top of page

7 Tips to Finally Make Your Reels Go Viral

Writer's picture: Sara NielsenSara Nielsen

Updated: Aug 24, 2022


Going viral – social media’s equivalent of Gatsby’s green light. Ever elusive, but forever sought. So close, but just out of reach. Gatsby believed in the green light, and us social media creators believe in going viral. What may come as a surprise, is that going viral is much easier than you think. While things didn’t end so well for our friend Jay, the hope that you will one day go viral, is actually well placed. Instagram and Facebook’s relatively new Reels features have made it easier than ever to reach new audiences and grow your accounts exponentially with just one post. If you can master short-form video creation, your success on social media is inevitable. Making your Reels blow up and finally reaching that elusive virality comes down to a few simple steps:


1. Use trending audio


When you scroll through your Reels feed, take a look at how many Reels you see using trending audio. Chances are it’ll be at least 70%. The Instagram and Facebook algorithms are significantly more likely to push Reels that use trending audio. You’re also more likely to capture users’ attention and improve engagement, which bodes well with the algorithms. To find trending audio, spend some time scrolling through Reels and look for audio that has an upward pointing arrow next to it. Try to find audio that's been used less than 10,000 times - this shows that the trend is in its beginning stages. Trends tend to die around 200,000 uses, so you want to use audio that still has plenty of upside. Once you save an audio, it will be ready to go in your library when you create a Reel.


2. Don’t delete your Reels


Reels have a much longer shelf life than typical feed posts. Reels can take off days, or even weeks after you post them, so never delete them! There can sometimes be a temptation to delete posts that don’t immediately perform well but giving Reels some time to shine can be worth your while.


3. Make sure your video is high quality


Posting high quality videos will make users much more likely to engage with your Reels. Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that your videos are high quality:


- If you’re an iPhone user, shoot at 30 fps 1080p HD instead of 4k and turn off HDR. You can edit these settings in the “Camera” section of your settings app.

- Whenever you’re using older clips, always make sure you have the highest-res version downloaded from the cloud.

- On Instagram, make sure you have “High-quality Uploads” turned on. You can adjust this setting in the “Data Settings” tab on Instagram.

- Don’t zoom in and out while taking a video. If you want to zoom in for a shot, do it before you start rolling, or your camera lens won’t adjust.


4. Keep it short and sweet


Even though a recent update changed the max Reels time from 60 seconds to 90 seconds, shorter videos still perform better. For maximum engagement, shoot to keep your Reels between 7 and 15 seconds. While some content will require more screen time, make it a goal to keep the majority of your Reels under 15 seconds.


5. Don’t post videos with watermarks


Once short-form videos have become a part of your social media strategy, it’s definitely a good idea to post them across different channels. What isn’t a good idea is posting videos with watermarks from one channel onto a different channel. This will hurt engagement and therefore reach. A simple solution to rid your videos of watermarks is to make and edit your videos on Instagram and save them to your camera roll before posting. The video will save with no watermark, and you can easily post to whichever channels you want!


6. Keep up with trends


Keeping up with trends is a great way to catch users’ attention and improve engagement. It’s also a great way to come up with content ideas. When you create a Reel in line with a current trend, you’ll be making it easy for yourself to use trending audio, come up with a video, and get engagement. The easiest way to stay on top of trends is just to scroll through your Reels feed and look for ideas. The next time you’re in the mood to aimlessly scroll, add some intention behind it. When you start actively looking for ideas, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can come up with them just by scrolling for a few minutes.


7. Be consistent


Odds are you aren’t going to post one Reel and become a mega-influencer overnight. Creating a Reel that goes viral takes consistency. The more consistently you create, the sooner you are likely to create a video that takes off. Another point to consider is that even if the first Reel you created went viral, it wouldn’t necessarily do much for your account other than give you some views. People want to follow accounts that consistently post content they’re interested in. If you want to use Reels to grow your accounts and gain followers, you have to show people that you consistently post the content they want to see. If you can commit to posting even just one or two Reels per week, you’ll be surprised by how quickly you find success and finally reach your green light!

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page