How to Go Viral on Instagram: Tips and Tricks

The goal of every Instagram creator is to have a post go viral.

With just one viral post, you can become an overnight sensation on Instagram, and gain an incredible number of engagement and followers.

How does an Instagram post go viral?

What is considered viral on Instagram? Let's take a closer look at how to go viral on Instagram and answer all these questions:

How Many Views is Viral on Instagram?

Even though there are no established criteria to consider a post to be viral on Instagram, any post that rapidly spreads through the platform, motivates other creators to share, and gets reposted by thousands of users, are usually posts that are considered to be viral.

Just like Instagram’s counterparts TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, this often leads to a video instantly becoming a trend or challenge with other creators doing their version of the same template.

Adding quantifying criteria like how many views are viral on Instagram can be a challenge, but here are some quick determiners that tell you if a post is viral or not!

The number of likes a photo or video gets
The number of views an Instagram reel has
The number of shares and re-posts the content receives
How quickly a post spreads through the platform
The number of unique viewers it gets
The number of clicks the post generates
The overall engagement the post generates

Among the list of things we mentioned above, the last point is key for any post going viral on Instagram.

Content that goes viral on Instagram maintains traction, and leverage on the Instagram algorithm, and will consistently bring in more views, engagement, and audience retention for a long time after it was posted.

While some Instagram posts get a quick boost of views, and engagement, immediately after the post goes live, it usually fades away in the long run.

However, with viral Instagram posts, you see engagement return over time, and the posts have longevity for much longer than an initial spike.

Can You Go Viral Overnight on Instagram?

One of the best things about Instagram is how fair the platform is for every creator.

You don’t need to have a solid fan base of tens and thousands of followers on your Instagram profile to go viral on Instagram.

Almost anyone and everyone can instantly go viral overnight on Instagram.

However, it’s impossible to predict going viral on Instagram, as it often happens when you least expect it, and with a post that you don’t expect on most occasions.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how consistent you are, and how much you are willing to keep on creating content until a post goes viral on your Instagram account.

Best Tips and Tricks to Go Viral on Instagram

There is no secret recipe to go viral on Instagram, and simply following any of the tips that we cover is not guaranteed to help your content go viral on Instagram.

However, they will definitely improve and increase the chances of getting more engagement on your post consistently.

Who knows, maybe these tips and tricks will eventually help your content go viral on Instagram, with the rapid spreading of your post in the Instagram community.

Regardless, here are some of the best tips on how to go viral on Instagram:

1. Create More Instagram Reels

Gone are the days when Instagram was all about who posts the best photos on the platform.

Today, Instagram is all about originality and all-around content. It’s almost impossible to stay relevant on the platform with just photos.

You need to find an ideal combination of photos and Instagram reels to achieve success these days.

Ideally, it’s best to invest most time from your schedule on Instagram reels if you really want to blow up and grow exponentially on Instagram overnight.

Instagram reels can reel in so many views and engagement in a short time that no other format on Instagram can currently match the power of what Instagram reels are capable of doing.

Posting the right Instagram reel at the right time, with the right hashtags can help you create content that is considered viral on Instagram.

2. Have a Better Understanding of Your Audience

Regardless of the niche, you are creating content on Instagram, it’s important that you have a clear picture of who your target audience is.

Only then will you be able to successfully share content that caters to the audience’s requirements.

This will help you reach a wider audience naturally, and with intention. This can also help create content that is crafted to meet the demands of an audience who enjoys the same.

So how do you identify a target audience?

The best option you have is to head over to your Instagram analytics and look at audience demographics.

Alternatively, you can also check out some of your main competitor’s profiles, and see how their audience looks. This will give you a quick overview of what kind of audience to expect!

3. Stay Consistent With Your Posts on Instagram

Consistency is key to success on Instagram as no one knows exactly how the algorithm works.

An Instagram reel that you may have worked on for hours and hours may end up bringing in very few views whereas another that you never expected to bring in views might do just the same.

Another advantage of staying consistent is that followers are more likely to come across your post when you publish new content than those profiles that post occasionally.

Instagram usually gives more priority to people that are active on their platform.

The more consistently you post, the higher your chances will be for initial engagement, and the better your click-through rate, and impressions will be once it’s published.

This is crucial in helping your video spread through the platform, and get engagement as many as what is considered viral on Instagram.

4. Make Use of Instagram Analytics

If you want to go viral on Instagram, the first thing you need to do is impress your existing audience, and it is often easier said than done.

Unless you actively monitor the feedback from your audience to your latest contest, it can be quite a challenge to get an idea of what type of content they prefer, over the other.

Initial engagement and people’s feedback in comments, likes, reposts, and story shares are all fundamental things that can help your post go viral on Instagram.

That’s why you need to make the most of Instagram analytics, and get a clear idea about factors like audience retention, target audience demography, gender, age, and how much time they consume your content.

This can help you optimize your content better, and increase the chances of getting noticed and going viral with your next post.

Search volume and hashtag priority are game changers in Instagram when it comes to increasing your overall reach and discoverability on the platform.

The more people your content reaches out to on Instagram, the better chances you have of getting large enough views as what is considered viral on Instagram.

However, timing is crucial when it comes to Instagram trends and challenges.

If you are late to the party, your probability of going viral on Instagram also decreases accordingly.

So make sure to keep track of what’s happening on Instagram and always have a head start on your competition.

It also helps to find trending hashtags to go viral on Instagram based on the challenges you are taking part in.