How to Go Viral on Instagram? – A Comprehensive Guide

Do you want to know how to go viral on Instagram? Well, you’re not alone. Many influencers and brands have gained fame overnight through this platform.

Statistics show that over 2 billion active users search for exciting and one-of-a-kind content every month. But let’s be real: going viral on Instagram is no walk in the park, as Instagram’s algorithm is a guarded secret.

But there’s hope. By implementing some proven tips and best practices, you can increase your chances of going viral on the platform. 

This article will walk you through effective tips on how to go viral on Instagram and more.

What Is Considered Going Viral on Instagram?

Many brands consider Instagram posts to be viral only when they reach a minimum of 100,000 likes. However, this number may seem unattainable because it’s a general rule that doesn’t account for niche-specific variations. 

Virality within your particular niche may differ significantly from what goes viral on Instagram in another.

For instance, if you and your business competitors typically receive 2,000 likes on each post, reaching 10,000 likes or more would be considered going viral on Instagram. 

While hitting 100,000 likes and views would be great, it’s important to understand that more likes bring additional benefits, such as increased followers and higher click-through rates, depending on your campaign strategy.

When your posts go viral on Instagram, they will have more:

• Likes compared to your other posts
• Shares than your average posts
• Views from specific users
• Instagram activity more than other posts. This means they receive interactions much faster and continue to engage with users even after training for most of your posts diminishes.

When you receive viral traffic, you must decide how you can leverage it. If you want more followers, you can include a subtle “follow us” reminder in your posts.

However, you’ll need a tool to create splash pages for Instagram links for click-throughs to your landing page or website since the platform only permits links in your “profile’s bio section,” not in individual posts.

Why Do People Learn How To Go Viral on Instagram?

Before we explain how to go viral on Instagram, let’s explore why so many people want this.

When your posts go viral on Instagram, it impacts your account’s reach. By consistently creating high-quality and engaging posts that could gain popularity, you can establish your brand as an authority in your specific field.

In other words, when your posts go viral, they attract likes and followers, which helps you gain more leads and conversions as an influencer or a marketer.

However, it’s important to note that relying solely on single viral posts may not help in the long run, especially if you fail to publish posts that resonate with your target audience consistently.

Here are a few benefits businesses and individuals can leverage when their posts go viral on Instagram:

• Increased Visibility: When your posts go viral, not only do they attract attention but also exposure. This increased visibility helps expand your reach and makes you known to a larger audience.
• Boosted credibility: If your viral posts carry positive messages or resonate with people, they can establish you as a leading authority within your field and enhance your credibility. Going viral can reinforce the trust and confidence others have in you.
• More engagement: Viral posts tend to generate a higher level of engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments. This increased engagement enables you to build a strong relationship with your target audience and get more following.
• Sales Growth: Going viral on Instagram can impact your sales and overall revenue, particularly if the posts are related to your products or services. The exposure and positive attention can create a surge in interest, leading to increased sales and business growth.

Now that you know why users want this, let’s discuss how to go viral on Instagram. 

How to Go Viral On Instagram?

To make posts go viral, you have to trigger its algorithm. Here’s how to go viral on Instagram in three ways:

• Increase Engagement: Engage your audience to foster interaction. Chat with your targeted audience and community. It helps encourage them to follow and like, improving account engagement. 
• Post Frequently: Believe it or not, posting consistently on Instagram during your audience’s active times boosts engagement and enhances growth.
• Create Entertaining, Relevant Posts: Quality posts that spark interest will gain greater traction.

Instagram serves people with entertaining, latest, and relevant content. You can make your content go viral on Instagram by crafting high-notch posts and enhancing engagement.  

7 Tips on How Do You Go Viral on Instagram

Are you asking, “how do you go viral on Instagram?” Follow these seven proven tips and tricks to stay on top of trends and your account metrics to go viral on Instagram.  

1. Know Your Target Audience

Knowing your Instagram audience allows you to craft relatable content with a higher chance of going viral. Here are a few ways to determine your targeted Instagram audience:

• Study Buyer Personas: Leverage your company’s current data on buyer personas and “ideal customer profiles (ICPs).” Use this valuable information to identify your target audiences that show similar characteristics to your brand’s customer base
• Look at Instagram Analytics: If you’re using Instagram for your business, check your analytics to view audience demographics. They will show what type of people follow you and engage actively with your content. Additionally, you can use various reporting tools and software to explore your target Instagram audience.
• Find Competitor’s Audience: To identify your target audience, check out your competitors’ Instagram accounts and analyze their followers. These individuals likely align with your target audience too.
• Employ Social Media Listening Tools: Use social media listening tools to monitor online conversations about your niche and brand. This will not only help you determine your target audiences but also uncover potential influencers for content collaboration, enhancing the reach of your content.

To effectively target your Instagram audiences, analyze their goals, interests, and habits. Examine the posts they engage with and the account types they follow. 

This comprehensive understanding will help you create engaging content guaranteed to resonate with them.

2. Stay on Top of Instagram Trends

Social media trends change rapidly, and this popular platform is no exception. Marketers must act swiftly to capitalize on these trends and create content that has the potential to go viral. 

It can mean sharing more videos, exploring new formats, or incorporating popular music into your Reels. It’s crucial to join the bandwagon of viral trends. 

An Instagram trend is “Instagram Reels,” which are short, vertical videos inspired by the popular social media platform TikTok. 

Reels generate higher engagement than regular videos, making them ideal for achieving virality. Other popular trends include using links in your Instagram story and cross-promoting Twitter posts. Marketers can maximize their impact and reach on Instagram by staying updated on these trends.

3. How to Go Viral On Instagram? Build Your Brand Voice

Want to know an easy trick on how to go viral on Instagram? Create your brand voice.

To excel on Instagram, you need to embrace creativity and authenticity. This especially applies to businesses, as they must discover the distinctive voice that sets them apart from other brands. 

This unique voice should connect with their intended audiences and captivate them with engaging content.

BBC Earth’s Instagram account serves as a prime illustration of the benefits of establishing an original and imaginative brand voice on Instagram. 

They routinely share breathtaking visuals and informative, relatable, and humorous captions. Their educational content is anything but dull.

4. Audit Your Posts 

Performing Instagram audits is crucial to ensure your upcoming viral strategies align with your current branding and posts. 

This evaluation will also reveal areas for improvement before sharing new content, such as refining captions or harmonizing your profile photo and bio with your business/brand for a genuine and professional appearance. 

Fixing any aesthetic, content-related, or brand voice issues will significantly enhance the likelihood of success in your coming posts.

5. An Effective Tip For How To Go Viral On Instagram: Study Competitors

Need viral content ideas to go viral on Instagram? Check out what your competitors are doing—it’s one of the best tricks for how to go viral on Instagram. 

Analyze their content and posts to see what works for them by:

• Identifying your competitor’s top and worst-performing posts
• Understanding their brand voice
• Noticing the formats they use
• Observing how they connect with their target audience
• Taking note of their frequent posting days and times

You can also use Instagram competitor’s analysis tools to collect, visualize, and examine this valuable data from one dashboard. Use these insights to boost your creativity. 

Remember: Do not copy your competitors. Think of it as a starting point. Feel free to borrow ideas, but add your unique voice to it. Be cautious of copyright issues and remain loyal to your brand’s voice. 

6. Engage With Other Instagram Accounts

Boost your Instagram presence through active engagement with your target audience. Increased visibility in notifications and feeds often increases your posts and profile exposure.  

Moreover, customers appreciate brands that put in extra effort to personalize their interactions. Remember, the Instagram algorithm focuses on highly engaged posts and often exhibits them on the “Explore page.” 

Include questions, calls-to-action, and interaction prompts in your captions and posts to achieve this. Additionally, respond to user comments, whether positive or negative.

7. Recreate Viral Posts and Content to Go Viral on Instagram

This is one of the easiest ways to go viral on Instagram. However, it is important to proceed with caution.

Instead of simply copying and pasting viral content, put your unique spin on it. Look at popular posts in your niche and follow trending hashtags to discover content you can recreate.

You can find viral content on platforms like TikTok, which can inspire your Instagram Reels.

How To Go Viral on Instagram Reel? 

Is there any other way to go viral on Instagram? Use Instagram reels.

Instagram Reels are short videos with a maximum length of 15-30 seconds. You can quickly grow your account by using engaging and original content in Reels. 

Instagram has updated its algorithm to give Reels’ users more visibility, making it worth a try. Given that Reels has been around for a few years, it could be challenging to make your videos unique due to growing competition. 

Nonetheless, don’t be discouraged. We have rounded up five useful tips to help you create short 15-30 second videos that have the potential to go viral. 

Let’s find out how to go viral on Instagram reel:

1. Focus On Specific Topics or Niches to Go Viral on Instagram

To go viral on Instagram reels and gain more followers, you must post about a specific niche or theme regularly.  

Instagram’s algorithm utilizes machine learning (ML) to display your content to audiences already engaged with the topics you focus on.

So, choose a particular niche or theme and adhere to it.

2. Include Hooks That Grab Attention

To make your Reels go viral among the thousands published each day, create compelling content with a personal touch. 

Be original and unique to stand out. Remember, captivating the audience’s attention in the first few seconds is crucial, so make those seconds truly stand out.

3. Make the Perfect Instagram Reel Size

How to go viral on Instagram reels instantly? Use the right Instagram reel size! You should always aim for a size of 1080px x 1920px and a 9:16 aspect ratio. 

This optimizes the viewing experience on mobile devices and utilizes the entire screen. Also, limit it to 60 seconds, with a maximum caption length of 2,200 characters.

4. Use Hashtags to Go Viral On Instagram and Promote Content

Hashtags are essential on Instagram posts as they assist the algorithm in recognizing your video content and displaying it to interested users. 

Choose your hashtags to go viral on Instagram carefully because popular ones may have more competition and may not be the most effective choice.

Nevertheless, use hashtags to increase your reel or post reach.  

5. How To Go Viral on Instagram? Publish Reels at Peak Times

Posting and sharing your content at the right time is crucial. This is because not every day or hour is equally favorable. 

Learn when your Instagram targeted audience is most active and accessible. Identify the optimal times and days that draw the highest viewership, and plan your posts accordingly. 

This can significantly boost your engagement rate and connect you with your audience. Remember, the right timing will maximize the impact of your posts.

How Many Views To Go Viral on Instagram? 

Now that you know how to go viral on Instagram and Instagram reels, it’s time to learn how many views to go viral on Instagram.

When a video goes viral, it can significantly boost your marketing efforts and greatly increase your chances of success. It also helps expand your target audience as a content creator and attracts new viewers to your content channels.

But what exactly qualifies as “viral”?

Typically, a post with 100,000+ views or likes and 1,000+ comments is considered viral. However, viral is subjective and can vary depending on the brand.

Many business owners and marketing experts define a video as viral if it reaches at least 5M views within approximately one week of posting. 

For instance, if you upload a new post on a Thursday and it accumulates 6M views by the following Wednesday, it’s safe to say that the video has gone viral.

A post can be considered viral even if it exceeds 10,000 views or likes, especially for smaller brands targeting a specific niche audience.

We recommend analyzing your analytics and competitor’s data to set benchmarks for what qualifies as viral in your specific context. 

As you grow, aim for higher engagement rates that are realistic and attainable for your brand.

Ready To Go Viral on Instagram?

If you’re wondering how to go viral on Instagram, you need a smart approach. Understand your target audience and competitors. It allows you to determine the best content to post for maximum impact. 

Craft top-notch posts that align with current trends and leverage appropriate hashtags. Make the most of Instagram’s features, including creating reels with popular sounds. 

Lastly, maintain a consistent posting schedule and actively engage with your target audience to boost your odds of going viral. 

Now that you know how to go viral on Instagram, you might need assistance maintaining your account’s increased reach and followers.

If you want to scale your Instagram presence and go viral, choose PathSocial. They provide various customized strategies and tools to help you unleash the true power of your Instagram account and become viral. 

Grow your following, and experience unprecedented growth with PathSocial’s professional guidance. Don’t strive alone to go viral on Instagram – let Path Social help you get there! Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!