is social media, not commercial media.
  • You need to use hashtags and trending topics the right way, not the spammer THOT way.

Keep creating great content which is geared to a specific audience, and you’ll see your views climb in no time!

Date: November 29, 2018 / Categories: Instagram, View Tactics, / Author: Rich Drees

November
29
2018

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