I’ve been playing around a lot with Instagram Stories lately... testing out new formats in order to increase my engagement and views. People’s attention span is short on IG, and I even catch myself pressing “next” on some of my favorite accounts when they talk for too many “slides”.
Here is what I've found:
1. Pay attention to what’s working (and what’s not)
When was the last time you checked your insights/analytics and looked at the cold, hard FACTS of what’s actually working?
I’m not a numbers girl either, friend, but when I started to pay attention to the trends I was noticing of which kinds of Stories performed best, my entire Stories game changed.
If you don’t know how to access your Stories insights, here’s how (you will need a “Business or Creator” account in order to get access to your insights):
Now looking at my own insights, here is what the data tells me:
6 out of my top 12 Stories had either a poll or a sliding poll sticker included
6 of them were photos/vidoes where I was showing my face
3 of them were behind the scenes shots of me when traveling
3 of them were results I was sharing from using a new app (Instagram related)
NONE of them were photos of food, cute cafes or restaurants I love (I’m a huge foodie)
By looking at this data, it’s pretty clear what my audience likes - and what they’re not interested in, making it much easier for me to create more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
2. Ask for more engagement
The algorithm will show your content to more people when it thinks that it’s “good content” that people engage with. Therefore, the easiest way to get more reach (and more views) is by asking your audience to engage with you - the easiest way to do that is by including “poll stickers” or “sliding poll stickers”.
Whenever you’re including polls, make it easy for your audience to engage with you (don’t make people think too much). ;)
I noticed big increases in views whenever I would include a poll in my first Story of the day. And even more when the image/video of that first Story was one of myself, showing my face.
3. Share value but be concise
People’s attention span on Instagram is short, and most people watch Stories with the sound OFF. So instead of creating minute-long videos of me talking into the camera, here’s what I’ve found to work instead:
Post photos/plain backgrounds and TYPE out your content. This gives your viewers a chance to read and screenshot your Story to save for later
If you do record a Story of you talking into the camera, be as concise as possible (keep it to a minimum of 4 “slides” (60 secs).
Always include a caption to sum up what you’re talking about. Remember, most people are watching with the sound off, so by including captions or summarizing the most important points you’re either able to create enough curiosity to get them to turn the sound ON or at least give them the chance to still follow along and understand what you’re talking about.
4. Poll your audience
Do you actually know what your audience WANTS to hear/see/learn from you?
One of the BEST ways to increase views and engagement is by giving your audience the kind of content they want to see MORE of.
How do you find out what that is?
Simple: ASK THEM.
You can post polls asking them something like:
are you more interested in learning about x or y?
would you like to see more of x or y?
Or use the “question” sticker and ask them:
what is the Nr. 1 question/struggle/challenge you’re facing in your [business/health/relationship/etc] right now?
what’s ONE struggle/challenge you faced in your [business/health/relationship/etc] TODAY?
I post polls and questions like these all the time - for 3 reasons:
a) they give me an idea of the kind of content my audience likes
b) they give me new ideas for content I can create for them (if you struggle with knowing what to post, create a list or a spreadsheet and add all of the questions your followers/clients/friends ask you about your topic of expertise - now you’ll always have a bunch of ideas ready for whenever you need to come up with an Instagram post or Instagram Story)
c) they give me ideas for new offers/bonuses I can create
5. Less is more
The biggest jump I saw in Instagram Story views was when I started to post LESS throughout the day BUT with more intention.
I also noticed that my Story views were highest on days when I posted 1-2 Stories.
This is great news if you’re someone who struggles to come up with content ideas - just keep in mind that if you’re gearing up to a launch, you’re going to want to show your face more often to build know, like, and trust, and share more “value” content in order to build your expert status.
This brings me to my final thought when it comes to increasing your Instagram Story views (or your engagement in general):
6. Be clear on your goals
Increasing your engagement or views is great, but remember WHY you’re wanting to do this in the first place:
is it to create stronger relationships with your ideal clients?
is it to generate more conversations in the DMs?
is it to make more sales?
is it to land more brand deals?
is it to make an impact?
Sometimes we get so attached to getting “more likes, more views, more comments, more...”, (vanity metrics as I like to call them), and get frustrated when we don’t get there, and we completely ignore our actual goal (more connection, more clients, more impact).
Need even more inspiration?
Get my FREE Instagram Stories Guide with 31 Story ideas for every day of the month!