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When it comes to Instagram Reels views, we are still in uncharted territory. Yes, we do have insights now, but they really don't tell us why one reel hits and another misses.
If you are reading this, then you must have said some form of this sentence, "Instagram Reels Views WTF?"
Which one are you?
"This reel only got x amount of views, and this one blew up and I have no idea why?"
Or
"I did nothing for this reel and it took off, but the one I spent a lot of time on flopped."
Or
"I made a couple of reels, but they didn’t get a lot of views and they certainly did not blow up my business. What gives?"
So I wanted to talk about it. I feel like this is really stopping people from making reels. If they make a reel and it doesn’t blow up-- they are done.
My views
Head to my Instagram Page and look at my view count. It is all over the place. Some of my most recent reels have less than 300 views. I'm lucky if I get one reel a week that hits 1k. That is always my aim. Just get me 1k! Weekly I'm having to remind myself that 100 views is still more than I get on my static and carousel posts. If 100 people came to my office, I would be overwhelmed.
Let's have some perspective people.
But you came to find out my view counts are all over the place, and here is the reason. It is the algorithm
The Algorithm
Take a look at all the reels you have made. Do you notice a pattern in your view count? That is your base. For me it is the 200 range. However, every once in a while I get a few that surpass 1K. I even have one reel that is now at 19K (WHAT???)
Do you have that too? You have your base and then one reel that BLOWS UP! It goes viral, gets pushed the explore page. You’re getting comments, you are getting likes, followers, and engagement.
Now, look at the next few reels after your viral one. Is it back to your base number or lower? No matter what you do, no matter how good the content you create is, no matter how much effort and time you are you’re putting into it, no matter how similar it is to the content that blew up-- it will just not go viral.
Guess what?
That is by design. Instagram will blow up one or two of your videos and then suppress it again back to your regular view count. Why? So you spend time on this app creating and going after that high again.
So if your videos are not seeing the success of your viral videos don’t get down on yourself that’s how it is designed-- to keep you on the app.
One of the positive things about the Reels Insights is you can see how many followers you grabbed with your reel. I find that more valuable than view count.
Other Reasons for low view count
Your content has become stale. If you found success doing one type of reel, and all you are doing is the same thing over and over again, you may be stuck in rut and your audience has noticed. You're not surprising them and you're certainly not gaining any new followers. Try mixing it up a bit.
Low count could also be seasonal. There are certain times of years, like summer, that engagement is lower. People are not on their phones as much consuming content.
If there is one thing I really want you to get out of this post is to remember your value is not determined by views. Read it again.
Need Help Getting Started with Reels?
Need help making reels, or strategizing your reels content? Check out the KISS Course for Instagram Reels. Monika Larson and I made this course for the do it all solopreneur, the busy mom, the CEO with too much on their plate. You get lifetime access. Go at your own pace.
