How to Get 100,000+ Views on Instagram: The Complete Guide
With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most influential social media platforms today. For individuals and businesses looking to grow their following and reach massive audiences, mastering Instagram is a must.
The key to Instagram success is consistently creating content that can go viral. In this comprehensive guide, I will be sharing the proven formula to get 100,000+ views or more on your Instagram posts.
Step 1: Hop on Trending Topics and Hashtags
The first and most crucial step is to make sure your content aligns with what’s currently trending on Instagram. When your posts tap into trends and topics that are already buzzing, you massively expand the potential audience that could come across your content in Explore and hashtags.
There are two easy ways to identify trends:
1. Instagram Search
Conduct searches related to your niche. You’ll see “Trending on Instagram” topic bubbles - click these to view viral posts using those hashtags and concepts.
2. Follow Top Accounts in Your Niche
By following leading creators in your industry, you can browse the trending hashtags they use and spot opportunities there as well.
Once you identify relevant trends, aim to put your own spin on them within your niche. Aligning with broader trends + your niche is the golden combo for explosive growth.
Step 2: Use the Right Hashtags - And Avoid Blocked Ones
Hashtags play a crucial role in discovery on Instagram. But simply using any trendy hashtag won’t cut it. You need to ensure you use relevant, high-volume hashtags that aren’t blocked by Instagram.
Here’s how to find the best hashtags to use:
- Google “blocked Instagram hashtags” and use tools like Meta Hashtags to analyze hashtags before using them in your posts. This will reveal if they are banned.
- Leverage Meta Hashtags and other tools to discover alternative trending hashtags to use instead of banned ones.
- Do hashtag research around your niche to find ones specific to your audience to mix in.
- Use enough hashtags (10-15) to tap into many audiences, but not too many that seem spammy.
Optimizing your hashtags is key for coming up across a wide range of topic-relevant feeds and getting content recommended to interested users.
Step 3: Position Your Eyes at the Optimal Place
You may be wondering what your eye positioning has to do with views. Properly positioning your eyes can dramatically increase watch time, a key Instagram ranking factor.
You want your eyes to be aligned approximately two-thirds up from the bottom of the frame. This follows the natural eye line that viewers scroll Instagram at.
If your eyes are too centered, it appears unnatural and people will scroll past quicker. But positioning at the optimal eye line keeps people engaged longer.
Consistently maximizing watch time signals to Instagram your content is captivating. Your account will be shown more as a result.
Step 4: Optimize Your Bio to Get Recommended
Your Instagram bio isn’t just for your basic info. Optimizing it properly allows Instagram to better understand your niche and audience.
This means you can get recommended to others who follow similar accounts.
Here’s how to optimize your bio:
- Include keywords and phrases relevant to your niche.
- Clearly summarize what your profile is about.
- Remove unrelated info - keep it hyper-focused.
Looking at competitors’ bios who get recommended can reveal what terms to target. The goal is to inform Instagram who to recommend you to.
Step 5: Diversify Your Content Across Feeds
Instagram has multiple feeds - profile, Explore and Reels. Not optimizing content for each can limit your reach.
Here are the types of content to focus on for each:
Profile Feed
- Photo carousels
- Short video clips
Explore Page
- Memes, infographics
- Longer videos (1-2 mins)
Reels Feed
- Vertical short videos (15-30 seconds)
Posting a variety of content optimized for each feed allows you to maximize exposure and views across Instagram.
Step 6: Make Content Rewatchable
The more people rewatch your content, the more Instagram pushes it out. Here are three types of content that get high rewatch rates:
1. Looping Videos
Videos that seamlessly loop are captivating and make viewers hit replay.
2. Short Videos
Shorter videos (under 30 seconds) also see higher average rewatch rates.
3. Captions
Getting viewers to read your caption after watching drives up total views.
Crafting rewatch-worthy content keeps people returning and signals high quality to Instagram.
Additional Key Instagram Growth Tips
Beyond the core steps outlined above, here are some quick high-impact tips for maximizing your Instagram growth:
- Post at optimal times - use tools to determine when your audience is most active.
- Leverage influencer collaborations to access new audiences.
- Run promotions and contests to incentivize engagement.
- Use high-quality photos/videos - invest in your production value.
- Engage with your audience - reply to comments, like posts.
- Analyze your metrics - double down on what content resonates.
- Be patient and consistent - Instagram rewards persistence.
Case Studies: Exactly How Regular Users Gained 100k+ Followers
To show this formula works for anyone, here are two real-world examples of average Instagram users who gained over 100,000 followers in just 30 days by applying these principles:
Case Study #1: @HappyPlannersCo
- Leveraged trending planning/productivity hashtags like #plannercommunity
- Created highly sharable carousel posts with digital planner images
- Aligned bio with planner niche keywords
- Gained 145,000 new followers in 30 days
Case Study #2: @HomeBakingHacks
- Capitalized on viral baking trends like whipped coffee
- Produced captivating overhead recipe videos
- Optimized bio to showcase baking focus
- Attracted 112,000 new followers in 30 days
As you can see, when you combine optimizing for trends and feeds with compelling content, hitting 100,000+ views and gaining tens of thousands of followers in a short time is absolutely possible.
Turning Followers Into Customers
While growing your following is critical, you also want to convert those followers into customers or email list subscribers.
Here are 4 effective tactics:
1. Link Bio to Website/Sales Page
Drive traffic to capture emails or make sales.
2. Promote Discounts in Stories/Posts
Incentivize followers to purchase with special offers.
3. Use Instagram Shop Feature
Make products shoppable directly on your posts.
4. Run Targeted Ad Campaigns
Retarget engaged followers with relevant offers.
The greater your reach, the more potential customers you can convert. Combining an optimized Instagram growth strategy with savvy monetization is key for profiting.
Final Takeaways
Gaining 100,000+ views or more on your Instagram posts is 100% achievable for any creator who consistently applies the proven formula outlined here.
To recap, you need to:
- Align with trending topics in your niche
- Optimize hashtags and avoid banned ones
- Position eyes at the ideal place in frame
- Tailor bio keywords to your audience
- Diversify content across different feeds
- Make rewatch-worthy videos
This allows you to maximize relevance, reach, and engagement. Plus you need compelling visuals and production quality.
Gaining 100k+ views fuels rapid Instagram growth. Use these tips to tap into Instagram’s immense discovery potential and explode your following.
What key Instagram strategy will you start implementing right away? Let me know in the comments!