I’m studying Instagram content like crazy right now because I’m reviving my Instagram account that hasn’t been used consistently in a few years (and I’m changing niches, so it’s truly an overhaul).
As someone who has created accounts that have reached tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram (like this one, which at its peak had 442k followers and is now retired and dying a slow death), I can easily spot what’s working well, so you won’t want to miss this!
Plus, I’ll give you a few tips on how to go viral!
Whether you're just starting out or trying to grow your account on Instagram, these tips are an absolute gold mine. This is the best guide right now on how to go viral on Instagram to grow your following and to sell your digital products!
Here's How to Go Viral On Instagram
Don’t reinvent the wheel
When it comes to content, sure, originality might be nice, but creating content that is familiar by hopping on trends just does well. Take this reel and this reel for example. Same trend, done slightly differently. It’s okay to do what other people are doing, because people like what they are familiar with (like trending audio)!
And sure, it would be nice to be the first one to go viral with your content, but it’s a lot less likely to be the originator of viral content than to be the one going viral on a trend that’s already going. Either way, the lesson here is that you can replicate what’s doing well as it relates to your niche. Don’t overthink it, just go for it!
Do your research
Again, don’t worry about being too original. Spend time doing research to see what types of content other creators are putting out there. Doing this can inspire you to create content! See what’s working well in your niche, and explore other industries too. Often reels that work in one niche (e.g., fitness) can be re-created in other niches (e.g., finance).
Plus, if you only do research in your own niche for what makes good content, you might start to look and sound like everyone else. It is important to set yourself apart with your messaging, vibe, personality, tone, aesthetic, etc.
Use hooks
If you’re a regular at creating content, you’ve probably come across other creators sharing hooks we can all use in our content, regardless of niche or industry. What I find with hooks is that they tend to call out our people. Our people are who we want to see our content, because the hooks help them feel seen. Here’s a hook example for text on reels:
I wish more ____ [how you describe your ideal client] knew ____ [tip or gentle reminder].
So, I’ll use it:
I wish more content creators knew that they could be making passive income from their content with digital products. Here’s how.
I love following @shannonmckinstrie for hook ideas. Start using them!
Reels fuel growth, and carousels do too!
First off I’ll say this, if you’re just brand new and just starting out on Instagram with a public account (or you’re like me and you’re reviving a stagnant Instagram account or changing niches – I’m doing both lol), carousels won’t gain much traction. But if you do already have an engaged audience, then start using carousel posts. The important piece about creating carousels is to use them for storytelling. Here’s an example from my decluttering account that did really well.
If you are just starting out, stick to reels. Reels are more likely to fuel the growth you need to build your account and to tell the algorithm what niche you’re in to get in front of the right people. With bigger, more engaged accounts, do both!
Use automations
By now you’ve probably already participated in an automation when a creator in their content told you to comment a “WORD” below. This would have triggered an automation to send you a DM with a link to something you wanted to get. This is literally something you need in your content!! I use ManyChat for my automations, and I share behind the scenes of my automations here. You can see my automations in action here on my decluttering account.
Seriously, they work when you’re not on your phone, which is perfect. Automations work for you 24/7! If you don’t have a big audience yet, just use the free version of ManyChat for now. It creates engagement, can fuel the growth of your email list, as well as sales for your products or services (I sell digital products, and teach others how to sell digital products for passive income, and ManyChat is essential).
Create content that drives engagement and automations. The best way to do that is to leave people wanting more. Get viewers excited about something, then tell them they can get access to whatever it is they want by commenting a specific word in the comments and you’ll send it to them via DM. It is working so well right now! Here’s a great example.
Post daily
It’s true! The more you post and post with consistency, the more you learn (and get better) and grow. If you only have the capacity to post a few times a week or month, then that’s okay. Just know that your reach and growth will reflect that. I grew an Instagram account to nearly 450k followers (for my blog, The Zero Waste Collective, which is now retired and so is the IG account) and I didn’t miss a day of posting for almost 3 years. When I did drop off in consistency, so did my reach, growth, and engagement.
Decide on a frequency you can stick to and be consistent with it. And of course, be okay with the outcome. No doubt you can grow a fantastic account by publishing content 3x per week. But the account posting daily will be further ahead (as long as they are posting good content, of course).
Publish good content
What is good content? I mean that’s probably a bit subjective, but there is a learning curve to creating content. But again here, do your research, then start creating content. The only way to get better is to post content and learn and get better, then you’ll publish better content! You can also take courses that help you improve your content. Because if you’re not growing, chances are you either need to put in more time, or get better, or perhaps even both. The lesson here is to keep learning and getting better.
But also…
Don’t overthink content:
If you’re spinning your wheels about what you should post, don’t. Instead, just create and publish, create and publish, create and publish. The more you post, the more you learn. Then you take what you know and see is doing well on your account, and do more of that. People spend way too much time overanalyzing their content, when they could be posting more and moving on to the next piece.
If possible, try to take the emotion out of it. Easier said than done, of course, but truly, getting caught up in how you feel about your content performing could be holding you back from making more and getting better.
Repetition is required
You’d better love the niche you’re in, because you’re going to be talking about it ALL THE TIME. If you feel redundant, you’re doing marketing right. The Rule of 7 in Marketing basically says that people need to engage with a brand at least 7 times before they make a purchase. These days it’s probably more like 70 times with social media lol. But the point is, the more times people see something, the more likely they are to become interested in it. Including you and your content! And therefore what you sell.
How to go viral
I have gone viral with my content, and there are a million ways to go viral. So I’ll tell you this. Follow the above guidance, and just keep posting! And post often. Because the more shots you take, the more you’re likely to see success with your content. It’s a volume game, along with creating quality content and hopping on trends. If you’re the trendsetter, even better!
But again, here’s a reminder about volume. I remember Alex Hormozi saying something about the best advertisers in the world are the ones who test the most creatives; the more you test, the more you know what works, the more you know what works, the more you do what works, therefore you’re just going to get better and reach more people. And you’ll be more likely to go viral.
Publish stories
Let’s not forget Instagram stories! Be active there too, and definitely use chat automations with compelling content that leaves people with a cliff-hanger that they NEED to know the rest. Remember this reel? You can replicate that in your stories (either with video or with text on an image). The extra engagement will drive up your story views.
Have patience
This one is probably the hardest, but social media (and Instagram in particular) is the long game. Instead of wondering how quick you can grow in a month or two, start looking at how much growth you could have in the next year or two. That's a more reasonable and realistic time horizon to really see results from creating organic content and getting organic reach. If you don't have time (or patience, lol), then you'll want to run ads to expedite the process.
What’s Next?
If you’re going to put all of this effort into creating content on social media, you literally might as well be making passive income from digital products!
Even if you sell physical products or services, you can still add digital products to the mix and start making passive income.
Get started with passive income. It’ll be a game changer for freedom in your life and business!
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