In the era of social media and short content, Instagram Reels has become an effective tool for users to express themselves and perhaps become viral. Reels is a feature that allows reaching a large number of people since the format of the videos is short and interesting. But let’s not kid ourselves, going viral is not a walk in the park, it needs planning, ideas and repetitions. 

Here is a list of tips that can assist you in making Instagram Reels that can become viral:

Understand Your Audience

The first thing that people doing viral marketing need to do is to identify their target market. Who are they? What are their interests? What type of content do they spend most of their time? Audience analysis is an important part of the process because the results will help you to understand your audience better and better meet their needs.

Employ the data analytics features provided by Instagram to get information about the followers including their age, gender, level of activity, and interaction. The information below will help you to tailor your content to the audience and increase the chances of more of your Reels being shared.

Create High-Quality Content

The content quality is important when it comes to Instagram Reels. Here are some tips to ensure your videos stand out:

• Use Good Lighting: Lighting should be good for any video you are creating. Natural light is always the best, however, if you are shooting indoors, a ring light is highly recommended.
• Keep It Short and Sweet: It is recommended to keep Reels between 15 to 30 seconds long. Limit the content but make it as interesting as possible.
• Use Captions and Stickers: Subtitles are useful to the viewers who may be watching your content with the sound off. Stickers are a perfect way to make your videos more engaging and give your audience something to play with.
• Edit Professionally: By using editing tools, one can be able to make his/her videos even more interesting. There are editing options available within the app, but there are also many other applications that you can use for more detailed editing.

Be Current with the Global Affairs

Another way to get inspired for the Instagram Reels is to pay attention to the trends from other countries. It is important to note that trends may differ greatly from one country to another and something that is popular in one country may not be known in another thus giving you a niche for your IG content. Like pages and channels from different countries and regions to discover what is popular in those areas. Also, checking out global hashtags is a good way to get ideas that you can then tweak to your liking and your audience.

To make this easier, you can download a VPN from a website such as Surfshark web to access the site from the USA. This shows that a VPN can assist you in changing your IP address and move to a different country as if you were there. 

This way you can get to the region and see what is offered to you and the trends as seen by local users. Concerning this purpose, Surfshark is very handy because it provides a convenient connection and stable connections. In this way, using a VPN, you can be ahead of the curve and produce content that would be unique in the global context.

Engage with Your Audience

It is important to engage more in order to expand the coverage of your Reels on Instagram. Answer to comments, pose queries and invite the audience to forward your content. The more engagement the Reels you post get, the higher they are likely to be ranked by Instagram and the likelihood of them becoming viral. Here are some engagement strategies:

• Ask for Feedback: Make your viewers leave comments by asking them for their opinion or feedback on your videos.
• Host Giveaways: Promotions such as contests and giveaways are also useful. Ensure that the entry requirements are to like or comment on your Reels.
• Collaborate with Other Creators: Collaborating with other influencers or content creators is a great way to get your content out to more people and get more engagement.

Optimize Your Reels for Discovery

For your Reels to be seen by as many people as possible, they have to be discoverable on Instagram. Ensure that you incorporate the right hashtag, geotag, and keywords in the caption. Here are some tips:

• Use Popular Hashtags: Use the correct hashtags that are popular and related to the posts you are going to post.
• Add Geotags: Geotag your posts to target the people in your locality and get featured in location-specific searches.
• Write Engaging Captions: Headings should be attractive and contain the words that people may use in the search.

Experiment and Analyze

It is always good to note that going viral is somewhat trial and error. Experiment with the content, style, and theme to find out what your audience is interested in. In this case, you should monitor your performance by using Instagram analytics. Here are some metrics to monitor:

• View Count: The number of times your Reel was watched.
• Engagement Rate: The likes, comments, shares divided by the total number of views.
• Follower Growth: The number of followers after creating a Reel.

Evaluating these indicators, you will know what to focus on and what to avoid in order to maximize the probability of viral success.

Stay Consistent

This way, you will be able to create a regular fan base and maximize your probability of reaching virality. Here are some tips for maintaining consistency:

• Set a Posting Schedule: Decide how often you want to post and stick to it. Regularly posting content keeps your audience engaged and helps you stay relevant.
• Maintain a Cohesive Style: Develop a unique style or theme for your Reels that makes your content easily recognizable.
• Plan Ahead: Create a content calendar to plan your Reels in advance. This helps you stay organized and ensures you always have content ready to post.

Collaborate with Influencers

This is why working with influencers can be very beneficial to your Reels. Influencers have built followership who rely on them for recommendations. Working with them can assist you to expand your coverage and thus the possibility of going viral. When selecting the influencers to work with, make sure that their followers are within your target market.

Use Trends Wisely

Trends can work for your Reels but ensure that you put your twist to it because it will be boring to keep replicating trends from other people. The problem with this approach is that copying a trend might not necessarily give the intended outcome. However, it is better to apply your own ideas or to mix several trends together and get a new and unique design.

Be Authentic

Authenticity resonates with audiences. You should not be shy about expressing your personality and telling your story. Real-life content is more realistic and can create a better bond with the audience, which makes the probability of sharing Reels higher.