You are likely making these mistakes that limit your Reels reach
If you’re active on Instagram, you have definitely noticed that Instagram Reels have taken the social media network by storm. Businesses, brands, and influencers have been making these short, vertical videos accompanied by music to share content with their audiences.
In many cases, the views and the reach have exploded! As a result, Insta Reels have become a preferred type of content to engage with audiences, get more followers, generate higher engagement, and grow accounts fast. The internet is full of great success stories about Reels.
Nevertheless, even if you’re creating Reels, it doesn’t mean that you will grow your account in no time. In fact, many users may be having a hard time getting views and engagement with their Reels.
So, if you have looked at your Instagram Insights after posting multiple Reels and see that the reach (views) is very minimal, this article is for you. I’ll share some of the main reasons why your Insta Reels may not be getting views and ways to fix it.
First, let me break the bad news — there is no quick or immediate fix. Instagram is not a sprint where you can expect to see spectacular results in no time. In most cases, unless you’re a celebrity, it will require some work and time.
Not getting views is pretty normal, especially if you run a small account. Unfortunately, Instagram often reduces the reach of smaller accounts, and the content posted is mainly shown to the followers only.
The reason for that is simple — Instagram is also trying to learn and better understand what your account is about to be able to deliver your content to the most targeted audience.
So, if you run a small account (less than 100 followers), don’t expect to have thousands of views. Instead, post consistently and try to grow the number of your followers in an organic way.
Don’t follow the quick hacks, such as the follow/unfollow strategies, as they will only harm your growth.
There are very few things that you can do to impact the reach of your Reels at this stage directly. Organic growth of your account is the key at this stage.
However, if you have a decent number of followers and you’re still getting minimal views, then this requires attention. The reason for you not getting views may be due to some of the mistakes that you’re making while posting them.
Let’s see what the most common mistakes in making Reels are:
1) You visibly recycle your Reels from other platforms (such as TikTok),
2) You post political content on your Reels,
3) Your videos are of poor quality,
4) You’re not using vertical videos in your Reels,
5) Your content doesn’t have a hook in the first 3 seconds,
6) You don’t use Instagram tools for Reels creations,
7) You haven’t posted enough Reels,
8) You don’t consume Reels yourself,
9) You don’t optimize your Reels.
Let’s discuss each of these mistakes one by one.
You recycle your Reels from other platforms
Instagram wants the content posted on the platform to be unique and beneficial to its users. Therefore, if you create your Reels using TikTok and then repost the same Reels on Instagram with the TikTok watermark, the chances are high that Instagram will lower your reach.
Instagram has a powerful AI in place that scans and detects what’s in your videos, and these TikTok watermarks don’t do any good.
If you want to use the same content that you post on other social media accounts, you can do so; however, play smart; instead of saving the video with the watermark of another platform, screen record it or use any app available to remove the watermark.
There are some exceptions, though. I am sure you’ve seen tons of viral Reels with TikTok watermarks. They seem to be doing just fine. Well, there might be two reasons for that:
1) the content is genuinely viral;
2) the user who posts them has tremendous following and engagement.
You post political content
Instagram wants to keep itself away from politics. As a result, it adds warnings to political content and limits the reach of any political posts, including Reels.
This is why Reels may not work for politicians and political parties, as Instagram will limit the distribution of such content.
Again, some politicians may have a tremendous following. Therefore, the content that they post may generate high engagement.
Your videos are low resolution and poor quality
At this age, there is no excuse for poor videos on social media. Instagram knows it and enforces it. With affordable smartphones equipped with good cameras, poor quality content has no space on Instagram.
This is an excellent initiative by Instagram as poor content can be very irritating and shouldn’t be spread easily.
You aren’t using vertical videos in your Reels
What is a vertical video? It’s a type of video that we usually see on social media by holding our smartphones vertically.
The usage of vertical videos is essential on Instagram Reels. They are considered native-type of videos for social media consumption and, therefore, are prioritized by Instagram.
So, if you’re creating Reels using horizontal videos, the chances are high that Instagram is penalizing you for the choice of the format of your video. Next time, try filming and using a vertical video instead.
Your content doesn’t have a hook in the first 3 seconds
This is one of the most common mistakes that Instagram users make. They don’t catch the attention of their audience fast enough. There have been millions of Reels created every day, which makes it essential for creators to catch the attention of their audiences quickly.
People scroll on Instagram at lightning speed; sometimes, there’s just an eye blink to make someone stay and watch your Reels. Therefore, if you have no hook within the first seconds of your Reels and your audience doesn’t engage with it enough, Instagram will de-prioritize your Reels and show it to a smaller audience.
A hook is essential, and it can make it or break it for you.
You don’t use Instagram tools to create Reels
Instagram wants its content to be as native to the platform as possible. Therefore, the social media network created a bunch of tools that can help you create powerful, interesting, and engaging Reels.
Some of the tools you should use are music, text overlay, and effects that are native to Instagram. If you do the editing on other platforms, Instagram may reduce the reach of your Reels.
You don’t post enough Reels
If you don’t post enough Reels, you may also be disfavoured by Instagram’s algorithms, and sometimes the engagement and reach need to gain momentum throughout the time.
Don’t expect to post one Reels and reach hundreds of thousands of people. Quite the opposite, the more you post, the higher your reach and engagement grow over time. For starters, you can try posting one Reels every week, gradually increasing the number. However, don’t forget to post other types of content, such as carousel posts or Stories as well.
You don’t consume Reels yourself
Reels is all about trends. Therefore, if you don’t watch and engage with Reels yourself, you may miss out on the latest trends. Watching Reels can teach you how other accounts approach editing, presentation, what music they use, and how they create their content.
It can be a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with what’s available on the platform and how to maximize it.
But, there is one more thing. Instagram is a social media platform and you’re expected to engage with other accounts. You should consume the content that’s posted by the others in order to get others to consume yours. It’s a simple game.
You don’t optimize your Reels
I know it can be tempting to just post Reels without any captions or hashtags, expecting people to discover your content and engage with it. But you should treat Reels as any other type of Instagram content.
Therefore, don’t forget to write engaging and personal captions, add relevant hashtags, tag people when needed, and use geolocation in your Reels. Don’t treat this type of content any differently.
Secret formula for successful Reels
If you’re still here, I’d like to share a secret formula that I discovered during my experience in advising businesses on their Instagram strategies. Instagram is all about high-quality content, and with time, I have discovered that the best content must fall into one of these pillars:
1) entertaining
2) educational
3) inspirational
There are the content pillars that will make your audience engage with your Reels. Next time you watch a popular Reels, think about which pillar it belongs to. I’m sure that it’ll fall into one of these three.
The purpose of Instagram has changed. We consume content on it to be entertained, educated, or inspired. Instagram knows it and will push for the content that falls onto these pillars.
I’m sure after you implement the strategies shared in this article, your Reels will gradually increase reach and engagement. Continuously keep an eye on your Instagram Reels insights.
Don’t downplay the importance of Reels. They are pivotal in your accounts and business growth. Even the smallest account can grow tremendously over time and generate spectacular results in a much shorter time than before.
Keep working on your Reels strategy, be smart about how you create your content, keep on experimenting and enjoy the results.
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