Why Are Instagram Story Viewers on the Rise?

In this article, we delve into the underlying reasons fueling the major rise in Instagram Story views and explore the implications of this trend for both everyday people and businesses leveraging the platform.

Social media continues to evolve and shape the way we communicate and interact with others online, and one feature in particular that has captured the attention of Instagram lovers and digital marketers alike is the rapid surge in Instagram Story viewers.

We’ll unravel all the important details of Instagram Story views and look to shed light on the factors contributing to the huge rise of this feature.

From a user perspective, we explore how this trend reflects a shift in how we consume content, with attention spans becoming more attuned to bite-sized, visually stimulating narratives.

Why Are Instagram Story Views on the Rise?

There are several factors that contribute to the rise in Instagram Story views. Notably, Instagram content embedded in Facebook has played an important role. In 2020-21, Instagram posts began appearing on Facebook, increasing the reach and visibility of these posts on both platforms.

This cross-platform exposure, often referred to as ‘Cross-Posting’, is one of the key reasons that contributed to the increase in views as users interact with Stories on their favorite social media platforms.

Another important factor is the huge growth in Instagram’s user base, which currently sits at a whopping 2 Billion monthly active users. In 2023, Instagram will have nearly 300 million more users than it did in 2020. This increase in the number of users creates a larger audience for content, which can increase views accordingly.

Several strategies are helping to increase Instagram Story views on a platform-specific level. These include the strategic use of hashtags, the creation of exciting new content, the best time to post to maximize exposure, and the potential impact of any bot views.

Why Are Instagram Story Views Important?

The importance of viewing an Instagram Story has become a crucial metric for individuals and businesses looking to measure their success on the platform. As a dynamic feature that allows users to share content, Instagram Stories has evolved into a powerful tool for communication, exposure, and sales.

Instagram Story impression offers a great way to measure social engagement and a potential connection to an audience. This is crucial in a world where communication is often determined by the number of interactions we have on a Post, Story, or some other form of digital content.

The number of views on a story therefore serves as quick feedback on the popularity of any content that’s shared. But it’s also more than that: for some people, it offers a glimpse into everyday life and promotes a ‘community’ style feeling.

On the other side of the coin, you have businesses. With Instagram Stories, they can offer a peak behind the brand and offer valuable insights to loyal followers. This is also a great way for marketing teams to target a different niche of audiences and can be used to promote products, services, and much more.

The number of views a Story gets is invaluable insight, and they serve as real-time indicators of the popularity and engagement a business is getting. This allows them to adapt strategies, refine their tone and messaging, as well as gauging the success of campaigns to appeal more to those who frequently use Stories as a way of staying updated and informed.

Plus, there is so much more to Instagram stories than just views, and businesses are now more aware of how they can use them to improve engagement.

For example, brands can use relevant hashtags to appeal to more people beyond their followers, or they can use location tags for area-specific content – the list is endless, but it all drives valuable traffic back to the main page.

It goes beyond just likes, views, and comments – in fact, businesses can now create customized polls or ask questions to their audience. There are even features where products and links can be placed within Stories, meaning faster access for potential customers.

Do Some Instagram Stories Get More Views?

Yes, some Instagram Stories are bound to get more views than others, with perhaps the core reason being the sheer number of followers an account has. For example, a large business with millions of followers is always going to have more story views than a smaller business.

However, this isn’t the only factor determining why one account may receive more Instagram Story views, and to help you understand further, we’ve listed some key reasons why some receive more views than others:

How to Get More Instagram Story Views

As Instagram Story views have become such a key metric for online brands, businesses, and individuals, the common question of how to get more views on your Stories is bound to come up. It offers a unique way to interact and engage your audience, which can be vital for growing your online presence.

To help you build your own platform and boost your Instagram Story views, we’ve created a list of some of the key ways you can do this, starting with the quality of your content.

1. Create Engaging Content

For starters, you should be using high-quality imagery and videos, and using a good camera or visual equipment can really help replace the basic smartphone content. It’s also recommended that you use vibrant colors that grab the attention of your followers.

Lastly, your content needs to be relevant to your audience and in line with the usual content you create. Having consistency within your content (as long as it’s good quality) can go a long way to keeping your audience entertained and wanting to leave them coming back for more every time.

2. Use Location Tags and Hashtags

Hashtags and Location Tags are a great way to improve your discoverability and online presence, as people can find your content even if they don’t follow you. As Instagram allows you to search for hashtags and then shows the posts that use them, you can use this to improve your chances of being noticed.

Similarly, Location Tags allow people to search for posts that fall under a specific location, and even if they don’t follow your account, as long as it’s open, they can find and view your content which increases the likelihood of them following you in the future.

However, you shouldn’t overdo it, as using too many Hashtags in your Stories may look like you’re spamming or trying a little too hard to draw people in. Finding the right balance with them is key.

With Location tags, it doesn’t hurt to include them on every Story, but mix it up a little, so if you’re traveling or at an important event, add a Location Tag to let people know where you are.

3. Post at Optimal Times

The timing of your posts is another important and easy way to improve your chances of getting more views on your Stories. If you’re using a business account, you can analyze important metrics about your audience and discover their activity patterns. Then, you can post at these times to ensure maximum visibility.

This method can be used by all types of accounts, regardless of whether you’re a business or not. Some of it is just common sense – for example, posting in the early hours of the morning or very late at night will limit the number of people who will see it.

Instead, aim for lunch times when people are on their phones, or try and line it up with people who might be on their way home from work and checking their phone for the first time in a while after a hard day’s work.

Research is key here, so be sure to check for any patterns within your audience to maximize success.

4. Use Interactive Features

Instagram Stories can be and should be so much more than generic photos and videos of everyday activities, as this isn’t really going to captivate your audience unless you’re a global megastar, so you have to use all the tools at your disposal.

Thankfully, Instagram offers features like polls, questions, quizzes, and countdowns that allow your follow base to interact with your stories.

Not only do these features make your Story more enjoyable, but they encourage people to spend time engaging with your content, which is likely to mean it’s pushed to them more and boosts your visibility in the process.

5. Collaborate with Others

Collaborating with other accounts is a powerful way to increase your social media presence, and it can open the door to a whole new follower base. One easy way to do this is with the Tagging feature, where you can mention an account or business within your post.

The benefit of Tagging is increased visibility, especially if the account you tagging is popular, as it may open up a brand new clientele for your account or business profile. Alternatively, collaborating with another account works well too.

Collaborations offer you unique and engaging content that can attract a new audience from the account you’re working in tandem with.

It’s a great way to spread your name about and might not even cost you anything if the other account is on board. For larger accounts or influencers with lots of followers, you may find that you have to pay money to work with them.

If this is the case, then make sure that their audience is similar to yours and not completely niche, as this wouldn’t be a wise investment. If they’re a business, make sure they’re aligned with your principals and in a similar industry.

6. Promote Yourself on Other Platforms

Another easy way to ensure your Stories and content in general are viewed by more people is to use the whole network of social media, not just Instagram. A good starting place would be Facebook, as both are owned by Meta.

You can reshare content from your Stories on other social media platforms, too, like TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest, Snapchat, and any others you choose. This can be hugely beneficial, as the audience is likely to be different on each of these platforms.

It’s very likely that a more mature audience will be using Facebook, whereas younger generations tend to be more active on TikTok. Either way, all of these platforms have hundreds of millions of views every single day, so using them to your advantage is highly recommended.

7. Instagram Advertising

Methods 1 to 6 on our list fall under Organic, as you don’t usually have to pay for them. But one final way you can increase your account’s visibility is using paid advertising.

Instagram has a good range of ad formats to suit different businesses or individuals looking to grow.

Story ads are one of those, and they can be used to target certain demographics, which increases the chances of finding the right audience. By spending a few dollars or so every day, you can increase your account’s discoverability.

Hacks for Getting More Instagram Story Views

There are a few other methods that would allow you to gain more Instagram Story views, but they may go against the Terms of Service laid out by Instagram, so be sure to air on the side of caution. With that being said, below are a few hacks that can be useful.

1. Changing Your Location by Using a VPN

It’s possible to improve your viability in certain areas by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) as these allow you to mimic your location and IP address as being somewhere else. This can be particularly useful if you’re a business or individual located in a smaller country.

Instead, you could use one of the top VPNs to pretend you’re located in the US or UK, where the potential audience is much higher and may result in your account receiving more views and better engagement.

As we mentioned before, this may go against Instagram’s Terms of Use, and it could even lead to your account being banned. So, if you choose to use this method, don’t overdo it, and keep the consequences in mind, as you could lose all of your followers.

2. Bot Farming

Bot farms work by running automated scripts or programs that mimic how users actually interact. Metrics such as views, likes, and comments can be artificially manipulated, creating the illusion of popularity and influence.

While the instant gratification and attraction of intense online activity are tempting, the risks associated with bot farming far outweigh the short-term benefits, and you should read the Terms of Service before proceeding with such steps.

Engaging in bot farming goes completely against the principles of ethics and authenticity that Instagram and other platforms aim to uphold. Instagram’s Terms of Service explicitly prohibit the use of third-party tools or services to perform actions that work on the platform, emphasizing real user interaction and content.

The consequences of participating in bot farming can be severe, with the most important risk being the suspension or ban of the Instagram account involved. Instagram uses sophisticated algorithms and search techniques to detect and combat artificial engagement.

If discovered, action will be taken to maintain platform integrity and fairness for high-user accounts involved in such activities – mainly banning the account and any future accounts that are made in the future.

3. Buy Followers

Similarly to the above method, buying followers has been around for a while and just creates the illusion of popularity. Nowadays, you can buy Active Account Followers, which claim to engage with your content, but they will cost much more.

The other alternative is just fake followers with profiles that don’t actually engage, so these aren’t going to increase your Instagram Story views and are instead more of a vanity feature for users who want to appear more popular than they are, so we’d advise you avoid this at all costs.

Do Anonymous Instagram Story Views Count?

Such has been the rise in popularity of Instagram Stories, it’s no surprise to see new tools emerging that allow others to view them under the blanket of anonymity. Popular apps such as Glassagram have emerged and offer you the chance to download stories to your device, as well as viewing other stories without the account knowing.

However, it’s important to note that anonymous story views won’t count towards your typical view count, so they can’t be exploited by accounts to give themselves more views on a certain Story or post.

Order of Instagram Story Views – What Does It Mean?

Understanding the order in which Instagram orders your views can offer valuable information you can then leverage to further increase your reach.

First Few Viewers: Close Connections and Active Followers

The people who appear at the very beginning of the list are typically those with whom you have close connections or those who are actively engaging with your content. This often includes any close friends, family members, or followers who frequently interact with your posts.

Randomized Order: The Algorithm Display

Instagram employs a clever and complex algorithm to determine the order of Story views. While the first few viewers are often your close connections, the viewers after your first few views are often randomized, at least to some extent.

This is heavily influenced by Instagram’s algorithm, which considers factors like your interactions with specific users, mutual engagements, and the timing of the Story post. Instagram doesn’t specifically lay out this information for you, which can make analyzing it difficult.

Grey Circles: Private Accounts or Ghost Followers

Grey circles often appear within your Story viewers, and this often indicates people with private accounts or those who follow you but haven’t posted any content themselves (commonly known as “ghost followers“). These accounts often engage very little or not at all and are often left unmanned or unattended.

Viewers Over Time: Story Progression

As your Story progresses, you’ll likely notice changes in the order of viewers. Instagram aims to show your content to users who are most likely to engage with it, that’s why having captivating content is so important in today’s online world.

Viewers who engage early in your Story will appear in different positions as the Story unfolds, sometimes within the first few viewers or sometimes elsewhere entirely.

Engagement Signals: Who’s Most Interested

The order of Story views can serve as an important gauge of the interest of your audience.

People who regularly appear at the top of your story views are more likely those who have engaged with your content.

Monitoring this order over time can help you tailor your content to the preferences of your most active followers, which leads to better interactions and more engagement over time.

Relevance to Content: Tailoring Your Approach

Pay attention to the viewers’ order and its relevance to the type of content you’re sharing. If certain people are consistently appearing at the top, it clearly shows a strong interest in your content.

Therefore, you should try to tailor your approach based on this insight, creating content that resonates with your most engaged audience. Understanding the order of Instagram Story views is an ever-changing process influenced by user interactions, algorithmic considerations, and the evolving nature of your content.

While it’s not an exact science, this order provides valuable cues to enhance your understanding of your audience, allowing you to refine your content strategy for increased engagement and connection.

Should You Worry About Your Instagram Story Views?

Keeping an eye on your Instagram Story views can offer valuable insights into how interesting and engaging your content is, which is essential for long-term growth. Fluctuations in views are a natural part of the social media landscape and can be influenced by various factors.

Instead of allowing concerns about view counts to dominate your perspective, use them as a guide for refining your content strategy and enhancing audience engagement. For individuals, maintaining authenticity and creating content that resonates with your audience should take precedence over obsessing about any Instagram metrics.

Ultimately, Instagram Story views are a means to an end, not the end itself. Prioritizing meaningful connections, genuine interactions, and content quality will contribute more profoundly to your online presence and satisfaction than fixating solely on the rise and fall of view counts.

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