One of our recent reels on Instagram went slightly viral, it is sitting at nearly 69,000 views, 2600 likes, 40 comments and almost 900 shares and we are literally reeling! ( Mainly, the Gen Zs are reeling that their millennial boss went viral before they did.) To put it into context, we normally average 5000 views per reel, so this one got us thinking.
Did we crack a code? Probably not. Instagram is a beast that cannot be cracked, just when you think you are doing it all right, boom, it changes and you are losing followers not gaining them.
There are a lot of Instagram "experts" out there and we are not claiming to be that, but there are a few things about this post and a couple of interesting finds, that we did that may help with your Instagram game.
1. Consistently post reels - we have been doing this for a while. You have to be in it to win it!
2. Use Trending music, this is key to more engagement.
When you select to create a reel the there button at the top is called Trending. This is a list of all the trending tracks ready to go for you. Even if you have a video with music, still select a track from the trending list to override it.
3. Location
Something we did differently with this reel was we selected the location as the suburb of the video, in this case, Applecross. Normally we select Perth hoping to get a broader reach.
Something that we found very interesting was that there were two comments on the reel from two Instagram users said they saw the reel when they were actually in Applecross! Coincidence? We think not.
4. Hashtags
Hide your hashtags in the reel and not in the caption. Copy and paste them from your phone and post them into the reel, then drag them off to the side so they aren't visible.
5. Don't give up on your reel.
Some people give up on their reels if they don't get traction and delete them. This reel went viral 6 days after we posted it.
We have gained 250 new followers from this, which in Instagram world is not an easy feat unless you pay for them! That is a big no no by the way, the aim of the game is to be hyper-local and have fewer followers that are more likely to transact/share/comment.
We hope some of the tips above help.
If you want a good laugh go check out the comments on the reel. People really want more Armadale content and it seems some people are very unhappy with the City of Melville. Worth checking out the comment section!
We will leave you with our favourite comment below, the internet is a wild place.
** Edit: In the time it took me to type this, the count on watches is now at 73,000!